Transcribe McNiel, John. Letter to Ward, Henry A. (1876-04-14)

There are some moderate sized Whalers ororess hune, which I believe, is it these islands a- bout Sept. or Oct. And I suppose that is the beginning of the dry season.

  There are Steamers plying at least </s one >

once a Month between this and Gua- quil, Equador. But I have yet to learn what facilities there are for getting from there to the islands/ But it seems quite necessary to have a suitable vessel at my command, if dredging is desired. But I must defer offering farther suggest- tins until I can base them on better information. In regard to Antiquities, I am confident that a little exploration will disclose the fact that several of the pearl isles were densely populated by the 'Antiquos' or ancient Amiousant. I have a few Storus axes & c which were found there. And I think I will send them to you with my next shipment. These were picked up by the natives while cultivating their small plantations. But there are en- ough known localities where large numbers may be obtained, of Stone or pottery.