The Ordway new era., 1910-01-28
~ ROM Cape Scott. the north
western extremity Of Van.
4 couver island. an irregular
line Of islands and detached
rocks stretches for dis

COuVer lSlanO, an lTTekuidE
line Of islands and detached
Il rocks stretches for dis
tance Of 80 miles into the
North Pacific ocean. These islands
are very little known. as so far they
have been quite clear OF any CONNER
cial route. and. with the exception OF
an occasional haliput- fishing schooner.
no vessel has had any reason for WIS.,
iting them. They lie. moreover. in
dangerous and only ypartially.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 anchorages. 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
of 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 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 rs 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 n good
stream of water and a great abun.
dance Of driftwood. The first view OF
Triangle island gives one the impress.
sion that II Is covered with short
grasb Of brilliant green color. and
that the high land is as easy to travel
over as the South Downs along the
English channel: but n closer inspec.
ton reveals a dense growth OF stunt.
ed brush. mostly salmon-berry and
salile. with a little scrub crab-apple.
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 ab-
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 un-
derground sea passages are of com.
mon occurrence. The shape OF the
island is that OF an ill-made starflsh.
On the southwest corner Is n long
promontory connected with the main
island by low. narrow neck. over
which the sea breaks In heavy
weather. The island is about n mile
in length. and rises to height OF CSC
feet On the highest point It is now
proposed to establish n 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 wTransContinental railway
now under construction.
with regard to the birds. there wa.
certain amount of disappointment
in the fact that we were unable tt
discover anything of great rarity. Th.
island Is well suited to the seabirds
which lay their eggs in holes in tn.
ground: but these birds have n tast.
for forming colonies of their owr
species on separate islands. Thus tn.
burrowing grounds of Triangle island
which extend over its whole surface
are occupied by two species only
the crested puffin Iunda cirrhata)
and Cassin's auklet (Ptychoramphu,
aleuticus), both of which are present
n almost incredible numbers. Thl