The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1910-01-27

western extremity or van
X couver island, an irregular
line Of islands and detached
rocks stretches for a dis
lance of 80 miles into the
are very little known, as so far they
have been quite clear of any CONNER
cial route, and, with the exception of
an occasional haliDut-fishing schooner,
no vessel has had ny reason for Wis
iting them. They lie, moreover, in
dangerous and only partially-surveyed
waters, where strong tide-raCeS break
up the swell of the ocean and sudden
storms of great fury are frequent.
There are no safe a~nchorages, and as
none of the islands appears to possess
any commercial value, they are likely
to remain undisturbed for many years
to come. The admiralty charts and
the Pilots Handbook are not enthusi-
astic about the group, prOffering only
the advice that no vessel should ap-
proach them closely and marking
many spots as dangerous for boats
and small vessels.
The object of our expedition in
June of the present year was to ex-
anime into the nesting habits. of the
various ocean birds that were report
ed to breed on these islands in great
quantities.; and, of course, Triangle
island, lying at the furthest distance
off shore and being the least access
ible, became the center of attraction.
There were many difficulties in the
way of getting there; but we for
tunately fell in with two Danes at
Cape Scott who owned a small sail
ing-boat and were willing to take us
to Triangle island and return for us
in a couple of weeks. Neither of them
had ever been to the island before,
so we were all equally ignorant as to
the chances of being able to land un-
der unfavorable weather conditions.
The outward journey was made
very comfortably, and an easy landing
was effected on the northeast side
of the island, where We found a good
stream of water and a great abun-
dance of driftwood. The first view of
Triangle island gives one the impress
sion that 1t is covered with short
grass of a brilliant green color, and
that the high land is as easy to travel
over as the South Downs along the
English channel; but a closer inspec-
ton reveals a dense growth of stunt
ed brush, mostly s~almon-berry and
salile. with a little scrub crab-apple,
growing to a height of three or four
feet, and making speedy walking i'm
possible. The cliffs are rocky and
precipitous in places, but for the most
part are quite accessible and covered
with long grass and fern, among
which grow many of the common
coast flowers. There is an entire alb
sence of trees, in marked contrast to
the dense growth of scrub timber on
the other islands of the group, and,
indeed. on nearly all the islands Of
the seaboard of British Columbia. The
actual coastline Is rough and wild in
the extreme. The points run out a
long way from the main island in
isolated ~pinnacles and high bluffs Of
fantastic shape, while caves and IN
derground sea passages are of COM
mon occurrence. The shape of the
island is that of an ill-made starfish.
On the southwest corner is a long
promontory connected with the main
island by a low, narrow neck, over
which the sea breaks in heavy
weather. The island Is about a mile
In length, and rises to a height Of $50
feet. On the highest point 1t is now
proposed to establish a lighthouse and
wireless telegraphy station, presum-
ably in anticipation of the traffic
which is expected to arise with the
growth of Prince Rupert, the terminus
of the new Trans-Continental railway,
now under construction.
With regard to the birds. there was
q certain amount of disappointment
In the fact that we were unable to
discover anything of great rarity. The
island IS well suited to the seabirds.
which lay their eggs in holes in the
ground; but these birds have a taste
for forming colonies of their own
species on separate islands. Thus the
burrowing grounds OF Triangle island,
which extend over its whole surface.
she CRESTED PAIN tLunda s4srz7sSsxr,,
and Cass2as"2zA2et tPtychoramphus
aleuticus), both of which are present
- --- n