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Wetmore - - Jouxnai -. ' 58 
to leave birds or other specimens exposed as inevitably the crabs will be at 
them and destroy them. They were stealing our soap and eating it. Their total 
number here is many thousands.- I suppose that same of the Turbo shells that serve 
. . 
them as homes have been used by generations of the animals as th.y appear old and 
worn. 
August 3—The channel near camp that leads into the lagoon is shallow at either 
end and deeper in th middle. While it is 80 or 90 ‘.yards wide the boat 
channel through is narrow because of obstructing coral heads and is practicable only 
for small boats. Through the middle in places it is 3 or 4 feet deep but at 
either end there is only one to two feet of water. As the tide lowers the 
current through here is strong. 
The lagoon itself is very shallow at the eastern end. A shallow shelf extends 
out for some distance from either shore whil through the center there are depths-- 
'Ox 
o ten feet. The bottom is of fine sand with many coral heads some of 
them awash. 
On the inner side of Wake Is. a conglomerate exposure with much loose broken 
coral rock lying in it forms the shore for a distance of a half mile frem the 
channel. Beyond this point the shore is of fine coral or sand with large' blocks 
of conglomerate distributed irregularly through it. 
About three quarters of a mile east .of the channel a level low sandy area 
is grown heavily with Sesuvium. The low area extends inland practically across 
the island and probably marks an old channel from the sea to the lagoon. Near the 
lagoon is a salt water pond and inland from it are two othe smal1 pools of brack- 
✓ 
ish water. Beyond the low tract is constricted to a dry gully two or three feet 
deep 'chat merges finally with a broad coral ( 
) flat -hat extends across 
the beach. The small-leaved Pemphis and the umbrella tree Tournefortia grow 
on eiuher side. 
