426 Ray, Fortnight on the Farallones. loct. 



light is of the first order and the most important on the coast, and 

 is zealously tended by the four keepers from sunset to sunrise, in 

 three-hour watches. The light tower is perched on the summit of 

 the islands and is reached by a winding path that zigzags along 

 the steep bluffs. When the heavy gales blow the keepers are 

 often forced to crawl on hands and knees in the unsheltered 

 places. Their homes, two two-story frame buildings, are on the 

 level tract on the south side, and with Stone House, numerous 

 outbuildings and the fog-station, have the appearance of a small 

 hamlet. The wireless telegraphy station and Weather Bureau 

 observatory, with its varied appliances for registering the atmos- 

 pheric conditions, are situated on the Jordan, a third of a mile 

 distant. Mr. E. C. Hobbs, the head official, very kindly allowed 

 us the use of his dark room at will. 



The resident population at present numbers twenty, more or less 

 increased by visitors, and the register shows a strange assemblage 

 of names — Greek fishermen, pilots, government inspectors, artists 

 who have ventured out here to portray on canvas the wild beauty 

 of these strange islands, and hosts of photographers whose views 

 innumerable lie on the head-keeper's parlor table. Among these, 

 in a class by themselves, were some by the late Chester Barlow, 

 and, likewise distinctive, a number of inimitable bird-sketches 

 by Louis A. Fuertes, who made a recent visit. 



The islands lie about thirty miles west of San Francisco, and 

 are divided into two groups. The North Farallones, or North 

 Rocks as the islanders term them, lie seven miles to the north- 

 west and, compared with the main group, are small and unimpor- 

 tant. Midway between lies lonely little ' Four Mile Rock,' also 

 known by the misleading title of the ' Middle Farallon.' The 

 southern cluster comprises South Farallon, the main island. Sea 

 Lion Islet, Finger and Arch Rocks, easily reached by planks, 

 and Saddle Rock and Sugar Loaf by boat, besides a number of 

 minor islets. (Plates XXIII and XXIV.) 



South Farallon, or Southeast Farallon as it is also called, is a 

 mile long, from a quarter to a half a mile or more wide, and three 

 and a half miles in circumference. A rocky backbone runs the 

 entire length, more or less broken by gorges and by a narrow sea- 

 stream, the ' Jordan,' which separates a portion known as West 



