150 CHANNEL ISLANDS OF CALIFORNIA 



filled, gorged with water that roars down with wild 

 acclaim, and reaching the end, forty, fifty, one or five 

 hundred feet from the sea, leap into it, a mass of 

 silvery foam, the entire island at this point, from 

 near Mosquito Harbor east, displaying countless falls 

 and cascades — at once an extraordinary and beauti- 

 ful spectacle, seen only by the few fishermen caught 

 here during the gale. 



It will repay the visitor to this island to examine 

 the canons from the east end up the coast, as they 

 are extraordinary manifestations of the power of water. 

 One especially, a mile or so west or north of Mosquito 

 Harbor, is one of the most picturesque chasms to be 

 seen anywhere. A great pinnacle rises in it like the 

 peak of Pelee. 



In wandering over San Clemente, or sailing about it, 

 one feature is always dominant, namely, the caves, 

 which not only are seen along the coast line, but beneath 

 it, and at every possible elevation up its canon-riven 

 sides. Much of the island at the east end is of con- 

 glomerate. This breaks up under the effect of wind 

 and water, and the result has been to give the island 

 literally thousands of caves of varied kinds, sizes, and 

 shapes. 



At the extreme northwest end there is a cave or 

 chimney, pointed directly upward, said to be a crater, 

 forty feet deep; directly opposite, on the flat rocky 

 ledge, there is a submarine cave into which the sea 

 groans and hisses, then explodes with a terrifying 

 noise. I have stood by this cave when the concussion 

 fairly shook the entire ledge. 



From here the shore is low, and the sand-dunes are 

 a conspicuous feature. As we sail to the south the 



