JL. 
We tnor e—J ournal 
23 
to one water oelow rising in jagges peaks that form fantastic outlines. Below made 
cut shallow points on the ocean bottoms. Terns, Frigatebirds and Shearwaters swing 
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back and forth overhead. 
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A “ one P° ir ^ ed S e of the cliff receded somewhat offering a steep slope down which we 
climbed and collected a few white terns. The cliff dropped sheer for 600 feet below 
us. Finches twittered aoout us and evidence of their work on petrel, shearwater, and 
tern eggs were evident all about. The number of eggs that they destroy is enormous. 
[Second party to Keeker] [Remaining: Wetmore, Schlemmer, Cooke, Grant, Thaamna, UJBryan, 
George Higgs as cook] 
j B jgfUR 1^--This day I devoted to exploration of the eastern portion of the central gulch. 
Along its lower portion were several small pools of water strong with guano washed from the 
rocks above but still fit for drinking if boiled and filtered. Finches swarmed in 
ti.e bushes aoout these and I saw a good many Miller-birds. Gray-backed and Sootyterns 
were scattered along the slopes, noddies nested on the rock ledges and I passed occasional 
groups of Red-footed Boobies and Frigatebirds on their nests. Wedge-tailed Sh arwaters 
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were everywhere under foot and I found numerous Bulwer 1 s Petrels. Red-tailed Tropic- 
birds scolded at us from little caverns. 
We continue d the ascent to the summit of Millers Peak which is given as 903 feet above 
the sea 
. The. steep slopes were covered with the woody;-stemmed Chenopodium with areas 
Ox Dunes grass below the summit. Occasional lillies and clumps of Euphorbia were seen. 
The peak rose abruptly in a pinnacle of rock that was sheer on the north and west but 
I 
that could be scaled easily from the south. Below the peak on the west was a huge cleft 
t^c*D sg ua.aovu i w iron a point to the northwest nearly as high. The cleft descended 
steeply between two high cliffs its stony slopes covered with nesting noddies, boobies, and 
3 
I sooty terns, while love birds hovered on the shelves above. After a steep pitch of kOO feet 
! it dropped over a precipice into the sea. A windng ridge led out to the second peak from 
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a small flat in the very summit of the island. It was astonishing to find this flat occu- 
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OCCU*- 
