22 
TIIH CONDOR 
Vol. XVII 
In cross-section the main body of Forrester Island presents the appearance 
of a triangle the apex of which coincides with a prominent ridge extending in 
a general north-and-south direction. Five distinct peaks appear in this back- 
bone, forming a graded series of approximately eight hnndred feet height on 
the north, to thirteen hundred and ninety-five feet in the case of the southern- 
most which is placed somewhat to the south of the center of the island. To 
the westward the land falls away toward the sea at a more abrupt angle than 
on the east — probably as twenty is to fifteen degrees — , but in the vicinity of 
the sea the descent is far more rapid. On the northwest face of the island, for 
example, the cliffs rise from the sea to a height of three to four bundl’d feet 
at angles varying from fifty to eighty degrees. This same state of affairs con- 
tinues along the entire west coast, though in 'a general way the height varies 
directly as the distance from the southern extremity. In other words, as one 
traverses the coast from north to south the cliffs will lie found to retain their 
precipitous character, although their elevation becomes less and less. Along 
the eastern border of the island the cliffs are comparatively low with the ex- 
ception of those in the neighborhood of the highest peak, where they attain a 
height of two or three hundred feet. 
As noted previously several islands lie to the north of Forrester Island, but 
almost without exception they are comparatively barren surf-beaten rock 
masses without safe harbors or landing places except in the calmest weather. 
Lawrie Island, on the other hand, has a much greater area, measuring approx- 
imately one third of a mile in greatest length, and is fairly flat and moderately 
wooded. In the intervening glades grass and wild flowers grow in rank pro- 
fusion, a small spring supplies water of fair quality, and were it not for the 
fact that there is no adequate harbor the place would make an ideal camp site. 
In ancient times members of the ITaidah tribe made it their headquarters dur- 
ing the summer months, and even yet resort to its shores for their wood sup- 
ply, although the shores are boulder strewn and highly unsafe in stormy 
weather. 
Of the three islands to the south of Forrester, the middle one, here pro- 
visionally named South Island, Avas the only one examined critically, since it is 
much the most important, and the weather was suitable for landing on a very 
few days only. While its area is somewhat less than that of Lawrie it is far 
more rugged, with two main hills, perhaps one hundred and twenty-five feet 
in height, separated by a central ravine a few feet above tide level. Along the 
southern face these hills fall away abruptly to the sea, and on the cliffs thus 
formed, innumerable sea birds find a home. 
Vegetation. — The vegetation of Forrester Island is extensive and varied. 
Fully nine-tenths of its surface is covered with a moderately heavy growth of 
Sitka spruce ( Picca sitchensis) and hemlock ( Tsuga heteropliylla) , with the in- 
termediate spaces overgrown with dense thickets of salmonberry (Rub us spec- 
tabilis), three species of huckleberry (Vaccinium) , and elderberry ( Sambucus 
callicarpa), together with devil ’s-club ( Ecliinopanax horridus) in painful pro- 
fusion. Skunk cabbages ( Lysichiton camtschatcense ) grew in some of the 
marshy districts to an enormous size, many of the leaves reaching a length of 
over five feet ; while moss and lichens, of several different species, Avere omni- 
present, and formed a beautiful though Avatersoaked carpet variegated with 
flowers of many tints. All of these features together with precipitous rocky 
outcrops, windfalls Avithout end, and the absence of trails, render travel slow 
and difficult. 
