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4^4 i •i* KA i j t /n i tMA i 
CHAPTER » 
Baker Island 
0'14'N 
BftKER ISLAND 
Based onHQ.tW8. 
1 sea 
mile. 
r 0* 13 _ ___ 
Baker Island lies 34 HowTanT^t 1650 mil*» 
It is 13 -lies north of the equator. All *-»- 
are sea miles. k east and west, by 1260 yards wide. 
The island measures about a tM ^ ^ rises abrU ptly from 
All around it, but especia y gea level) forming a barrier whi c 
the shore to a crest, 15 to 20 fee central basin . The west beach is 
Wos the pounding surf ou largely composed of broken reel 
*- - n erJK- »* taM ” s ° ot " 
rock and sandstone shmgfc- ? J? 
the southwest, beyond the fnngmg reef. 
42 
-v,; 
Within the crest is a basin, formerly containing a thick deposit of 2V L 
guano, most of which now has been removed. The surface is flat, except 
for some small mounds on the northeast, which are probably piles of low- 
grade guano, as the former tram lines lead to them. The southwestern 
ridge is cut in three places, where the tracks led through. On the east 
are two small depressions, just behind the beach, the larger of which 
generally contains some water. 
Meyerton, the present settlement, is located atop the western barrier 
ridge. It was named for Captain H. A. Meyer, U.S.A., who helped estab¬ 
lish the camps for the colonists in 1935. Here in guano days were located 
several houses and four brick cisterns, into which rainwater was led. All 
have gone now, except one of the cisterns and part of one substantial 
house of sandstone slabs. Bricks and slabs were used in building the 
lighthouse. ^ 
Baker Island boasts of 16 species of plants, besides the ironwood 
trees, coconuts, and ether species set out by the colonists. Five are ob¬ 
viously weeds which arrived with the guano diggers (two grasses, two 
spurge herbs, and a morning-glory vine), as they grow only near the 
former house sites. Lepturus bunchgrass grows best on the barrier ridge; 
another grass {Digitaria) and a low sedge are on the flat within; Boer - 
haavia, two kinds of purslane, and a few Tribulus and Sida bushes form 
scattered patches; and there is an occasional Triumjetta plant on the 
beach slope. 
Bird life, in recent years, has been much less abundant on Baker than *7 itf* 
on other similar islands in the Central Pacific, due perhaps to the pre- * 
sence of large voracious Norway rats, which feed on small birds and eggs. 
The principal birds there now are frigates, boobies, and the migratory 
species. Hermit crabs and two kinds of widespread lizards are abundant; 
and marine life is plentiful and varied. 
Baker is said to have been discovered by Miehael Baker, of New 
Bedford, who visited it in 1832 and again on August 14, 1839, in the 
whaler Gideon Howland, to bury an American seaman. At the time of 
the latter visit he raised the American flag and claimed possession of the 
island. Later he sold his claim to the American Guano Co. 
But this was not the first discovery of the island. It was known as 
New Nantucket before 1821. One account states that this name was 
given to it by Captain Elisha Folger, of Nantucket, who visited it in the 
whaler Equator in 1818. In December, 1828, Daniel McKenzie visited 
43 ' 
