mm 
» , 
small, shallow pond, a few hundred yards aa^, 
islets, covered with a mat of Sesuvium, winch also carpets the 
,ng ThTTsland measures a little less than three S 
about a mile wide. The elevation around much of as Wgh aga in 
and 22 feet, with a small mound of low-grade guMO^ ^ 
on the northwest side. The central part is ep resem blcs a great 
and to the north has been dug over for guano until it resemb.cs g 
mine dump. « cida. and 
Much of the surface ^ carpeted^by heAs, w* ^ q{ ^ 
“fnclude recoups of coconut palms, each ^rroimding a moist 
depression. Of these there were in 1924, from « ™ J'jf^ of 
26 palms; in 1938 several of these were seen to have lost their 
leaves, 14, 9, and 8 still growing. of kou 
Near the south end there are two large and six smalUlj ^ 
trees; also one clump on each side o t e m°un , the center of 
trees. A grove of tree heliotropes covers a few“ ; and a single 
the west side, with a smaller thicket on the southeast run, 
tree which screens the camp from the sea. , rubb]e> 
Most of the beach is composed of end is surfaced 
alternating with short stretches o s ^ n ' walks over them. No 
with jagged fragments of coral, which clink as erne walks ovc^ ^ 
wnfa ** "*■'•‘■'rjSi. «■ »* •!»' * 
smooth stones across this area. One ca > . j n< j The steep 
storms, waves may sweep across this low part of the 
beach is fringed by reef 60 to 200 yards wi e. ^ ^ 
Birds are abundant on Enderbury, mclu mg^ ^population u 
terns and other species found was a tiny bettle, hid- 
to be large. The most astonismng m Its relatives are bar 
ing among the roots of herbs and bundi gr^ and oth er high 
beetles on native forest trees of Hawaii, Sarnia 
island groups. ^ 1823 bv Captain James J. 
Enderbury was discovered and "amedinl^.^ ^ sWp Tran- 
Coffin, of Nantucket, when m con ™“ . Um don whaling merchant, 
sit. The name is a misspelling of Ende by, certainly was known 
We have no record of earlier visitors, althougn 
to the Polynesians. 
50 
31 mah 
The island was visited on two occasions and surveyed by vessels ©f 
the U. S. Exploring Expedition: the Vincennes, August 28, 1840, and 
the Peacock and Flying Fish, January 9, 1841. It was also examined by 
Lt. Hamphill of the U.S.S. Tuscarora. 
Guano digging began about April 1860, but the start was not promis¬ 
ing. Captain Lawton, of the American brig Agate, which supplied Phoe¬ 
nix and McKean Islands, reported: “Jan. 1, 1861, touched at Ender¬ 
bury’s I.; found two men confined to their berths with scurvy—had been 
on allowance about three months, and about five pounds of wormy bread 
left, plenty of water; neither of them was able to get out of the house; 
took one of them (John Brown) away; they had been nine months on 
the island, expecting relief.” 
But Enderbury developed into an important source of guano. The 
peak of activity there came in the early 1870’s. Captain Elias Hempstead, 
with 60 Hawaiian laborers, arrived in June, 1870, to be superintendent 
for the Phoenix Guano Co. In 64 working days, the next four vessels 
were loaded with over 6,000 tons of guano. In 1872 we have another 
record of 4,822 tons being loaded onto three vessels in 33 working days. 
After three or four years, the shipments gradually fell off. The last guano 
ships were recorded as going there from Honolulu in February and 
March, 1877. The supply ship, Joseph Woolley, discontinued its call 
there in July, 1877. 
There is no anchorage at Enderbury, and loading the cargo ships was 
a difficult and dangerous procedure. However, the mooring buoys must 
have been good, for the U.S.S. Narragansett (Comdr. R. W. Meade) 
did not hesitate to use them, March 27 to 29, 1872, while they mapped 
the island. 
There were numerous wrecks on Enderbury, but comparatively few 
of the many guano vessels were wrecked. The British bark Golden Sun¬ 
set (E. H. Tidmarsh) went ashore December 11, 1866, with 20 passen¬ 
gers and a cargo of coal. Captain, passengers, and crew were brought 
safely to Honolulu on the Hawaiian brig Kamehameha V, supply ship 
at the time. The C. M. Ward (G. W. Rickman) brought supplies, in¬ 
cluding water and firewood, during the 1870 * 5 . 
The John T. Arundel Co. made use of Enderbury for a while during 
the 1880’s. Albert F. Ellis relates that they found a horse and a mule 
which had been abandoned on the island by the American company, and 
used the mule to pull their tram cars. In 1899 the island was leased by 
, 51 - 
