Tit'll im 
L 
Who. tte niter »» it. Match 10, 1924, it «. much .mallet, ami not 
over a foot deep. vards wide. 
The steep beach is fringed by a narrow reef, 30 y 
Through this there is a small break, apparently blasted on the sou 
west side where landing is comparatively easy m moderate wea • 
T her e is no anchorage, and the surf breaks heavily on the east side and 
off the N.W. and S.E. points. ^ ^ ^ ^ sur£ace was 
T T "th^TrbT^ept onle eUt side, where the waves had thrown 
^ Tarid'fof broken coral, and at the north end of the lagoon, where 
3% P there was an expanse of bare sand. The vegetation suggests a warm, dry 
CKn Sch of half a dozen species of plants dominates a different W*1 
, . f v xt avt DO i n t and along the west beach crest, 
but did no apparent damage to the vegetation Sea b rd uere y^ 
3?b - - 
3%K. beach lo lay «, foe a .toll »4 some bmm. wme 
1, _ StES were ahh.cfom, b* - lew 
X of flies, moths, leafhoppers, green bugs, and sp.ders all smal. 
No prehistoric ruins have been found; but Polynesian navigators 
3 9/>«MUght b»e visited foe i.l»d to foeic «-h «■> »° “ 
St ° We know from records in the U. S. Hydrographic office that Phoe- 
* « ~— 0 b r y r e ezzsl £ 
1828; but just wtach -e rthe ^ region in 179 4. A whale 
T C rr a bntucket (Captai,i David Harris) was in the Pacific be- 
ship out Of Xa (y. V Bedford, was whaling under 
^WoSfinT^ under Captain Stetson in 1824, according 
tcTstarbuck’s History of American Whale Kishmg. xne u. o. -r- 
It I .JVC** -- * 
Expedition did not find the island. 
54 
On March 14, 1859, C. A. Williams and Co. (later the Phoenix 
Guano Co.) filed notice with the U. S. State Department of the discovery 
of Phoenix Island, Thomas Long, master of the schooner E. L. Frost, 
making affidavit that a landing had been made there February 19 1859 
(another account says Feb. 9, 1859),.that possession had been taken in 
the name of the United States, a sign board erected, and a bottle, con¬ 
taining papers, buried. Claim to McKean, Enderbury, and Starbuck was 
made at this same time. 
On April 19, 1859, the American brig Agate, under Captain Long; 
set out from Honolulu with A. M. Goddard and 29 native laborers, to 
establish a camp on Phoenix and commence digging operations. The 
American schooner Modern Times followed, on April 28th. But, ap¬ 
parently, landing was found too difficult on Phoenix, for the camp was 
made on McKean Island, and the Modern Times was loaded there. 
We hear next of Phoenix Island on September 3, 1860, when the 
bark Zoe (Captain Bush) took Dr. Grisweld and A. Mitchell there from 
Honolulu to examine the island. Thereafter the supply ship Agate (Cap¬ 
tain Lawton) visited both Phoenix and McKean, and many vessels went 
there to load. During 1870 the visits became less frequent, and in August, 
1871, the island was finally abandoned by the American guano diggers. 
When the U.S.S. Narragansett visited Phoenix Island, March 27, 
1872, Commander Richard W. Meade reported: “The buildings, flag¬ 
staff, and wharf of the Phoenix Guano Company are still standing, but 
the island has been worked out and was abandoned in August last. I 
saw no vegetation on the island, except a little grass here and there.” 
June 29, 1889, the British flag was hoisted and protectorate declared. 
At that same time a careful survey was made of the island. 
One account states that on January 1, 1914, Phoenix Island was 
leased to Burns, Philip (South Sea) Co. for 87 years. Another says that 
the lease was given in 1916 to Captain Allen, who was head of the Sa¬ 
moan Shipping and Trading Co., for 87 years. In any event, no use was 
made of the island, and no one has lived there. The writer visited the 
island March 10, 1924. 
On March 18, 1937, with other islands of the Phoenix group, it was 
placed under the jurisdiction of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony. 
The lagoon is too small and too shallow to be used by seaplanes; and 
the land, while fairly level, is not large enough to afford safe landing for 
airplanes. It is, however, another iiiiy dot of land upon which man can 
live, and from which weather or other observations could be made. 
