338 Murphy, Birds of Trinidad Islet. [ July- 



masts of the brig. An inquisitive Booby flew between two of the 

 oarsmen in our whaleboat, and the Noddies (Anous) were scarcely 

 less familiar. The White Terns (Gygis), and the several kinds of 

 native petrels, were also very numerous, but they kept their dis- 

 tance, through indifference rather than fear. During the row 

 toward shore the thunder of surf rang louder and louder in our ears, 

 the sound rebounding from many rocky walls. The air was per- 

 fectly calm, but a southeasterly ground swell heaped up a tremen- 

 dous surge of waters on the ironbound coast, which was formed 

 either of the precipitous cliffs themselves, or of beaches about a yard 

 wide completely strewn with sharp blocks of the mountain. The 

 line of breaking water was, nevertheless, so narrow that at some 

 places we could safely come within twenty feet of shore. 



We approached the island at the Ness (cf. map), a peninsula 

 of somewhat columnar rock which suggests a bit of the Giants' 

 Causeway. From here we skirted the western end, ultimately 

 rounding North Point, but nowhere finding a landing place. 

 Whenever the whaleboat's prow was pushed close to the rock in a 

 sheltered angle, the whole craft rose and fell in such a dizzy and 

 appalling manner that several of our seasoned whalemen became 

 seasick. 



From the brig and the whaleboat I was able to enjoy a good view 

 of the island's skyline and general topography through its length of 

 four or five miles. At the southeastern end is a ridge-roofed 

 promontory of brick-red volcanic tufa, terminating in the cliff of 

 South Point, which is pierced by an archway. Knight has aptly 

 styled this headland "Noah's Ark." According to the 'South 

 Atlantic Pilot,' the surf sometimes breaks two hundred feet above 

 its base. Overtowering Noah's Ark is the Sugarloaf (1160 ft.), 

 which greatly resembles the conical mount of the same name at 

 Rio Janeiro. The rock is gray phonolite, so worn and grottoed by 

 pluvial action that its texture is like the cut surface of a Swiss 

 cheese. Under this mount, says tradition, " there was an im- 

 mense treasure buried, consisting principally of gold and silver 

 plate and ornaments, the plunder of Peruvian churches which 

 certain pirates had concealed there in the year 1821." Northwest 

 of the Sugarloaf lies a green valley, with several clumps of shrubs. 

 The mate of the Daisy told me that there is a cluster of stone- 



