BIRD ROCK 159 
pelled them to continue their voyage to the north- 
ward. 
Apparently the first naturalist to set foot on 
Bird Rock was Dr. Henry Bryant, of Boston, who 
landed there June 23, 1860. This was before the 
days of the lighthouse, and Dr. Bryant reached the 
top of the Rock only after a climb which he charac- 
terizes as both “difficult and dangerous.” In addi- | 
tion to the Gannets, which he found resting on the 
ledges on the face of the Rock, he found these birds 
nesting over the entire northerly half of the sum- 
mit, and after measuring the surface occupied by 
them, he estimated that this one colony alone con- 
tained no less than one hundred thousand birds, 
while the number living on the sides of the Rock 
and Little Bird he placed at fifty thousand. 
The position of the Rock, at the gateway to 
Canadian ports, makes it particularly dangerous to 
vessels plying in these waters, and in 1869 a lght- 
house was erected on its summit. While construct- 
ing the light keeper’s dwelling and storehouses, the 
Government built two cranes—one on the north- 
erly, the other on the southerly side of the Rock—for 
use in hoisting supplies. There are also now three 
other places where by means of ladders and ropes 
one may ascend. The top of the Rock was thus 
made more accessible, and the birds were conse- 
quently less protected from the attacks of fisher- 
men. It is said, also, that the light keepers did not 
appreciate the companionship of the Gannets, and 
made special efforts to drive the birds from the 
nesting site which they so long had held undis- 
turbed. 
