Viewing page 36 of 42

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

foothills a mile or so from the sea. The low second growth forest came down & surrounded the little settlement which numbers only a few houses including the Custom House & the house of the administrator of the lands of these Is. which belong to a widow living in [[Tapie?]] Serina

I had a letter from her to her brother who has charge here. He soon came to see us & the letter was presented & he at once placed himself & all the islands at our disposal after the fashion of Mexicans wishing to be polite. The strange bird fauna of these islands which were visited years ago by Col. A. J. Grayson have long awakened my interest. The courtyard of the Custom house is a small affair with a small pithicolobium tree & a few shrubs & flowers. Walking along the veranda fronting it I was delighted to see tanagers, orioles, Cardinal  grosbeaks, Hummingbirds and warblers perching about or insect hunting with the quiet, satisfied air of the proprietors.  

Transcription Notes:
pithicolobium tree = Pithecellobium (madras thorn)