GEOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR. 297 
San Juan island is probably the largest of all the islands of this archipelago. It has the 
form of a half moon, curved towards the southwest to De Haro Canal, and is about twelve 
miles long from southeast to northwest. In the middle of its southwest shore a mountain rises 
of about one thousand feet elevation. 
It was this part of the archipelago which was first seen and to which the Spanish name San 
Juan, which comprised the whole. was first attached. Tt seems, therefore, just that this old 
name should be retained principally for this island. Wilkes called it Rodgers island, in honor 
of Commodore Rodgers, for some time the head of the United Statesnavy. Other charts have 
the name Bellevue island, but the English Admiralty charts preserve the old name San Juan, 
which is also adopted in the United States Coast Survey charts. To the northwest of it lie 
several other smaller islands which appear to be a continuation of it. 
HENRY ISLAND, which is separated from it only by a narrow channel, with the little islets of 
PEARL ISLAND and Morsk’s ISLAND. SPIEDEN’S ISLAND, so named by Wilkes after Mr. Spieden, 
the purser of his ship, Peacock, with the small islet Sentinel R, and Stuart island, so named 
by Wilkes after Mr. Stuart, his clerk. It has on its northern coast a little bay, which is 
extremely well protected by another little island before it, and offers an excellent anchorage. 
ORCAS ISLAND.— This island is quite as large as San Juan island, if not larger. It is the 
northern island of the archipelago and has a length from east to west of twelve miles. Its 
northern shore has the form of a semicircle. "Towards the south it runs out into the three broad 
peninsulas, separated by two inlets. The eastern peninsula has the highest mountain of the 
whole archipelago, Mount Constitution, (two thousand three hundred and ninety-seven feet 
high,) so called by Wilkes. Wilkes gave to this island the name of Hull's island, in honor of 
Commodore Isaac Hull, United States navy, who captured the English vessel Guerriere, in the 
year 1813—14. The present name, Orcas island, comes perhaps from Scotland, and is 
eriginally to be found on the English Admiralty charts of 1847. Wilkes named the large 
. inlet in the south of the island Guerriere bay, after the above-mentioned vessel, and Ironsides 
Inlet, after the nickname of the American ship Constitution, which Hull commanded. The 
name of this ship was given by Wilkes to the above-mentioned Mount Constitution. 
The northern headland of this island is called Point Thompson, and the eastern Point 
Lawrence. The small islands which lie around Orcas island from the east to the north and 
west are the following : The Three Wasp islets, Jones island, so named by Wilkes after Captain 
Jones, United States navy, and Flat Top island. 
WALDRON: ISLAND.—This little island appears distinctly on the old Spanish surveys and on 
Vancouver’s. Wilkes gave to it the name which it bears, after Mr. John Waldron, who was 
the purser of the ship Vincennes, of the exploring expedition. The northeastern cape of this 
island is called Point Hammond, and the southwestern Point Dinsey. Skip Tack and Free- 
mann's islands are small islets to. the north and east of Waldron. 
боста GROUP is a very irregularly shaped island, exactly to the north of Orcas, with half a 
dozen islets, rocks, and reefs near 4. The name is probably of Spanish ong ; sucio мешш 
in Spanish, nasty, dirty, and in the nautical language, foul, unclean. Isla — means an island 
with an unclean, dangerous, reefy shore. Wilkes called the island the Percival Group, — 
Captain Percival, United States navy. The English Admiralty charts have the old Spanish 
name Sucía, which seems also to be adopted by the Coast Survey charts. Rog 
Paros ISLAND is a. small island to the northwest of Sucia. Its Spanish name, which signifies 
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