22 THE CONDOR Vol. XVII In cross-section the main body of Forrester Island presents the appearance of a triangle the apex of which coincides with a prominent ridge extending in a general north-and-south direction. Five distinct peaks appear in this back- bone, forming a graded series of approximately eight hundred feet height on the north, to thirteen hundred and ninety-five feet in the case of the southern- most which is placed somewhat to the south of the center of the island. To the westward the land falls away toward the sea at a more abrupt angle than on the east--probably as twenty is to fifteen degrees--, but in. the vicinity of the sea the descent is far more rapid. On the .northwest face of the island, for example, the cliffs rise from the sea to a height of three to four hundrd feet at angles varying from fifty to eighty degrees. This same state of affairs con- tinues along the entire west coast, though in a general way the height varies directly as the distance from the southern extremity. In other words, as one traverses the coast from north to south the cliffs will be found to retain their precipitous character, although their elevation becomes less and ]ess. Along the eastern border of the is]and the cliffs are comparatively low with the ex- ception' of those in the neighberhood of the highest peak, where they attain a height of two or three hundred feet. As noted previously several islands lie to the north of Forrester Island, but almost without exception they are comparatively barren surf-beaten rock masses without safe harbors or landing places except in the calmest weather. Lawtie Island, on the other hand, has a much greater area, measuring approx- imately one third of a mile in greatest lPngth, and is fairly flat and moderately wooded. In the intervening glades grass and wild flowers grow in rank pro- fusion, a small spring supplies water of fair quality, and were it not for the fact that there is no adequate harbor the place would make an ideal camp site. ]n ancient times members of the Haidah tribe made it their headquarters dur- ing the summer months, and even yet resort to its shores for their wood sup- ply, although the shores are boulder strewn and highly unsafe in stormy weather. Of the three islands to the south of Forrester, the middle one, here pro- visionally named South Island, was the only one examined critically, since it is much the most important, and the weather was suitable for landing ou a very
few days only. While its area is somewhat less than that of Lawrie it is far
more rugged, with two main hills, perhaps one hundred and twenty-five feet in height, separated by a central ravine a few feet above tide level. Along the southern face these hills fall away abruptly to the sea, and on the cliffs thus formed, innumerable sea birds find a home. V?GETA??ON.--The vegetation of Forrester Island is extensive and varied. Fully nine-tenths of its surface is covered with a moderately heavy growth of Sitka spruce (Picca sitchensis) and hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), with the in- termediate spaces overgrown with dense thickets of salmonberry (Rubus spec- tabil4s), three species of huckleberry (Vacc4n4um), and elderberry (Sambucus callicarpa), together with devil's-club (Ech4nopanax horridus) in painful pro- fusion. Skunk cabbages (LysicMton camtschatce?se) grew in some of the marshy districts to an enormous size, many of the leaves reaching a length of over five feet; while moss and lichens, of several different species, were omni- present, and formed a beautiful though watersoaked carpet variegated with flowers of many tints. All of these features together with precipitous rocky outcrops, windfalls without end, and the absence of trails, render travel slow and difficult.
