BIRDS OF LOWER CALIFORNIA. 239 



P. Hale, the settlement on Magdalena Island (yclept Mag- 

 dalena Bay) Avas made the base for operations to be con- 

 ducted on the neighboring island of Santa Margarita, and 

 also upon the peninsula. 



Magdalena and Santa Margarita Islands are high and 

 rocky, the former ending in sand hills many miles towards 

 the north. From the top of the hills on Magdalena I was 

 able to see the mountains of the peninsula, the weather be- 

 ing tolerably clear. That portion of the peninsula adjoin- 

 ing Magdalena Bay is sandy, level or slightly rolling, and 

 thickly covered with numerous kinds of cacti and thorny 

 bushes. The estero, which will be frequently mentioned fur- 

 ther on, extends from the northern part of Magdalena Bay 

 northward for more than one hundred miles; its banks are 

 lined nearly everywhere by mangroves. 



Early in March, 1888, a journey was made by boat from 

 Magdalena Island to San Jorge, a distance of about one 

 hundred and twenty miles. San Jorge is at the head of 

 navigation of the estero just mentioned. Long before ar- 

 riving at San Jorge, after the peaks of Santa Margarita 

 and Magdalena Islands and the promontory at Cape St. 

 Lazaro, farther north, had faded below the mangrove tops, 

 the Sierra de La Giganta could be dimly seen with the 

 prominent peak. La Giganta, looming above all. 



From San Jorge I undertook, in the month of March, to 

 cross the peninsula to the Gulf of California with saddle 

 horses, one pack mule, and a Mexican for guide. The route 

 chosen lay past the w^ater hole of Pozo Grande and through 

 the long and fertile canon of Comondu, across the plains of 

 San Julio and San Pedro and over the side of La Giganta 

 down to Loreto on the Gulf shore. From there back to 

 Comondu, passing around La Giganta by way of San Gabriel; 

 but after crossing the mountains the course was changed to 

 San Juan, a ranch half a day's ride from Loreto, and the 

 return trip made over practically the same route. The dis- 

 tance from San Jorge to Comondu (by trail) is about forty 



