﻿Ill] 
  Special 
  Report 
  No. 
  3 
  : 
  Five 
  Islands 
  213 
  

  

  THE 
  FIVE 
  ISLANDS 
  

  

  Introduction 
  

  

  The 
  writer' 
  s 
  visit 
  to 
  the 
  islands. 
  — 
  In 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  recent 
  develop- 
  

   ments, 
  the 
  writer 
  was 
  directed 
  during 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  

   year 
  to 
  leave 
  work 
  in 
  northern 
  Louisiana 
  and 
  make 
  an 
  examina- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  Five 
  Islands 
  in 
  Iberia 
  and 
  St. 
  Marj^ 
  parishes. 
  

  

  Mapping 
  of 
  the 
  Islands. 
  — 
  The 
  lack 
  of 
  accurate 
  maps 
  of 
  the 
  

   islands 
  was 
  immediately 
  noticed 
  and 
  he 
  at 
  once 
  began 
  making 
  a 
  

   twenty-foot 
  contour 
  map 
  of 
  Petite 
  Anse 
  island. 
  During 
  the 
  work 
  

   on 
  Grande 
  C6te, 
  in 
  locating 
  the 
  different 
  prospect 
  holes 
  and 
  in 
  

   determining 
  their 
  elevation 
  above 
  tide, 
  enough 
  facts 
  were 
  collected 
  

   to 
  make 
  a 
  sketch 
  topographic 
  map 
  of 
  that 
  island. 
  Belle 
  Isle 
  was 
  

   also 
  mapped. 
  It 
  is 
  regretted 
  that 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  one 
  on 
  Cote 
  Car- 
  

   line 
  (or 
  Jefferson 
  island) 
  who 
  could 
  give 
  information 
  regarding 
  

   the 
  prospect 
  holes 
  there. 
  It 
  accordingly 
  seemed 
  advisable 
  to 
  post- 
  

   pone 
  the 
  mapping 
  of 
  this 
  island, 
  for 
  its 
  general 
  features 
  are 
  

   shown 
  on 
  the 
  maps 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  islands, 
  till 
  such 
  data 
  could 
  be 
  

   obtained. 
  

  

  History 
  of 
  the 
  Study 
  of 
  the 
  Islands 
  

   Period 
  Before 
  the 
  Discovery 
  of 
  Rock 
  Sai,t 
  

  

  Probably 
  no 
  portion 
  of 
  Louisiana 
  has 
  received, 
  more 
  attention 
  

   from 
  geologists 
  than 
  the 
  central 
  costal 
  region 
  and 
  especially 
  

   Petite 
  Anse 
  island. 
  The 
  phenomena 
  there 
  shown 
  are 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  

   character 
  as 
  to 
  attract 
  attention 
  at 
  once. 
  

  

  Stoddard. 
  — 
  Although 
  Maj. 
  Stoddard 
  evidently 
  did 
  not 
  visit 
  any 
  

   of 
  the 
  islands, 
  their 
  existence 
  was 
  known 
  to 
  him. 
  He 
  speaks 
  of 
  

   the 
  elevated 
  islands 
  along 
  the 
  coast; 
  "some 
  of 
  which" 
  he 
  

   assures 
  us, 
  " 
  contain 
  sulphur 
  and 
  one 
  has 
  been 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  on 
  

   fire 
  for 
  at 
  least 
  three 
  months. 
  ' 
  ' 
  To 
  stories 
  of 
  this 
  nature 
  is 
  doubt- 
  

   less 
  to 
  be 
  traced 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  the 
  name 
  " 
  Fire 
  islands" 
  applied 
  

   to 
  this 
  group.* 
  He 
  describes 
  Belle 
  Isle 
  as 
  about 
  three 
  miles 
  in 
  

  

  Sketches 
  of 
  Louisiana 
  by 
  Maj. 
  Stoddard, 
  Phila., 
  1812, 
  pp. 
  179-180, 
  184. 
  

   *Geologyof 
  Lower 
  Louisiana, 
  by 
  E. 
  W. 
  Hilgard, 
  Am. 
  Jour. 
  Sci., 
  2d 
  

   Series, 
  voL 
  47, 
  p. 
  86. 
  

  

  