Evening star., 1907-11-11
OCEAN ISLAND GONE
MysteriousIy Formed and as
MysteriousIy Disappears.
.OF THE BOGOSLOF GROUP
Strange Volcanic Action in the
North Pacific Ocean.
IOF INTEREST TO SCIENTISTS
Report Made to Revenue Cutter
Service officials by Lieut.. Cam
den and Capt. Rodgers.

| The new islands in the Bogoslof group,
| away up in the north Pacific near the
| Aleutian Islands. Alaska, which the
| United States acquired several months
ago, appear to be very unstable territory,
| according to the latest reports received by
| Can't Worth G. Ross, chief of the revenue
cutter service in this city. About a month
ago The Star published a summary OF a
report made by Lieut.. B. H. Camden of
the cutter McCulloch regarding the birth
of the new lands and the explorations
of them made by himself and a party of
revenue cutter service officials, who were
the first and, as it has turned out to be
the only ones that have ever set foot on
the islands.
Since Lieut.. Camden and his companions
visited the islands in July and August
| last a remarkable Transformation has
taken place in the new group. McCui-
| loch peak, the higher of the two noun
tains that were forced up from the bottom
of the sea, has entirely disappeared and
many changes have taken place in Perry
peak and the remaining new land. Under
verbal orders from Capt. H. B. Rodgers,
commanding the McCulloch, Lieut.. Cam
den visited the Bogoslof group again the
| 10Th of October and the changes dis
| covered are the subject of a report made
! by him and which has just reached Capt.
| Ross.
The report shows the remarkable trans
formations made in the new islands in the
| two months that elapsed between the first
| and last visit, and 1t will be of much in
| terest to the scientific world. AS the Nc
| Culloch rounded Cape Cheerful instruc-
| tions were given the quartermaster at the
| wheel to notify Lieut.. Camden as soon as
the vapor from the hot lands, which on
| former visits could be seen for miles be-
| fore the islands were reached, was visible
| Much to the surprise of all aboard the
| ships mile after mile was traversed
without any vapor being disc ornad on
the horizon, until the island became visl-
BILE some fifteen miles away.
| Over the land there was no evidence
| Of the cloud that had hitherto been visible
| for such a great distance, and it was evil
| dent that there was but little steam es-
! Gaping from Perry and McCulloch peaks.
| from which such dense volumes escaped
! at the time of the visit of this vessel in
August.
Lieut.. Camden was prepared to observe
many interesting changes. even to the up
| heaval of another peak, but the first
change that was Oserved was al such a
variance with anything that had been
expected that it was startlfn to say the
least. McCulloch peak. 395 feet high
with a base 1,7oo by 1000 feet, had en-
tirely disappeared leaving the half of
Perry peak with it's perpendicular wall
standing in grim silence as a headstona
at the grave of the departed peak How
ever, nearer view disclos ID the fact
that McCulloch peak had not died with
out struggle or without leaving some
evidence of its short existence, for aston
lShing changes had occurred in the pro-
files of the peaks. the rugged outlines of
each of which had been softened to a
general symmetry by a padding of lava
dust that almost disguised them beyond
recognition, while the sand spit connect
ing the peaks had attained height vary
ing from 20 to 100 feet. as shown by the
contour lines in the sketch.
"1ncalcuIa1e tons of material hun
dreds of feet in depth had been deposited
over the entire island. Fire Island and
Perry peak now lowered into the air,
with a gentle incline rising from the
beach, several hundred yards distant, to
| their summit.
Castle rock on account of its precipi-
tous walls, had no considerable depth of
the lava dust deposited on it, and conse-
| quently its form remains unaltered but
| its color is changed to the very tips of its
| highest rocks from gray to the color of
| Portland cement. At intervals a mass of
| this lava dust will be Jared or blown
! from its bed, high up among the rocks,
and come tearing down the cliffs of the
beach, raising a cloud Of dust with 1t. that
vapor rising near by. and leaving its
| starting point bare and white in contrast
| with the color of the undisturbed dust
| IL.