Evening star., 1941-03-02
By RANDOLPH LEIGH.

ETEONJES 1SLAND, OH LIl6 DO
nora Coast (By MaiD The stretch
of water between San Carlos Bay
midway of the Gulf of California
and the mouth of the Colorado Riv-
er is about as dangerous sailing
area as can be imagined. At the
same time, the islands along the
way are among the most beautiful
and interesting in the Western
Hemisphere.
The danger in cruising there is
due to the terrific and uncharted
currents which characterize it.
These, in turn, are the product of
the tidal bore at the mouth of the
Colorado River. So powerful is the
whirl of waters at the head of the
Gulf that some 200 miles below the
rivers mouth the current runs be-
tween the bottlenecking islands
Tiburon, Guardian Angel and San
LorenZo-at speed of miles an
hour. At ConSag Island, small,
white rock 80 miles from the mouth
of the river, the waters swirl past at
nearly 4 knots, creating riptideS so
violent as to shake vessels as if
they we're in a storm.
Little Progress Under Sail.
We crashed along opposite this
island under maximum spread of
canvas for two hours in the light
of a full moon. Yet at the end of
that time we had not gone forward
half a mile. The current was run
ming against us at about knots, and
we were making about Az in the
opposite direction. When we put on
the motor the Lascar II plunged
like a bronco, her bow alternately
high In the air and deep in the
waves. For all practical purposes
we were in the midst Of heavy
storm. while the wind was moderate
and the sky clear.
On our way northward we had
stopped at Puerto Refugio, on the
tip of Guardian Angel Island.
There we caught two large iguanas,
about 8 feet long but slate colored
rather than the yellowish-green of
the deep tropical variety.
We had heard so much Of the
delicacy of the meat of the iguana,
q prime favorite among the natives,
that we had agreed to have a feast
on the first fat ones we found.
When we actually looked at these
leftover cousins of the dinosaurs,
we lost all desire to taste them.
Furthermore, 1t was too late for pic
ture taking when we caught them,
and we carried them on to the island
of San Luis, where, after pictures
were taken, they were released,
probably to confound future in
vestigators for an explanation as to
how they got there.
Testify to Earth's Commissions.
San Luis Archipelago is a monu-
ment to the convulsions through
which this region has passed. 1t is
composed of rich iron ore, iron Stag
or cinders and gray-green volcanic
ash-all, apparently, hurled there
from some giants cauldron on the
mainland.
The ashes cover the island, except
on the sharp peaks of iron, to
depth of several feet, reminding one
of what happened at Pompeii. Walk
ing on the island is an odd expert
ence, for the sun is very hot and at
the same time the footing is almost
as yielding as snow The color effect
is not unlike that of a snoWfeld IN
O dazzling sun.
This volcanic ash, far lighter than
that at Pompeii, furnishes a re-
markable outline of the courses OF
the currents in the vicinity. AS the
Is-foot tides smash into the island
they carry back tons of these ashes,
which carpet the water for miles,
some patches running swiftly away,
some circIng and others seeming
entirely motionless.
Bird life is plentiful on the island.
One find appealed to us particularly,
namely, the nest and three eggs OF
a huge osprey. The largest egg was
8 by ~ inches. The nest was built
upon a pinnacle of what looked like
nearly pure iron. 1t was 3 feet
across and was made of sticks an
inch in diameter and l8 inches long
Find perfect Bird Island"
It was, however, only when we
reached Georges Island, 7 miles oil
the coast of Sonora, that we saw
the perfect bird island. 1t was prac-
tically impossible to take an unWary
step in any direction there without
stepping upon an egg or a chick, Tor
we had arrived at the very height
of the Matching and nesting season.
There must have been many, many
tens of thousands of birds on the
nests. The BOBBY birds were the
most numerous and the most cour-
ageous in standing firm to defend
their offspring. Their sharp pecks
were generally effective, too. Their
strangest trick was that of picking
up feathers in their mouths and
waving them from side to side, as
If to distract attention from the
nest.
The cormorants invariably occu-
pied the ridges of the rocks, their
nests and awkward silhouettes
standing out sharply against the
background of blue sky. Less plucky
than the BOBBY, the cormorant gen.
orally deserts its nest when it is ap-
preached, but darts back toward
the intruder from time to time.
1t is hard to believe, when seeing
a cormorant stagger awkardly across
the rock to get into fight, that the
bird Is not only swifter on the wing
than most other birds but is also a
faster swimmer than most fishes.
1t gets its food by piunging into the
water after sighting a fish and then
outswimming it in its own element.
Other birds on and around the
island were gulls, pelicans, petrels
and looms. Each seemed to have a
distinct district set aside for its own
kind. The gulls stayed strictly to
themselves and the pehcanS circled
the island in huge companies, using
regular commercial scooping tactics
on the fish.
Nevertheless, the supply of fish
must be inexhaustable, for hundreds
Of fat seals live in the caves at the
very base of the island. Their bark