EEPORT OF 3ND. U EUTEI ^IANT L. L» BENNETT, U.S. COAST GUARD CUTTER 

 MCCULLOCH. AUGUST 14, 1916 . 



"Landing v/as mde on this island about 8:00 a.n, , August 14, 

 1916, on its easterly side which furnished n good Hce, The general 

 trond of the island is northwest and southeast. It is located in the 

 Bering Sea about 88 nilos northward of Uraink Island, and is about a 

 rdlo in extent and about 1/4 nile wide. The eastern beach is steep 

 and no difficulty was experienced in landing. The first point visited 

 was the Southern peak, called Castle Peak, This peak is about 200 feet 

 high, and is the nesting place for thousands of nurres which coTor its 

 slopes. At this seaso^n the hatching period of these birds is about con- 

 plcted and all the peaks are covered with young birds and broken egg 

 shells. The ascent toward Castle Peak, fron the oast beach, is gradual, 

 first the beach itself, then a plateau which occupies the entire ruddle 

 portion of the island rising to the peaks on the ivestern side. The 

 surface of this plateau is covered with volcanic boulders , ranging in 

 size fron about the size of a football to that of a hogshead, and its 

 surface is scored in an oast and west direction by a series of coripara- 

 tively clear lanes or spaces between the boulders, sone of which are so 

 free fron rocks as to give the inpression. that they were cleared hy hand, /^ 

 Tlicse lanes lead fron the high ground, which rises into the peaks, to the 

 eastern beach and arc doubtless indicative of an anciont flow of lava, 

 A short noss or no Id, very green, is found on the gradual slopes leading 

 to the peaks, but the peaks thon^clves are bare and rocky. The plateau ends 

 abruptly on the northwest snd of the island, rising sheer fron a flat 

 beach T/hich teminates in a rocky point extending tov/ard Fire Island. 

 About half way between the cliff of tho plateau and the rocky point form- 

 ing the northeast spit., which scons to occupy the position previously 

 assigned to Perry Peak, is a hot lake about 100 yards in dimeter, fron 

 the surface of T/hich stean is continually rising. Along the shores of 

 this lake nay be seen nuncrous gas bubbles. Between the lake and the 

 cliff of the central plateau the beach is alnost flat, and here occurs 

 the only real vegetation on the islands. This consists of patches of 

 coarse grass and short trailing vines. This end of the island contains 

 a quantity of driftwood, which is sone distance fron the v;ater's edge, and 

 this point sceos to be the principle rookery of tho sea lions which in- . 

 habit this vicinity, there being eight dead pupa lying about, also two |^ 

 nediun sized dead lions. Both of the latter had a shot or harpoon hole 

 in the back, 



"As the eastern beach trands toward the ncrthv/cst point it be- 

 comes rough, being covered \7ith round boulders, and the point itself is 

 a plateau about fifty feet high and conposed of extrcnely rough and jag^d 

 volcanic rocks. This part of the island is so rough and broken that it 

 is impossible to walk on it. The rocks are very warn to the touch and 

 vapor rises fron anong then» 



"Fire Peak, or Firo Island, is now a distinct island of itself, 

 although it was obviously once a part of the nain islrjid. It is rounded 

 in outline, shows distinct stratified narkings on its eastern side, and 

 is separated fron the nain island by a strait about 600 yards wide, Ttiis 

 strait appears to contain nunorous shoals, and is greatly frequented by 

 the sea lions. An attcript was nade to walk fron the northwestern to the 

 southeastern end of the island by way of the western beach, but it was 

 found inpossible to do so on account of the roughness of the beach, and 



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