Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1912-07-31
GzARFzZZDG III ZOO

FISH and bird life. The sea bird population alone
probably cannot be equaled in any other part Of
the world. Tens of millions of feathered fowl
make their home these lonely specks Of land,
repairing thither each year in countless hocks
TO establish rookeries and to rear their young.
The reefs and waters about the islands fairly
swarm with fish and other forms of life, so that
they really form a densely populated natural ZOO
logical garden.
To the naturalist the out.ofdoor enthusiast the
nature study photographer or the man who sim
ply loves outof-theway places and the unusual
and novel, these islands leave little to be desired
A chance to run down along this chain is the
opportunity of lifetime and bound to result in
a really worth while experience-One that will
live fresh in the memory long after the details
of other trips and experiences have been mingled
with the commonplace of life.
Unfortunately at present, visiting the islands
in the reservation is not the simple matter that
It should be, nor that 1t is hoped 1t may be made
in time In former years the operations Of
guano company then engaged in exploiting the
guano or bird lime deposits on the islands made
it possible by invitation, to make the journey to
Laysan Island from Honolulu during the summer
months in one of the company's sailing vessels.
While the islands of the chain are all different
from each other and all intensely interesting,
Iayson Is in a certain sense typical Of most Of
them It is a raised coral atoll approximately two
miles across that in general form has been COM
pared to broad shallow platter composed en-
tirely of sand or raised coral reef not more than
40 feet about the sea at the highest point the
sand rim which completely surrounds the saft
water lagoon that occupies the central part OF the
island This lagoon is Of special interest, since
its water contains more salt than does that of the
open sea. This interesting fact tells much Of the
geological history of the island and points unmls-
takaby to the origin Of the land. 1t shows 1t to
be a circular coral atoll that at the time Of its
elevation above the sea carried the water Of the
lagoon up to its present level. Since that time,
and It must have been very long ago, the waters
have evaporated to some extent and left that
which remains more concentrated and salty than
IT. was when the island was first made. About the
edge of the lagoon the Doggy earth is covered with
crystals of salt mixed with chips Of guano. This
shellike substance sparfles in the and sug-
gests a band of silver at the waters edge. About
this barren ring Is a narrow band covered with
low creeping vines. Back Of this again Is a growth
of 1uncas which is backed up in turn by ring
Of low bushes The prevailing plant Of the island,
however, is a kind of coarse bunch grass that
grows three or four feet high. More than score
Of plants have found footing there during the
!ong period that has elapsed since the dry land
arst rose so that at the time Of its discovery and
indeed on the occasion of my first visit, for a
sand island 1t was we'll supplied with a low
growth of hardy vines, grass and shrubs Unfor-
tunatey the introduction of rabbits on the island
has marked sad change since then