A shelving beach of ooral and shell sand fifty to eighty feet 
wide extended entirely around the island. Inland were series of low 
sand dunes grown with a peculiar shrub (sometimes known as beach magnolia 
( Scaevola lobelia ), with broad oval leaves arranged in whorls like those 
of a rhododendron. In sheltered hollows this formed dense thiokets, 
but on the slopes was whipped and beaten to a straggling growth by 
« 
severe winds. In the center of the island in shelter of the dunes were 
irregular openings grown with grass and oreepers. At one spot on the 
beach was part of an old boiler that we supposed may have formed part 
of the equipment at the camp established fifty years before by the crew 
of the Saginaw . We found no other traoe of habitation though huts had 
been built here and trees planted at various times in the past. 
Ooean Island like Pearl and Hermes Eeef was a stronghold of the 
monk seal that hauled and bred unmolested on the beaches. Albatross were 
oommon and the open inland meadows wore honeycombed with myriad petrel 
and shearwater burrows so that at every few steps we fell in to our knees 
through the roofs of these hidden pitfalls. The inner meadows were death 
traps for many Laysan albatross that dropped in here casually deceived by 
the apparent seourity and protection from wind. A few seemed able to rise 
on the wing without diffioulty. Others in running to gain the momentum 
necessary for flight tripped on long vines and oreepers fell head long. 
Discouraged by sucoessive occurrences of this sort they walked about until 
weakened and then finally died of starvation. In the meanwhile they served 
as decoys that to^ed down others of their kind. Thus we interpreted the 
evidence of dozens of bodies and an equal number of albatross still alive, 
but on the verge of starvation. 
