AND OTHER HUNTING ADVENTURES. 51 



almost perpendicular, made so by the hungry waves 

 having eaten away their foundations, and the earth 

 having fallen into the brine, leaving exposed bare 

 walls of sand and gravel. On Whidby Island, one 

 of the largest in the Sound, there was, up to a few 

 years ago, a herd of wild cattle, to which no one 

 made claim of ownership, and which were, conse- 

 quently, considered legitimate game for anyone 

 who cared to hunt them. They were wary and cun- 

 ning in the extreme. The elk or deer, native and to 

 the manor born, could not be more so. But, alas, 

 these cattle were not to be the prey of true, consci- 

 entious sportsmen; for the greed of the market 

 hunter and the skin hunter exceeded the natural 

 cunning of the noble animals, and they have been 

 nearly exterminated; only ten or twelve remain, and 

 they will soon have to yield up their lives to the 

 insatiable greed of those infamous butchers. 



One of the most curious and interesting points in- 

 the sound is Deception Pass. This is a narrow chan- 

 nel or passage between two islands, only fifty yards 

 wide, and about two hundred yards long. On either 

 side rise abrupt and towering columns of basaltic rock, 

 and during both ebb and flow the tide runs through 

 it, between Padilla and Dugalla Bays, with all the 

 wild fury and bewildering speed of the maelstrom. 

 This pass takes its name from the fact of there 

 being three coves near on the west coast of 

 Whidby Island that look so much like Deception 

 that they are often mistaken for it at night or dur- 

 ing foggy weather, even by experienced navigators. 

 All the skill and care of the best pilots are required 

 to make the pass in safety, and the bravest of them 



