136 
THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY 
Flatteiy, bluffs 100 to 250 feet high border the ocean. Some- 
times they stand a little back, leaving a narrow strip of loose 
sand, gravel, boulders, or slippery ledge between them and the 
sea. Sometimes they approach a little closer ; the strip of sand 
or rock is correspondingly narrower and covered with water as 
the tide rises. Often they push boldly into the sea, which con- 
tinually surges and dashes at their feet and leaps high up their 
face. About five miles southwest of the mouth of the Hoh 
river and four miles offshore is Destruction island, so called on 
account of the numerous wrecks that have occurred on its reefs 
and on the adjacent main shore. The island stands among 
many broad reefs, some of which are just visilde at low tide, and 
over these the ocean swells foain and boil at high tide. It rises 
abruptly, with precipitous sides, 80 feet above the water, and 
then spreads out smooth and level about 60 acres in extent. The 
Ploh Indians have long cultivated several small potato patches 
on it and have also used it as a lookout station for whale, in the 
capture of which animal they have attained great proficiency. 
The United States Government has built on the island a light- 
house of the first order, 80 feet high, with a double fog-horn and 
the usual auxiliaiy buildings. It commands a fine view of the 
coast and mountains. 
On the mountains, above 4,000 feet, the timber is very scrubby 
and infrequent, owing, probably, as much to the barrenness of the 
soil and the great depth of snowfall as to the elevation. At a 
lower altitude, among rocky crags, are thousands of acres of the 
finest grazing lands, well watered by innumerable rivulets and 
pools, fanned by the winds from the ocean, and free from flies, 
mosquitoes, and all other annoying insects. Of course, these grass- 
lands would not be habitable during the winter, but they would 
be available from the first of June until December. Among the 
rocks at the edge of the grasslands, and just below the ice-fields, 
blueberries, huckleberries, and bearberries grow in profusion, and 
the season for them lasts from July to October, as they follow 
the snow U{) as it melts away, blossoming just below it and ripen- 
ing a little lower down. These berries attract thither large num- 
bers of black bear, and it is the exception when none are in sight 
among the peaks during the beriy season. These open grass- 
lands are also favorite ranges for large numbers of the elk that 
are common all over the peninsula and bands of fifty or more 
are often seen. From 4,000 feet down, the timber is good and 
thrifty. The Alaska cedar, from one and one-half to five feet 
