]OHN MUIR 
 
BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 ♦ 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
^p 3foi)n iHttir 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE CORWIN. Illustrated. 
 
 A THOUSAND MILE WALK TO THE GULF. 
 
 Illustrated. 
 TRAVELS IN ALASKA. Illustrated. 
 
 THE STORY OF MY BOYHOOD AND 
 YOUTH. Illustrated. 
 
 MY FIRST SUMMER IN THE SIERRA Illus- 
 
 trated. 
 STICKEEN : The Story of a Dog. 
 
 OUR NATIONAL PARKS. Illustrated Holiday 
 Edition. 
 
 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 Boston akd New York 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 Microsoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cruiseofcorwinjoOOmuirrich 
 
THE CRUISE OF THE 
 CORWIN 
 
 Journal of the Arctic Expedition 
 
 of 1881 in search of De Long 
 
 and the Jeannette 
 
 BY 
 
 John Muir 
 
 EDITED BY 
 WILLIAM FREDERIC BADE 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 
 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 1917 
 

 COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVBD 
 
 Published November iqi'j 
 
n^o-^-3 
 
 Contents 
 
 Introduction . . . ; . 
 I. Unalaska and the Aleuts 
 II. Among the Islands of Bering Sea 
 
 III. Siberian Adventures 
 
 IV. In Peril from the Pack . 
 V. A Chukchi Orator .... 
 
 VI. Eskimos and Walrus . 
 VII. At Plover Bay and St. Michael 
 VIII. Return of the Search Party . 
 IX. Villages of the Dead . 
 X. Glimpses of Alaskan Tundra . 
 XL Caribou and a Native Fair 
 XII. Zigzags among the Polar Pack 
 
 XIII. First Ascent of Herald Island 
 
 XIV. Approaching a Mysterious Land 
 XV. The Land of the White Bear 
 
 XVI. Tragedies of the Whaling Fleet 
 
 XVII. Meeting the Point Barrow Expedition 
 
 [ V] 
 
 3 
 
 i8 
 30 
 
 44 
 52 
 62 
 72 
 85 
 99 
 112 
 126 
 
 138 
 149 
 
 158 
 169 
 184 
 197 
 
(^Ments 
 
 XVIII. A Siberian Reindeer Herd . . . . . 205 
 
 XIX. Turned back by Storms and Ice . . . .217 
 
 XX. Homeward-Bound 224 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 I. The Glaciation of the Arctic and Subarctic 
 • Regions visited during the Cruise . .235 
 
 II. Botanical Notes . 259 
 
 INDEX 273 
 
Illustrations 
 
 Cape Serdzekamen, Siberia frontispiece 
 
 From a photograph 
 
 Iliuliuk, Unalaska 6 
 
 From a photograph by E. S. Curtis 
 
 Aleut Barabara at Iliuliuk, Unalaska .... 14 
 From a photograph by E. S. Curtis 
 
 Cliffs at St. Matthew Island 24 
 
 From a photograph 
 
 Chukchi Village at Plover Bay, Siberia ... 32 
 From a photograph by E. S. Curtis 
 
 West Diomede Village 36 
 
 Siberian Village on a Sand-Spit 52 
 
 From a photograph 
 
 Chukchis and a Summer House at Plover Bay . . 76 
 From a photograph by E. W. Nelson 
 
 Chukchis At Indian Point, Siberia (Cape Chaplin) . 106 
 
 From a photograph by E. W. Nelson 
 
 Arctic Tundra 116 
 
 From a photograph by E. S. Curtis 
 
 Herald Island 150 
 
 First Landing on Wrangell Land 170 
 
 The American Flag on Wrangell Land, near East 
 Cape 174 
 
 Map of Wrangell Land, as surveyed by the Officers of 
 the U.S.S. Rodgers, Lieut. R. M. Berry Command- 
 ing, September, 1881 180 
 
 From the Report of the Secretary of the Navy for 1881 
 
 Eskimo Village of Kokmulit, Point Barrow . • 188 
 
 [ vii ] 
 
Illustrations 
 
 A Chukchi Summer House at Plover Bay . . .210 
 From a photograph by E. S. Curtis 
 
 One of the Mouths of the Fairweather Ice-Sheet in 
 Glacier Bay 238 
 
 King Island 242 
 
 Granite Rocks on the South Side of St. Lawrence 
 Island, showing Effects of Oversweeping Action 
 of Ice-Sheet 242 
 
 Volcanic Cones on St. Lawrence Island .... 246 
 
 Bed of Small Residual Glacier on St. Lawrence 
 Island 246 
 
 Herald Island 246 
 
 West Diomede Island (from the North) . . . 248 
 
 East Cape (from the South) 248 
 
 Overswept Glacial Valleys and Ridges on St. Law- 
 rence Island 250 
 
 Bed of Local Glacier, St. Lawrence Island . . . 250 
 
 Near the Southwest Extremity of St. Lawrence Island, 
 
 ILLUSTRATING EFFECTS OF IcE-ShEET 254 
 
 Overswept Mountains, with Parallel Valleys and 
 Ridges, from Twenty Miles northwest of East Cape 254 
 
 Except as otherwise indicated the illustrations are from sketches by 
 Mr. Muir, the last twelve being reproduced from the cuts in Captain 
 Hooper's official Report of the expedition. 
 
 The title-page cut is from Mr. Muir's drawing of Erigeron Muirii, 
 a plant discovered by him near Cape Thompson in northwestern 
 Alaska and named for him by the botanist Asa Gray. This cut ap- 
 peared in Captain Hooper's Report. 
 
 The half-tone of the Corwin which appears on the cover is from a 
 painting by Deimy. 
 
Introduction 
 
 ONE of the poignant tragedies of north polar 
 exploration, that of the Jeannette, still lin- 
 gers in the memory of persons now living, though 
 a: generation has since passed away. John Muir, 
 who joined the first search expedition dispatched 
 from San Francisco, had already achieved distinc- 
 tion by his glacial studies in the Sierra Nevada 
 and in Alaska. The Corwin expedition afforded 
 him a coveted opportunity to cruise among the 
 islands of Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and to 
 visit the frost-bitten shores of northeastern Siberia 
 and northwestern Alaska. So enticing was the lure 
 of this new adventure, so eager was he to study the 
 evidence of glaciation in the Far North, that he 
 said a reluctant good-bye to his young wife and 
 fared forth upon the deep. "You remember," he 
 wrote to her from the Siberian coast, "that I told 
 you long ago how eager I was to get upon those 
 islands in the middle of the Bering Sea and Strait 
 to read the ice record there." 
 
 The events which led up to this memorable 
 cruise of the Corwin in 1881 had their origin in the 
 widespread interest which north polar exploration 
 was exciting at this time all over the world. In 1877 
 
 [ix] 
 
Introduction 
 
 Lieutenant George W. De Long, an American 
 naval officer, was searching among the northern 
 ports of England for a whaling vessel adapted to 
 the requirements of Arctic exploration. De Long 
 had commanded the Juniata which was sent out 
 for the relief of the Polaris, and through this experi- 
 ence had grown enthusiastic over his own plans 
 for reaching the North Pole. 
 
 The whaling industry was at that time a very 
 profitable one, and few owners of whalers and seal- 
 ers were willing to part with their vessels. Though 
 Sir Allen Young's steam yacht Pandora, which 
 De Long finally selected, had already made two 
 Arctic voyages, she appears to have been chosen 
 more because she was available than because of 
 her superior fitness for ice navigation. In any case 
 she was purchased by James Gordon Bennett, 
 patron of the proposed expedition, was fitted out 
 at Deptford, England, and re-named the Jean- 
 nette.i Though the new name evaded the sugges- 
 tion of a box of evils, she proved to be one for those 
 who sailed in her. Commander De Long himself 
 brought her around Cape Horn to San Francisco. 
 In the month of July, 1879, she sailed from that 
 port for Bering Strait and the Arctic Ocean — 
 never to return. Crushed in the ice, she sank, 
 June 12, 1881, in the Arctic Ocean, one hundred 
 and fifty miles north of the New Siberian Is- 
 lands. 
 
 [x] 
 
Introduction 
 
 The retreat southward across the ice-floes was 
 one of great peril. Only thirteen out of thirty-four 
 men ultimately reached civilization and safety. 
 De Long himself, and ten of the men with him, 
 died of starvation and exposure on the delta of the 
 Lena River, where two of the Jeannette's storm- 
 beaten cutters landed in the middle of September, 
 1 88 1. One of them, commanded by Chief Engineer 
 Melville, reached a Russian village on one of the 
 eastern mouths of the Lena River. He promptly 
 organized a search party, recovering the ship's 
 records in November, 1881, and the bodies of his 
 unfortunate shipmates the following spring. 
 ' When the North Pacific whaling fleet returned 
 from Arctic waters in the autumn of 1879, two 
 ships, the Mount WoUaston and the Vigilant, were 
 reported missing. They had been last seen in 
 October in the same general region, near Herald 
 Island, where the Jeanne tte had entered the polar 
 ice. The Mount WoUaston was commanded by 
 Captain Nye, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, one 
 of the keenest and bravest men that ever sailed the 
 frigid seas. He it was who at a conference of whal- 
 ing captains, called by De Long in San Francisco 
 before the departure of his expedition, hesitated to 
 give an opinion on the practicability of De Long's 
 plans. But when urged for an expression of his 
 views, he said, "Put her [the Jeannette] into the 
 ice and let her drift, and you may get through, or 
 
 [xi] 
 
Introduction 
 
 you may go to the devil, and the chances are about 
 equal." 
 
 In the service of the United States Treasury 
 Department there was at this time a stanch little 
 steamer called the Corwin. Built at Abina, Ore- 
 gon, she was constructed throughout of the finest 
 Oregon fir, fastened with copper, galvanized iron, 
 and locust-tree nails. She had a draught of nearly 
 eleven feet, twenty-four feet beam, and was one 
 hundred and thirty-seven feet long between per- 
 pendiculars. The ordinary duties of the captain 
 of such a revenue steamer involved primarily the 
 enforcement of federal laws for the protection of 
 governmental interests on the Fur Seal Islands and 
 the sea-otter hunting grounds of Alaska. But the 
 supposed plight of the Jeannette and the unknown 
 fate of two whalers caught in the ice were soon 
 to increase the Corwin's duties, and call her into 
 regions where her sturdy sailing qualities were to 
 prove of the utmost importance. 
 
 In the spring of 1880 the Corwin, in command of 
 Captain Calvin L. Hooper, was ordered into North 
 Alaskan waters in pursuance of her regular duties. 
 But Captain Hooper had also been directed to 
 make all possible inquiries for the missing whalers 
 and the Jeannette. He returned with no tidings of 
 the lost, but with reports of starvation and death 
 among the Eskimos of St. Lawrence Island on 
 account of an uncommonly severe and stormy win- 
 
 [ xii ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 ter in the Arctic regions. He entertained no hope 
 for the lost whalers, but thought De Long and his 
 party might be safe. 
 
 A general demand for relief expeditions now 
 arose. Petitions poured into Congress, and the 
 American Geographical Society addressed a forci- 
 ble appeal to President Garfield. When the Cor- 
 win was sent to Alaskan waters again in 1881 it 
 was with the following specific instructions to 
 Captain Hooper: 
 
 No information having been received concerning 
 the whalers Mount Wollaston and Vigilant, you will 
 bear in mind the instructions for your cruise of last 
 year, and it is hoped you may bring back some tid- 
 ings of the missing vessels. You will also make care- 
 ful inquiries in the Arctic regarding the progress and 
 whereabouts of the steamer Jeannette, engaged in 
 making explorations under command of Lieutenant- 
 Commander De Long, U.S.N., and will, if practicable, 
 communicate with and extend any needed assistance 
 to that vessel. . . . You will in your season's cruise 
 touch at such places as may be practicable on the 
 mainland or islands where there are settlements of 
 natives, and examine into and report upon their 
 condition. 
 
 A letter written to his mother from Dutch Har- 
 bor, Unalaska, gives Muir's own account of his 
 purpose in joining the expedition. 
 
 I wrote you from San Francisco [he says] that I 
 had suddenly made up my mind to avail myself of 
 the opportunity offered to visit the Arctic region on 
 
 [ xiii ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 the steamer Thomas Corwin sent to seek the Jean- 
 nette and the missing whalers that were lost in the 
 ice two years ago off Point Barrow. . . . 
 
 I have been interested for a long time in the glaci- 
 ation of the Pacific Coast, and I felt that I must 
 make a trip of this sort to the Far North some time, 
 and no better chance could in any probability offer. 
 I am acquainted with our captain, and have every 
 comfort the ship can afford, and every facility to 
 pursue my studies. 
 
 We mean to proceed from here past the seal islands 
 St. Paul and St. George, then northward along the 
 Siberian coast to about Cape Serdze, where a sledge 
 party with dogs will be sent out to search the North 
 Siberian coast, while the steamer the meanwhile will 
 cross to the American shore and call at St. Michael, 
 Kotzebue Sound, and other places, [where we shall 
 have the opportunity of] making short journeys in- 
 land. Then, as the ice melts and breaks up, we will 
 probably push eastward around Point Barrow, then 
 return to the Siberian side to pick up our land party, 
 then endeavor to push through the ice to the mysteri- 
 ous unexplored Wrangell Land. We hope to return 
 to San Francisco by October or November, but may 
 possibly be compelled to winter in the Arctic some- 
 where. 
 
 De Long, in a letter to his wife, had written that 
 his plan was to proceed north by the eastern coast 
 of Wrangell Land, touching first at Herald Island 
 to build a cairn and leave news of the Jeannette's 
 progress. Believing that Wrangell Land extended 
 northward toward the Pole, he proposed to leave 
 similar records along its eastern coast, under cairns, 
 
 [ xiv ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 at intervals of twenty-five miles. These known 
 intentions of De Long show why it was one of the 
 foremost objects of the Corwin expedition to reach 
 what Muir called "the mysterious unexplored 
 Wrangell Land." 
 
 How keenly Muir appreciated the possibilities 
 of science and adventure in the exploration of this 
 unknown Arctic land may be seen in the fourteenth 
 chapter of this volume. Up to this time nothing 
 was actually known about Wrangell Land except 
 its existence. The first European who reported its 
 discovery was Captain Kellett of H.M.S. Herald. 
 He saw it in 1849 when he discovered Herald 
 Island, which was named after his vessel. By right 
 of discovery Kellett's name should have been given 
 to Wrangell Land, and upon British Admiralty 
 charts it was very properly indicated as "Kellett 
 Land." 
 
 The name Wrangell Land, it seems, became asso- 
 ciated with the island through a report of Captain 
 Thomas Long, of the whaling bark Nile. In 1867 
 he reported that he had 
 
 sailed to the eastward along the land during the 
 fifteenth and part of the sixteenth [of August], and 
 in some places approached it as near as fifteen miles. 
 I have named this northern land Wrangell Land [he 
 says] as an appropriate tribute to the memory of a 
 man who spent three consecutive years north of 
 latitude 68°, and demonstrated the problem of this 
 open polar sea forty-five years ago, although others 
 
 [XV] 
 
Introduction 
 
 of much later date have endeavored to claim the 
 merit of this discovery. The west cape of this land 
 I have named Cape Thomas, after the man who first 
 reported the land from the masthead of my ship, 
 and the southeastern cape I have named after the 
 largest island in this group [Hawaii]. ^ 
 
 Captain Long apparently was unaware of the 
 fact that the island already bore the name of 
 Kellett by right of discovery eighteen years earlier. 
 But since Baron Wrangell had made such a brave 
 and determined search for this "problematical land 
 of the North," as he referred to it in his final re- 
 port, there is a certain poetic justice in applying 
 his name to what he only sought, but never found. 
 
 While Captain Hooper, in his report of 1880, 
 had expressed the conviction that Wrangell Land 
 was an island, the first demonstration of its insu- 
 larity was made by Commander De Long, who 
 had practically staked the success of his expedition 
 on the belief that it was a country of large extent 
 northward, and suitable for winter quarters. But 
 before his vessel was crushed in the ice it drifted, 
 within sight of Wrangell Land, directly across the 
 meridians between which It lies. This fatal drift 
 of the Jeannette not only furnished conclusive 
 disproof of the theory that Wrangell Land might 
 
 * Quoted from a letter by Captain Long published in the 
 Honolulu Commercial Advertiser^ November, 1867. The same 
 paper contains a letter from Captain George W. Raynor, of the 
 ship Reindeer, giving additional geographic details. 
 
 [ xvi ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 be part of a continent stretching across the north 
 polar regions, but proved it to be an island of lim- 
 ited extent. It is an inaccuracy, therefore, when 
 the United States Hydrographer's report for 1882 
 sets the establishment of this fact down to the 
 credit of the Rodgers expedition. 
 
 So far as known, the first human beings that ever 
 stood upon the shores of this island were in Cap- 
 tain Hooper's landing party, August 12, 1881, and 
 John Muir was of the number. The earliest news 
 of the event, and of the fact that De Long had 
 not succeeded in touching either Herald Island or 
 Wrangell Land, reached the world at large in a 
 letter from Muir published in the San Francisco 
 Evening Bulletin^ September 29, 1881. But the 
 complete record of Muir's observations, together 
 with some of the sketches contained in his jour- 
 nals, is now given to the public for the first time. 
 
 A second Jeannette relief expedition, already 
 mentioned as that of the Rodgers, was sent out 
 under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy. 
 It succeeded in reaching Wrangell Land two weeks 
 after the Corwin. In order to make our geograph- 
 ical and scientific knowledge of this remote island 
 as complete in this volume as possible, we deem it 
 desirable to include a brief -account of what was 
 achieved during the cruise of the Rodgers. 
 
 This vessel, a stout and comparatively new 
 whaler, known before its re-baptism as the Mary 
 
 I xvii ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 and Helen, was placed in command of Lieutenant, 
 now Rear Admiral, Robert M. Berry. He discov- 
 ered on the southern shore of Wrangell Land a snug 
 little harbor where he kept the Rodgers at anchor 
 for nineteen days while two search parties, in 
 whaleboats, going in opposite directions, explored 
 the coast for possible survivors of the missing 
 whalers and for cairns left by the crew of the Jean- 
 nette. These search parties nearly circumnavigated 
 the Island without finding anything except Captain 
 Hooper's cairn, and Commander Berry, in his re- 
 port to the Secretary of the Navy, said, "I believe 
 it impossible that any of the missing parties ever 
 landed here." 
 
 The principal gain of this exploration was a 
 running survey of the coast and a general deter- 
 mination of the size of the island. In other respects 
 the harvest of scientific facts gathered on Wrangell 
 Land by the Rodgers was meager, if one may judge 
 by W. H. Gilder's Ice Pack and Tundra, Unfor- 
 tunately, the act which carried the appropriation 
 for the expedition provided that the vessel selected 
 "be wholly manned by volunteers from the Navy." 
 This fact seems to have prevented the taking of 
 men trained in the natural sciences, like John Muir 
 or E. W. Nelson. Nineteen days on Wrangell Land 
 would have enabled them to obtain a large amount 
 of interesting information about its flora, fauna, 
 avifauna, and geology. 
 
 [ xviii ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 Commander Berry, taking charge of an explor- 
 ing party, penetrated twenty miles into the inte- 
 rior of the island and ascended a conspicuous 
 mountain whose height, by barometric measure- 
 ment, was found to be twenty-five hundred feet. 
 He reported that he "could see from its summit the 
 sea in all directions, except between S.S.W. by W. 
 per compass. The day was very clear, and no land 
 except Herald Island was visible from this height. 
 There was no ice in sight to the southward." A 
 letter of inquiry addressed to Rear Admiral Berry 
 by the editor brought a courteous reply, stating 
 that he did not know of any photographs or 
 sketches, made by members of the Rodgers expedi- 
 tion, which would show the coast or interior topo- 
 graphy of the island; that "the vegetation was 
 scant, consisting of a few Arctic plants, a little 
 moss, etc."; that "polar bears, walrus, and seal 
 were quite common upon or near the island," and 
 that the provisional map which accompanied his 
 report to the Secretary of the Navy in 1881 is the 
 only one available. 
 
 From our reproduction of this map, and from 
 the report of the Rodgers, it will be seen that prac- 
 tically the whole interior of the Island still awaits 
 exploration. Estimates of Its size vary between 
 twenty-eight and forty miles as to width, and be- 
 tween sixty-five and seventy-five as to length. 
 Striking an average, one might say that it contains 
 
 [ xix ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 about twenty-five hundred square miles of terri- 
 tory. The distance across Long Strait from the 
 nearest point on the Siberian coast is about eighty- 
 five or ninety miles, and Herald Island lies about 
 thirty miles east of Wrangell Land. 
 
 In 1914 the Karluk, Steffansson's flagship of 
 the Canadian Arctic Expedition, was crushed in 
 the ice, and sank not far from the place where the 
 Jeannette was lost. Under the able leadership of 
 Captain Robert A. Bartlett the members of the 
 expedition made their way to Wrangell Land, 
 where they remained encamped while Captain 
 Bartlett, with an Eskimo, crossed Long's Strait 
 to Siberia over the ice. Thence he made his way 
 to St. Michael, Alaska, and enlisted aid for the 
 Karluk survivors. Their rescue was effected suc- 
 cessfully, and, so far as we are able to discover, 
 these members of the Canadian Arctic Expedition 
 are the only huiman beings that have been on 
 Wrangell Land since the visit of the Corwin and 
 the Rodgers in 188 1. 
 
 We venture to mention, in this connection, a 
 few facts which call for consideration in the in- 
 terest of a historical and consistent geographical 
 nomenclature. The United States Geographic 
 Board has done much to bring order out of the 
 chaos of Alaskan names, and its decisions are 
 available in Baker's Geographic Dictionary of 
 Alaska^ which has been followed in the editing of 
 
 [XX] 
 
Introduction 
 
 this volume. There is a "Wrangell Island" in 
 southeastern Alaska, well known to readers of 
 Muir's Travels in Alaska^ hence it occasions need- 
 less confusion to call Wrangell Land by the same 
 name, as even recent Hydrographic Office charts 
 continue to do, besides misspelling the name. The 
 retention of the term "land" for an island is sup- 
 ported by abundant precedent, especially in the 
 Arctic regions. 
 
 The altitude of the mountain ascended by Com- 
 mander Berry. had already been determined with 
 remarkable accuracy by Captain Long in 1867. 
 He described it as having "the appearance of an 
 extinct volcano," and it is shown on his sketch of 
 Wrangell Land, reproduced on the map accom- 
 panying Nourse's American Explorations in the Ice 
 Zones. Captain Hooper, in his report of the cruise of 
 the Corwin, declares that the peak had been appro- 
 priately named for Long, and adds, "Singular as 
 it may appear, this name to which Captain Long 
 was justly entitled has, notwithstanding our pre- 
 tended custom of adhering to original names, been 
 set aside on a recent issue of American charts." 
 It is some compensation, however, that the wide 
 stretch of water between the North Siberian coast 
 and Wrangell Land is now known as Long Strait. 
 
 Captain Hooper and his party, being the first to 
 set foot upon Wrangell Land, exercised the privi- 
 lege of taking possession of it in the name of the 
 
 [ xxi ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 United States. In order to avoid the confusion of 
 the two names, Kellett and Wrangell, which it 
 already bore, Captain Hooper named it New 
 Columbia. This name, which was set aside by the 
 Hydrographic Office, he says 
 
 was suggested by the name which had been given to 
 the islands farther west, New Siberia. It is probable 
 that the name Wrangell Land will continue in use 
 upon American charts, but its justice, in view of all 
 the facts, is not so apparent. In my opinion the adop- 
 tion by us of the name Kellett Land given by the 
 English would be appropriate, and avoid the confu- 
 sion which is sure to follow in consequence of its 
 having two names. 
 
 Headlands and other geographical features of the 
 island were named by us, but as the names which 
 were applied to features actually discovered by the 
 Corwin and heretofore unnamed have been ignored, 
 it is possible that a desire to do honor to the memory 
 of Wrangell is not the only consideration. To avoid 
 the complications which would result from dupli- 
 cating geographical names, I have dropped all be- 
 stowed by the Corwin and adopted the more recent 
 ones applied by the Hydrographic Office. I have also 
 adopted the plan of the island [from surveys of the 
 Rodgers] as shown on the small chart accompanying 
 Hydrographic Notice No. 84, although the trend of 
 the coast and the geographical position of the mouth 
 of the river where we first planted the flag do not 
 agree with the result of the observations and tri- 
 angulations made by the Corwin. 
 
 Now that Captain Hooper and nearly all the men 
 who had a share in these explorations of the early 
 
 [ xxii 1 
 
Introduction 
 
 eighties have passed on, it is proper that the basic 
 facts as well as conflicting judgments should be 
 set down here for the just consideration of geog- 
 raphers. Both from Muir's vivid narrative of the 
 Corwin's penetration to the shores of Wrangell 
 Land, and from Captain Hooper's admirable report 
 published in 1884 as Senate Executive Document 
 No. 204, the reader will conclude that the Captain 
 of the Corwin had a better right to be remembered 
 in connection with the geographical features of the 
 island than most of the persons whose names have 
 been attached to them by the Hydrographic Office. 
 
 Whether Wrangell Land became United States 
 territory when Hooper formally raised our flag 
 over it is a question. The editor is unable to discover 
 any treaty between Russia and the United States 
 which would debar possession by the latter. But 
 questions involving rights of territorial discovery 
 have not, so far as we know, been raised between 
 the two governments. 
 
 Muir's opportunity to join the Corwin appar- 
 ently arose out of his acquaintanceship with Cap- 
 tain Hooper, and when the invitation came he had 
 little time to prepare for the cruise. A letter to his 
 wife affords a glimpse of his surroundings and plans 
 when the Corwin was approaching Unalaska. 
 
 All goes well on our little ship [he writes] and not 
 all the tossing of the waves, and the snow and hail 
 on the deck, and being out of sight of land so long, 
 
 [ xxiii ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 can make me surely feel that I am not now with 
 you all as ever, so sudden was my departure, and so 
 long have I been accustomed in the old lonely life to 
 feel the influence of loved ones as if present in the 
 flesh, while yet far. . . . There are but three of us in 
 the cabin, the Captain, the Surgeon, and myself, 
 and only the same three at table, so that there is no 
 crowding. ... 
 
 Should we be successful in reaching Wrangell Land 
 we would very likely be compelled to winter on it, 
 exploring while the weather permitted. In case we 
 are unsuccessful in reaching Wrangell Land, we may 
 get caught farther west and be able to reach it by 
 dog-sledges in winter while the pack is frozen. Or 
 we may have to winter on the Siberian coast, etc., 
 etc., according to the many variable known and un- 
 known circumstances of the case. Of course if De 
 Long is found we will return at once. If not, a per- 
 sistent eifort will be made to force a way to that mys- 
 terious ice-girt Wrangell Land, since it was to it that 
 De Long was directing his efforts when last heard 
 from. We will be cautious, however, and we hope to be 
 back to our homes this fall. Do not allow this outline 
 of Captain Hooper's plan to get into print at present. 
 
 From another letter written the following day 
 we quote this breezy bit of description : — 
 
 How cold it is this morning! How it blows and 
 snows! It is not "the wolfs long howl on Unalaska's 
 shore," as Canlpbell has it, but the wind's long howl. 
 A more sustained, prolonged, screeching, raving howl 
 I never before heard. But the little Corwin rides on 
 through it in calm strength, rising and falling amid 
 the foam-streaked waves like a loon. The cabin boy, 
 Henry, told me this morning [May i6] early that 
 
 [ xxiv ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 land was in sight. So I got up at six o'clock — nine 
 of your time — and went up into the pilot-house to 
 see it. Two jagged black masses were visible, with 
 hints of snow mountains back of them, but mostly 
 hidden beneath a snow-storm. 
 
 After breakfast we were within two miles of the 
 shore. Huge snow-peaks, grandly ice-sculptured, 
 loomed far into the stormy sky for a few moments in 
 tolerably clear relief; then the onrush of snowflakes, 
 sweeping out into the dark levels of the sea, would 
 hide it all and fill our eyes, while we puckered our 
 brows and tried to gaze into the face of it all. 
 
 We have to proceed in the dimness and confusion 
 of the storm with great caution, stopping frequently 
 to take soundings, so it will probably be one or two 
 o'clock before we reach the harbor of Unalaska on 
 the other side of the island. I tried an hour ago to 
 make a sketch of the mountains along the shore for 
 you, to be sent with this letter, but my fingers got 
 too cold to hold the pencil, and the snow filled my 
 eyes, and so dimmed the outlines of the rocks that I 
 could not trace them. 
 
 Down here in the cabin it is warm and summerish, 
 and when the Captain and Doctor are on deck I have 
 it all to myself. ... I am glad you thought to send 
 my glasses and barometer and coat. We will procure 
 furs as we proceed north, so as to be ready in case we 
 should be compelled to winter in the Arctic regions. 
 It is remarkably cold even here, and dark and blue 
 and forbidding every way, though it is fine weather 
 for health. 
 
 I was just thinking this morning of our warm 
 sunny home . . . and of the red cherries down the hill, 
 and the hundreds of blunt-billed finches, every one 
 of them with red bills soaked in cherry juice. Not 
 much fruit juice beneath this sky! 
 
 [ XXV ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 During the cruise Muir kept a daily record of his 
 experiences and observations. He also wrote a 
 series of letters to the San Francisco Evening Bulle- 
 tin in which he turned to account the contents of 
 his journal. Comparison of the letters with the 
 journal shows that his note-books contain a large 
 amount of interesting literary and scientific mate- 
 rial which has not been utilized in the Bulletin let- 
 ters. To publish both would involve too much 
 duplication. It has seemed best, therefore, to make 
 the letters the foundation of the volume and to 
 insert the additional matter from the journal wher- 
 ever it belongs chronologically in the epistolary 
 record. Most of the letters have thus grown far 
 beyond their original size. 
 
 The performance of this task has often been try- 
 ing and time-consuming, especially when it became 
 the editor's duty to avoid repetition, or overlap- 
 ping, by selecting what seemed to be the more 
 comprehensive, the more finished, or the more 
 vivid form of statement. But this method of solv- 
 ing the diflficulty has the advantage, for the reader, 
 of unifying in the present volume practically the 
 whole of Muir's literary and scientific work during 
 the cruise of the Corwin. Sometimes, as in chap- 
 ters eleven and twelve, all the material is new and 
 has been derived exclusively from the journal. The 
 style of the latter may generally be recognized by 
 its telegraphic conciseness. 
 
 [ xxvi ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 During his studies in the Sierra Nevada Muir 
 had acquired skill, speed, and accuracy in sketch- 
 ing the features of a landscape. This ability he 
 turned to good account during the cruise of the 
 Corwin, for one of his journals is filled with a vari- 
 ety of sketches which prove to be remarkably faith- 
 ful pictures in cases where it has been possible to 
 compare them with photographs. In judging the 
 pictorial value of these sketches it should be remem- 
 bered that Muir employed them chiefly as an aux- 
 iliary descriptive means of recording his observa- 
 tions for future use. One of the sketches, for 
 instance, is an extensive panoramic view of the 
 southern coast of Wrangell Land, evidently done 
 as the Corwin cruised along the coast. Since his 
 numerous sketches of Wrangell Land are appar- 
 ently the only ones in existence, they are of unique 
 importance in connection with his account of the 
 Corwin's landing on the island. The same consid- 
 erations apply in a measure to Herald Island whose 
 precipitous cliff's he was the first to scale as well as 
 to sketch. 
 
 Since Muir's primary object in joining the Cor- 
 win expedition was to look for evidence of glacia- 
 tion in the Arctic and subarctic regions, we have 
 deemed it desirable to include in this volume the 
 article in which he gathered up the results of his 
 glacial studies and discoveries. It was published 
 in 1884, with Captain C. L. Hooper's report, as 
 
 [ xxvii ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 Senate Executive Document No. 204 of the Forty- 
 eighth Congress. 
 
 Both the Hooper report and the article on glaci- 
 ation were elaborately illustrated from Muir's pen- 
 cil sketches, though the fact that they were Muir's 
 is nowhere stated. "The 'Glacier Article' arrived 
 on the sixth," wrote Captain Hooper to Muir un- 
 der date of February 7, 1884, "and was sent on 
 its way rejoicing the same day. The Honorable 
 Secretary [of the Treasury] assures me that he will 
 see that the whole is printed without delay. Please 
 accept my thanks for the article, which is very 
 interesting. The sketches are very fine and will 
 prove a valuable addition to the report. That of 
 the large glacier from Mount Fairweather is par- 
 ticularly fine." 
 
 The article on glaciation should have been pub- 
 lished a year earlier, in the same volume with the 
 "Botanical Notes." But for some reason Muir was 
 misinformed, and an apologetic letter to him from 
 Major E. W. Clark, then Chief of the United 
 States Revenue Marine, hints at a petty intrigue 
 as the cause. "I regret very much," he writes, 
 "that I had not myself corresponded with you 
 regarding your contribution to the Arctic report. 
 Your article on glaciation would have been exactly 
 the thing and would have admitted of very effec- 
 tive illustration. I feel well assured that you were 
 purposely misinformed regarding the report, and 
 
 [ xxviii ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 could readily explain the reason to you in a per- 
 sonal interview. There has been much anxious 
 inquiry for your notes on glaciation." It was the 
 writer of this letter after whom Captain Hooper 
 named the river at whose mouth the Corwin 
 anchored on Wrangell Land. This fact has been 
 recorded by Professor Joseph Everett Nourse, 
 U.S.N., in his work American Explorations in the 
 Ice Zones, He states that through the courtesy 
 of Major Clark he had access to the unpublished 
 official report of the cruise of the Corwin. Since the 
 river in question appears without a name upon the 
 chart of Wrangell Land, we must suppose it to be 
 one of the names which Captain Hooper complains 
 the Hydrographic Office ignored. 
 
 Besides the illustrative drawings which ac- 
 company Muir's article on glaciation in the Far 
 North, his note-books contain numerous interest- 
 ing sketches of geological and topographical features 
 of Arctic landscapes. They show with what tireless 
 industry and pains he worked at his task. This is 
 the first publication of the general conclusions of 
 his Arctic studies, supported in detail by the 
 records of his journal, and by his sketches. In its 
 present form the article follows a revised copy 
 found among Muir's papers. 
 
 Muir's report on the flora of Herald Island and 
 Wrangell Land still remains, after thirty-six years, 
 the only one ever made on the vegetation of these 
 
 [ xxix ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 remote Arctic regions. It has seemed best, there- 
 fore, to include also his article entitled "Botanical 
 Notes " as an appendix to this volume. It was first 
 published in 1883 as a part of Treasury Depart- 
 ment Document No. 429. Strangely enough, the 
 letter of transmittal from the Secretary of the 
 Treasury refers to it as "the observations on glaci- 
 ation in the Arctic Ocean and the Alaska region 
 made by John Muir." 
 
 The author never saw printer's proof after he 
 sent the manuscript, and the number of typo- 
 graphical errors made in the technical parts of his 
 article must have established a new record, for 
 they mount into hundreds. Knowing that Muir 
 had sent a duplicate set of his Arctic plant collec- 
 tion to Dr. Asa Gray for final scientific determina- 
 tion, the editor went to the Gray Herbarium of 
 Harvard University, in order to make the neces- 
 sary corrections and verifications. Fortunately the 
 writer found there not only the original plants, but 
 also Muir's letters to Asa Gray. " I returned a week 
 ago," wrote Muir under date of October 31, 1881, 
 "from the polar region around Wrangell Land and 
 Herald Island, and brought a few plants from there 
 which I wish you would name as soon as conven- 
 ient, as I have to write a report on the flora for the 
 expedition. I had a fine icy time, and gathered a 
 lot of exceedingly interesting facts concerning the 
 formation of Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean, 
 
 [ XXX I 
 
Introduction 
 
 and the configuration of the shores of Siberia and 
 Alaska. Also concerning the forests that used to 
 grow there, etc., which I hope some day to discuss 
 with you." 
 
 The editor has made no attempt to reduce the 
 genus and species names to modern synonymy. 
 As in the case of Muir's A Thousand-Mile Walk to 
 the Gulf, it has seemed best to offer the original 
 determinations, making the necessary corrections 
 by reference to the Index Kewensis, and, in the 
 case of the ferns, to Christensen's Index Filicum, 
 Since Muir's lists did not follow any particular or- 
 der of classification we have adopted the order of 
 families laid down in the last edition of Gray's 
 Manual of Botany, 
 
 Special interest attaches to the fact that Muir 
 found on the Arctic shore of Alaska, near Cape 
 Thompson, a species of Erigeron new to science. 
 It is an asteraceous plant with showy, daisy-like 
 flowers. In reporting this find to the American 
 Academy of Arts and Sciences, Asa Gray described 
 it as "the most interesting and apparently the only 
 new species of an extensive and truly valuable col- 
 lection made by Mr. Muir in a recent searching 
 cruise which he accompanied, and which extended 
 to Wrangel Island [Wrangell Land]. The plant 
 seems to have been abundant, for it occurs in the 
 collection under three numbers." 
 
 Gray promptly named it Erigeron Muirii in 
 [ xxxi ] 
 
Introduction 
 
 honor of its finder, thus redeeming for the second 
 time a promise made ten years earlier when he 
 wrote to Muir, "Pray, find a new genus, or at least 
 a new species, that I may have the satisfaction of 
 embalming your name, not in glacier ice, but in 
 spicy wild perfume." An illustration of the plant, 
 made "after Muir's own sketch, appears in place of 
 the usual colophon on the title-page of this volume. 
 
 William Frederic Bade. 
 
 Harvard University Library, 
 June, J917, 
 
'The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 UNALASKA AND THE ALEUTS 
 
 Unalaska, May i8, i88i, 
 
 THE Storm King of the North is abroad to- 
 day, working with a fine, hearty enthusiasm, 
 rolling a multitude of white combing waves through 
 the rocky, jagged straits between this marvelous 
 chain of islands, circling them about with beaten 
 foam, and heaping a lavish abundance of snow on 
 their lofty, cloud-wrapped mountains. The deep 
 bass of the gale, sounding on through the rugged, 
 ice-sculptured peaks and gorges, is delightful music 
 to our ears, now that we are safely sheltered in a 
 land-locked harbor. 
 
 The steamer Thomas Corwin arrived here about 
 noon to-day, after a prosperous run of thirteen days 
 from San Francisco, intending to take on coal and 
 additional supplies of every kind for her long cruise 
 in the Arctic in search of the Jeannette and the 
 missing whalers. Nothing especially noteworthy 
 occurred on the voyage. The weather was remark- 
 ably cold for this season of the year, the average 
 temperature for the first day or two being about 
 
 [3l 
 
^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 55® ;F., falling gradually to 35° as we approached 
 Unalaska, accompanied by blustering squalls of 
 snow and hail, suggestive of much higher latitudes 
 than this. 
 
 On the morning of the fifteenth we met a 
 gale from the northeast, against which the Corwin 
 forced her way with easy strength, rising and falling 
 on the foam-streaked waves as lightly as a; duck. 
 We first sighted land on the morning of the seven- 
 teenth, near the southeast extremity of Unalaska 
 Island. Two black outstanding masses of jagged 
 lava were visible, with the bases of snowy peaks 
 back of them, while all the highlands were buried 
 beneath storm-clouds. After we had approached 
 within three or four miles of the shore, a ragged 
 opening in the clouds disclosed a closely packed 
 cluster of peaks, laden with snow, looming far into 
 the stormy sky for a few moments in tolerably clear 
 relief, then fading again in the gloom of the clouds 
 and fresh squalls of blinding snow and hail. The 
 fall of the snowflakes among the dark, heaving 
 waves and curling breakers was a most impressive 
 sight. 
 
 Groping cautiously along the coast, we at length 
 entered the Akutan Pass. A heavy flood tide was 
 setting through it against the northeast gale, which 
 raised a heavy sea. The waves reared as if about to 
 fall backward, while the wind tore off their white 
 curling tops and carried them away in the form of 
 
 [4] 
 
Una las ka and the Aleuts 
 
 gray scud. Never before have I seen the sea in so 
 hearty and exhilarating a motion. It was all one 
 white, howling, rampant, runaway mass of foam 
 from side to side. We feared getting our decks 
 swept. Caught, therefore, as we were between the 
 tide and the gale, we turned to seek shelter and 
 wait better times. 
 
 We found good anchorage in the lee of a red 
 lava bluff near Cook's Harbor, a few miles to the 
 westward of the mouth of the Pass. The sailors 
 got out their cod-lines, and in a few minutes a 
 dozen fine cod were flapping on the deck. They 
 proved to be excellent fish, eaten fresh. But 
 whether they are as good as the renowned New- 
 foundland article I cannot judge, as I never have 
 tasted fresh cod. The storm sounding on over the 
 mountains made fine music while we lay safely at 
 anchor, and we enjoyed it all the more because we 
 were in a wild, nameless place that we had our- 
 selves discovered. 
 
 The next morning, the gale having abated some- 
 what, we entered the strait. Wind and tide were 
 flowing in company, but they were against us, and 
 so strong was the latter that we could not stem it, 
 and were compelled to fall back until it was near 
 the turn. The Aleutian chain extends across from 
 continent to continent like an imperfect dam be- 
 tween the Pacific and Bering Sea, and through 
 the gaps between the islands the tide rushes with 
 
 [5] 
 
ne Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 tremendous speed and uproar. When the tide was 
 favorable, we weighed anchor and passed through 
 the strait and around Kalekta Point into this mag- 
 nificent harbor ^ without further difficulty. 
 
 The harbor of Unalaska is excellent, land-locked, 
 and has a good holding bottom. By virtue of its 
 geographical position it is likely to remain for a 
 long time the business center of western Alaska. 
 The town ^ is situated on a washed and outspread 
 terminal moraine at the mouth of one of the main 
 glaciers that united here to excavate the harbor. 
 Just above the village there is a glacial lake only a 
 few feet above tide, and a considerable area of level 
 ground about it where the cattle belonging to the 
 town find abundance of fine grass. 
 
 Early in the forenoon the clouds had lifted and 
 the sun had come out, revealing a host of noble 
 mountains, grandly sculptured and composed, and 
 robed in spotless white, some of the highest adorned 
 with streamers of mealy snow wavering in the wind 
 — a truly glorious spectacle. To me the features 
 of greatest interest in this imposing show were the 
 glacial advertisements everywhere displayed in 
 
 A Dutch Harbor, on the eastern side of Amaknak Island in 
 Unalaska Bay. 
 
 * The chief town of Unalaska Island, the most important of 
 the eastern Aleutians, is Iliuliuk. It was founded by Solovief dur- 
 ing the decade between 1760 and 1770, and its Aleut name, 
 according to one interpretation, means "harmony," according 
 to another, "the curved beach." The name Unalaska is often 
 applied loosely to the town as well as the island. 
 
 16] 
 
Una la ska and the Aleuts 
 
 clear, telling characters — the trends of the num- 
 erous inlets and canons pointing back into the 
 ancient ice-fountains among the peaks, the sculp- 
 ture of the peaks themselves and their general out- 
 lines, and the shorn faces of the cliffs fronting the 
 sea. No clearer and more unmistakable glacial 
 inscriptions are to be found upon any portion of the 
 mountain ranges of the Pacific Coast. 
 
 It seems to be guessed in a general way by most 
 observers who have made brief visits to this region 
 that all the islands of the Aleutian chain are clearly 
 volcanic upheavals, scarce at all changed since the 
 period of their emergence from the sea. This is an 
 impression made, no doubt, by the volcanic char- 
 acter of the rocks of which they are composed, 
 and by the numerous extinct and active volcanoes 
 occurring here and there along the summits of the 
 highest masses. But it is plain that the amount of 
 glacial denudation which these ancient lavas have 
 undergone is very great; so great that now every 
 feature presented, with the exception of the few 
 recent craters, is glacial. 
 
 The glaciers, that a short time ago covered all the 
 islands, have sculptured the comparatively feature- 
 less rock masses into separate mountain peaks, and 
 perhaps into separate islands. Certainly they have 
 done this in some cases. All the inlets or fiords, 
 also, that I have seen are simply the channels of 
 the larger of those old ice rivers that flowed into 
 
 I7l 
 
^he' Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 the sea and eroded their beds beneath its level. 
 The size and the trend of every one of these fiords 
 correspond invariably with the size and the trend 
 of the glacier basin at its head, while not a single 
 fiord or canon may be found that does not conduct 
 back to mountain fountains whence the eroding 
 glacier drew its sources. The Alaska Peninsula, be- 
 fore the coming on of the glacial period, may have 
 comprehended the whole of the Aleutian chain, its 
 present condition being mostly due to the down- 
 grinding action of ice. Frost and fire have worked 
 hand in hand to produce the grand effects presented 
 in this majestic crescent of islands. 
 
 Unalaska, May 21, 1881. 
 
 The Aleutian chain of islands is one of the most 
 remarkable and interesting to be found on the 
 globe. It sweeps in a regular curve a thousand miles 
 long from the end of the Alaska Peninsula towards 
 Kamchatka and nearly unites the American and 
 Asiatic continents. A very short geological time 
 ago, just before the coming on of the glacial period, 
 this connection of the continents was probably 
 complete, inasmuch as the entire chain is simply 
 a degraded portion of the North American coast 
 mountains, with its foothills and connecting ridges 
 between the summit peaks a few feet under water. 
 These submerged ridges form the passes between 
 the islands as they exist to-day, while it is evident 
 
 [8] 
 
Una la ska and the Aleuts 
 
 that this segregating degradation has been effected 
 by the majestic down-grinding glaciers that lately- 
 loaded all the chain. Only a few wasting remnants 
 of these glaciers are now in existence, lingering in 
 the highest, snowiest fountains on the largest of the 
 islands. 
 
 The mountains are from three thousand to nine 
 thousand feet high, many of them capped with 
 perpetual snow, and rendered yet more imposing 
 by volcanoes emitting smoke and ashes — the 
 feeble manifestations of upbuilding volcanic force 
 that was active long before the beginning of the 
 great ice winter. To the traveler from the south, 
 approaching any portion of the chain during the 
 winter or spring months, the view presented is 
 exceedingly desolate and forbidding. The snow 
 comes down to the water's edge, the solid winter- 
 white being interrupted only by black outstanding 
 bluffs with faces too sheer for snow to lie upon, and 
 by the backs of clustering rocks and long rugged 
 reefs beaten and overswept by heavy breakers roll- 
 ing in from the Pacific Ocean or Bering Sea, while 
 for ten or eleven months in the year all the moun- 
 tains are wrapped in gloomy, ragged storm-clouds. 
 
 Nevertheless, there is no lack of warm, eager life 
 even here. The stormy shores swarm with fishes — 
 cod, halibut, herring, salmon trout, etc. ; also with 
 whales, seals, and many species of water birds, 
 while the sea-otter, the most valuable of the fur- 
 
 [9l 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 bearing animals, finds its favorite home about the 
 outlying wave-washed reefs. The only land ani- 
 mals occurring in considerable numbers are, as far 
 as I have been able to learn, three or four species 
 of foxes, which are distributed from one end of 
 the chain to the other, with the Arctic grouse, the 
 raven, snowbirds, wrens, and a few finches. There 
 are no deer, wild sheep, goats, bears, or wolves, 
 though all of these are abundant on the mainland 
 in the same latitude. 
 
 In two short excursions that I made to the top 
 of a mountain, about two thousand feet high, back 
 of the settlement here, and to a grassy island in the 
 harbor,! found the snow in some places well tracked 
 by foxes and grouse, and saw six species of birds, 
 mostly solitary or in twos and threes. The vegeta- 
 tion near the level of the sea and on bare wind- 
 swept ridges, up to a height of a thousand feet or 
 more, is remarkably close and luxuriant, covering 
 every foot of the ground. 
 
 First there is a dense plush of mosses and lichens 
 from six inches to a foot in depth. Out of the moss 
 mantle and 'over it there grow five or six species of 
 good nutritious grasses, the tallest shoulder-high; 
 also three species of vaccinium, cranberry, empe- 
 trum, the delightful linnaea in extensive patches, 
 the beautiful purple-flowered bryanthus, a pyrola, 
 two species of dwarf willow, three of lycopodium, 
 two saxifrages, a lupine, wild pea, archangelica, 
 
 [10] 
 
Una la ska and the Aleuts 
 
 geranium/anemone, draba,bearberiy,and the little 
 gold-thread coptis, besides two ferns and a few 
 withered specimens that I could not make out. 
 
 The anemone, draba, and bearberry are already 
 in bloom; the willows are beginning to show the 
 ends of their silky catkins, and a good many green 
 leaves are springing up in sheltered places near the 
 level of the sea. At a height of four or five hundred 
 feet, however, winter still holds sway, with scarce 
 a memory of the rich and beautiful bloom of 
 the summer time. How beautiful these mountains 
 must be when all are in bloom, with the bland sum- 
 mer sunshine on them, the butterflies and bees 
 among them, and the deep glacial fiords calm and 
 full of reflections! The tall grasses, with their 
 showy purple panicles in flower, waving in the 
 wind over all the lower mountain slopes, with a 
 growth heavy enough for the scythe, must then be 
 a beautiful sight, and so must the broad patches of 
 heathworts with their multitude of pink bells, and 
 the tall lupines and ferns along the banks of the 
 streams. 
 
 There is not a tree of any kind on the islands 
 excepting a few spruces brought from Sitka and 
 planted by the Russians some fifty years ago. They 
 are still alive, but have made very little growth — 
 a circumstance no doubt due to the climate. But 
 in what respect it differs from the climate of south- 
 eastern Alaska, lying both north and south of this 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 latitude, where forests flourish exuberantly in all 
 kinds of exposures, on rich alluvium or on bare 
 rocks, I am unable to say. The only wood I noticed, 
 and all that is said to exist on any of the islands, is 
 small patches of willow, with stems an inch thick, 
 and of several species of woody-stemmed heath- 
 worts; this the native Aleuts gather for fuel, to- 
 gether with small quantities of driftwood cast on 
 the shores by the winds and currents. 
 
 Grass of good quality for stock is abundant on 
 all the larger islands, and cattle thrive and grow 
 fat during the summer wherever they have been 
 tried. But the wetness of the summer months will 
 always prevent hay from being made in any con- 
 siderable quantity and make stock-raising on any- 
 thing like a large scale impossible. 
 
 The agricultural possibilities of the islands are 
 also very limited. Oats and barley head out but 
 never fully mature, and if they did, it would be 
 very difficult to get them dry enough for the gran- 
 ary. Potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, turnips, beets, 
 etc., do well in spots that are well drained and have 
 a southern exposure. . v^ . 
 
 According to the census taken last year, the 
 Inhabitants of these islands number 2451. Of this 
 population 82 are whites, 479 Creoles, and 1890 
 Aleuts. The Aleuts are far more civilized and 
 Christianized than any other tribe of Alaska 
 Indians. From a third to one half of the men and 
 
 [ 12 ] 
 
Una la ska and the Aleuts 
 
 women read and write. Their occupation is the 
 hunting of the sea-otter for the Alaska Commercial 
 Company. 
 
 A good hunter makes from four hundred to eight 
 hundred dollars per annum. In this pursuit they 
 go hundreds of miles in their frail skin-covered 
 canoes, which are so light that they may easily be 
 carried under one's arm. Earning so much money, 
 they are able to support themselves with many 
 comforts beyond the reach of most of the laboring 
 classes of Europe. Nevertheless, with all their ad- 
 vantages, they are fading away like other Indians. 
 The deaths exceed the births in nearly every one 
 of their villages, and it is only a question of time 
 when they will vanish from the face of the earth. 
 
 On the way back to the ship I sauntered through 
 the town. It contains about one hundred buildings, 
 half of them frame, built by the Alaska Commercial 
 and Western Fur and Trading Companies. Aleutian 
 huts are called "barabaras." They are built of 
 turf on a frame of wood ; some of them have floors, 
 and are divided into many rooms, very small ones. 
 The smells are horrible to clean nostrils, and the 
 air is foul and dead beyond endurance. Some of the 
 bedrooms are not much larger than coffins. The 
 floors are below the surface of the ground two or 
 three feet, and the doors are at the end away from 
 the direction of the prevailing wind. There are one 
 or two small windows of glass or bladder, and a 
 
 [13] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 small pipe surmounts a very small Russian stove 
 in which the stems of empetrum are burned. 
 
 In most of the huts that I entered I found a 
 Yankee clock, a few pictures, and ordinary cheap 
 crockery and furniture; accordions, also, as they 
 are very fond of music. All such bits of furniture 
 and finery of foreign manufacture contrast meanly 
 with their own old-fashioned kind. Altogether, in 
 dress and home gear, they are so meanly mixed, 
 savage and civilized, that they make a most pa- 
 thetic impression. The moisture rained down upon 
 them every other day keeps the walls and the roof 
 green, even flowery,' and as perfectly fresh as the sod 
 before it was built into a hut. Goats, once intro- 
 duced by the Russians, make these hut tops their 
 favorite play and pasture grounds, much to the 
 annoyance of their occupants. In one of these huts 
 I saw for the first time arrowheads manufactured 
 out of bottle glass. The edges are chipped by hard 
 pressure with a bit of deer horn. 
 
 As the Tlingit Indians of the Alexander Archi- 
 pelago make their own whiskey, so these Aleuts 
 make their own beer, an intoxicating drink, which, 
 if possible, is more abominable and destructive 
 than hootchenoo. It is called "kvass," and was 
 introduced by the Russians, though the Aleutian 
 kvass is only a coarse imitation of the Russian 
 article, as the Indian hootchenoo is of whiskey. In 
 its manufacture they put a quantity of sugar and 
 
 [ 14 ] 
 
Una /a ska and the Aleuts 
 
 flour, or molasses and flour, with a few dried apples, 
 in a cask, fill it up with water, and leave it to fer- 
 ment. Then they make haste to drink it while it is 
 yet thick and acrid, and capable of making them 
 howling drunk. It also creates a fiery thirst for 
 alcohol, which is supplied by traders whenever they 
 get a chance. This renders the misery of the Aleuts 
 complete. 
 
 There are about two thousand of them scattered 
 along the chain of islands, living in small villages. 
 Nearly all the men are hunters of the fur seal, the 
 most expert making five hundred dollars or more 
 per season. After paying old debts contracted with 
 the Companies, they invest the remainder in trin- 
 kets, in clothing not so good as their own furs, and 
 in beer, and go at once into hoggish dissipation, 
 hair-pulling, wife-beating, etc. In a few years their 
 health becomes impaired, they become less success- 
 ful in hunting, their children are neglected and die, 
 and they go to ruin generally. When they toss in 
 their kayaks among surf-beaten rocks where their 
 prey dwells, their business requires steady nerve. 
 But all the proceeds are spent for what is worse than 
 useless. The best hunters have been furnished with 
 frame cottages by the Companies. These cottages 
 have a neat appearance outside, but are very foul 
 inside. Rare exceptions are those in which one finds 
 scrubbed floors^or ^flowers in pots on window-sills 
 and mantels. 
 
 lis] 
 
ne Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 We called at the house of the priest of the Greek 
 Church, and were received with fine civility, ush- 
 ered into a room which for fineness of taste in 
 furniture and fixtures might well challenge the very- 
 best in San Francisco or New York. The wall- 
 paper, the ceiling, the floor, the pictures of Yosem- 
 ite and the Czar on the walls, the flowers in the 
 window, the books on the tables, the window- 
 curtains white and gauzy, tied with pink ribbon, 
 the rugs, and odds and ends, all proclaimed exqui- 
 site taste of a kind that could not possibly origi- 
 nate anywhere except in the man himself or his 
 wife. This room would have made a keen impres- 
 sion upon me wherever found, and is, I am sure, not 
 dependent upon the squalor of most other homes 
 here, nor upon the wildness and remoteness of 
 Unalaska, for the interest it excites. He spoke only 
 Russian, so that I had but little conversation with 
 him, as I had to speak through our interpreter. We 
 smoked and smiled and gestured and looked at his 
 beautiful home. 
 
 Bishop Nestor, who has charge of the Alaskan 
 diocese, is said to be a charming and most vener- 
 able man. He now resides in San Francisco, but is 
 having a house built in Unalaska. He is empowered 
 to build and support, at the expense of the home 
 church, a certain number of parish churches. Two 
 out of seven of these are located among the Aleuts 
 — at Unalaska and Belkofski. The other Aleutian 
 
 [ i6] 
 
Una la ska and the Aleuts 
 
 villages which have churches, and nearly all have, 
 build and support them at their own expense. 
 The Russian Church claims about eleven thousand 
 members in all Alaska. About one half of these are 
 Aleuts, one thousand Creoles, and the rest Indians 
 of Nushagak, Yukon, and Kenai missions, over 
 which the Church exercises but a feeble control. 
 Shamanism with slight variations extends over all 
 Siberia and Alaska and, indeed, all America. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 AMONG THE ISLANDS OF BERING SEA 
 
 St, Paul, Alaska, May 23, 1881. 
 
 ABOUT four o'clock yesterday morning the 
 Corwin left Unalaska, and arrived at St. Paul 
 shortly after noon to-day, the distance being about 
 one hundred and ninety miles. This is the metropo- 
 lis of the Fur Seal Islands, situated on the island of 
 St. Paul — a handsome village of sixty-four neat 
 frame cottages, with a large church, school-house, 
 and priest's residence, and a population of nearly 
 three hundred Aleuts, and from twelve to twenty 
 whites. 
 
 It is interesting to find here an isolated group of 
 Alaskan natives wholly under white influence and 
 control, and who have in great part abandoned 
 their own pursuits, clothing, and mode of life in gen- 
 eral, and adopted that of the whites. They are all 
 employed by the Alaska Commercial Company as 
 butchers, to kill and flay the hundred thousand 
 seals that they take annually here and at the neigh- 
 boring island of St. George. Their bloody work 
 lasts about two months, and they earn in this time 
 from three hundred to six hundred dollars apiece, 
 being paid forty cents per skin. 
 
 The Company supplies them with a school, med- 
 [ 18] 
 
Among the Islands of Bering Sea 
 
 ical attendance, and comfortable dwellings, and 
 looks after their welfare in general, its own interest 
 being involved. They even have a bank, and are 
 encouraged to save their money, which many of 
 them do, having accounts of from two hundred to 
 three thousand dollars. Fortunately, the Aleuts 
 of St. Paul and St. George are pretty effectively 
 guarded against whiskey, and to some extent 
 against kvass also. Only limited quantities of sugar 
 and other kvass material are sold to them. Never- 
 theless, one of their number told one of our officers 
 to-day that he had a bank account of eight hun- 
 dred dollars and would give it all for five bottles of 
 whiskey; and an agent of the Company gave it as 
 his opinion that there were not six perfectly sober 
 Aleuts on the whole island to-day. 
 
 The number of fur seals that resort to these two 
 islands, St. Paul and St. George, during the breed- 
 ing season, is estimated at from three to four mil- 
 lion, and there seems to be no falling oif in num- 
 bers since the Alaska Commercial Company began 
 operations here. Only young males are killed by 
 the Company, but many of both sexes are taken 
 far from here among the Aleutian Islands and 
 around the shores of Vancouver Island and the 
 outermost of the Alexander Archipelago. 
 
 No one knows certainly whence they come or 
 whither they go. But inasmuch as they make their 
 appearance every year about the shores of the 
 
 [191 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 Aletltian Islands shortly after their disappearance 
 from St. Paul and St. George, and then later to the 
 southward, toward the coast of British Columbia, 
 it is supposed that they are the same animals, and 
 that they thus make journeys every year of a thou- 
 sand miles or more, and return to their birthplaces 
 like shoals of salmon. They begin to appear on the 
 breeding-grounds about the first of June. These 
 are old males, who at once take up their stations on 
 high ground a short distance from the shore, and 
 keep possession of their places while they await the 
 coming of the pregnant females who arrive about 
 a month later, accompanied by the younger mem- 
 bers of the community. At the height of the season 
 the ground is closely covered with them, and they 
 seldom go back into the water or take any food un- 
 til the young are well grown and all are ready to 
 leave the islands in the fall. 
 
 In addition to the one hundred thousand taken 
 here, the Company obtains about forty thousand 
 by purchase from the Russians at Bering and 
 Copper Islands, and from Indians and traders at 
 different points south as far as Oregon. These 
 skins are said to be worth fifteen dollars apiece in 
 the London market, to which they are all sent. The 
 government revenue derived from the one hun- 
 dred thousand killed each year is ^317,000. Next 
 in importance among the fur animals of Alaska, is 
 the sea-otter, of which about six thousand a year 
 
 I20I 
 
Among the Islands of Bering Sea 
 
 are taken, worth from eighty dollars to one hun- 
 dred dollars apiece. 
 
 The Aleuts obtain from thirty to fifty dollars in 
 goods or money, an alternative not due to the fact 
 that the goods are sold for their money value, but 
 to the fact that the traders sooner or later receive 
 back whatever money they pay out instead of 
 goods. Unlimited competition would, of course, 
 run the price much higher, as, for example, it has 
 done in southeastern Alaska. Here the only com- 
 petition lies between the Western Fur and Trading 
 Company and the Alaska Commercial Company. 
 The latter gets most of them. Each company seeks 
 the good-will of the best hunters by every means in 
 its power, by taking them to and from the hunting 
 grounds in schooners, by advancing provisions and 
 all sorts of supplies, by building cottages for them, 
 and supplying them with the services of a physician 
 and medicine free. Only Indians are allowed by law 
 to take furs, and whites married to Indian women. 
 This law has induced some fifteen white men to 
 marry Indians for the privilege of taking sea-otter. 
 They have settled at Unga Island, one of the Shu- 
 magin group, where there is a village of some hun- 
 dred and eighty-five Indians. 
 
 Seen from the sea, all the Pribilof Islands — St. 
 Paul, St. George, and Otter Island — appear as 
 mere rocks, naked and desolate fragments of lava, 
 wasted into bluffs where they touch the sea, and 
 
 [21 ] 
 
^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 shorn off on top by the ice-sheet. The gray sur- 
 faces are roughened here and there by what, at 
 a distance, seem to be degraded volcanic cones. 
 Nevertheless, they are exceedingly interesting, not 
 only because of the marvelous abundance of life 
 about them — seals, water birds, and fishes — but 
 because they tell so grand a story concerning the 
 ice-sheet that swept over them all from the north. 
 
 ^ Steamer Corwin^ 
 Tapkan, Siberia^ May 31, 1881, 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of this month, a bleak, 
 snowy day, we enjoyed our first view of the north- 
 em ocean ice at a distance of only a few hours from 
 the Pribilof Islands in latitude 58°. This is not 
 far from its southern limit, though strong north 
 winds no doubt carry wasting fragments somewhat 
 farther. It always reaches lower on the American 
 side. Norton Sound is seldom clear before the mid- 
 dle or end of June. Here the ice occurs in ragged, 
 berglike masses from a foot to a hundred feet in 
 breadth, and with the highest point not more than 
 ten or twelve feet above the water. Its color is 
 bluish-white, looking much like coarse, granular 
 snow, with pale blue stratified bases under water. 
 
 We ran past one flat cake on which lay a small 
 white seal which kept its place, though we were 
 within fifteen or twenty feet of it. Guns were then 
 brought into the pilot-house and loaded. In a few 
 
 [22] 
 
Among the Islands of Bering Sea 
 
 minutes another seal was discovered riding leisurely 
 on its ice raft and shot. The engine was stopped, 
 the boat lowered, and a sailor stepped on the ice 
 and threw the heedless fellow into the boat. It 
 seemed to pay scarce any attention to the steamer, 
 and, when wounded by the first ball that was fired, 
 it did not even then seek to escape, which surprised 
 me since those among the fiords north of Wrangell 
 and Sitka are so shy that my Indians, as we glided 
 toward them in a canoe, seldom were successful 
 in getting a shot. The seal was nearly white — a 
 smooth oval bullet without an angle anywhere, 
 large, prominent, humanlike eyes, and long whis- 
 kers. It seemed cruel to kill it, and most wonderful 
 to us, as we shivered in our overcoats, that it could 
 live happily enough to grow fat and keep full of 
 warm red blood with water at 32° F. for its pasture 
 field, and wet sludge for its bed. 
 
 In half an hour we descried another, a large one, 
 which we also shot as it lay at ease on a large cake 
 against which the waves were beating. Like the 
 other two, it waited until we were within easy 
 range, and allowed itself to be shot without the 
 slightest effort to escape. This one proved to be 
 a fine specimen of the saddle-back species, Histri- 
 ophoca fasciata, still somewhat rare in collections, 
 and eagerly sought for. It derives its name from 
 the saddlelike bands of brown across the back. This 
 specimen weighed about two hundred pounds. The 
 
 [23 ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwtn 
 
 skins of both were saved, fand the next morning 
 we had;^some of the flesh of the small one for break- 
 fast. The meat proved to be excellent, dark-red, 
 and very tender, with a taste like that of good 
 venison. 
 
 We were steering direct for St. Matthew Island, 
 noted for the great numbers of polar bears that 
 haunt its shores. But as we proceeded, the ice 
 became more and more abundant, and at length 
 it was seen ahead in a solid pack. Then we had to 
 abandon our plan of landing on the island, and 
 steered eastward around the curving edge of the 
 pack across the mouth of Anadir Gulf. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh we sighted the Siberian 
 coast to the north of the Gulf, snow-clad moun- 
 tains appearing in clear outline at a distance of 
 about seventy miles. Even thus far the traces of 
 glacial action were easily recognized in the peculiar 
 sculpture of the peaks, which here is as unmistak- 
 ably marked as it is on the summits of the Sierra. 
 Strange that this has not before attracted the atten- 
 tion of observers. The highest of the peaks seems 
 to be perhaps four thousand feet above the sea. I 
 hope I may yet have the chance to ascend them. 
 
 On the morning of the twenty-eighth we came 
 to anchor near an Eskimo village at the northwest 
 end of St. Lawrence Island. It was blowing and 
 snowing at the time, and the poor storm-beaten 
 row of huts seemed inexpressibly dreary through 
 
 [241 
 
Among the Islands of Bering Sea 
 
 the drift. Nevertheless, out of them came a crowd 
 of jolly, well-fed people, dragging their skin canoes, 
 which they shoved over the rim of stranded ice that 
 extended along the shore, and soon they were along- 
 side the steamer, offering ivory, furs, sealskin boots, 
 etc., for tobacco and ammunition. 
 
 There was much inquiry for beads, molasses, 
 and most of all for rum and rifles, though they will- 
 ingly parted with anything they had for tobacco 
 and calico. After they had procured a certain quan- 
 tity of these articles, however, nothing but rifles, 
 cartridges, and rum would induce them to trade. 
 But according to American law, these are not per- 
 mitted to be sold. There seems to be no good rea- 
 son why common rifles ^ should be prohibited, inas- 
 much as they would more surely and easily gain a 
 living by their use, while they arc peaceable and 
 can hardly be induced to fight without very great 
 provocation. . y:'^ 
 
 As to the alcohol, no restriction can possibly be 
 too stringent. To the Eskimo it is misery and often- 
 times quick death. Two years ago the inhabitants 
 of several villages on this island died of starvation 
 caused by abundance of rum, which rendered them 
 careless about the laying up of ordinary supplies of 
 
 * By a "common rifle" Muir probably meant a single-shot or 
 muzzle-loading rifle. He changed his mind on this subject when 
 he became aware of the excessive slaughter of caribou, or wild 
 reindeer, committed by the natives with repeating rifles. (See 
 p. 128.) 
 
 [2Sl 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 food for the winter. Then an unusually severe sea- 
 son followed, bringing famine, and, after eating 
 their dogs, they lay down and died in their huts. 
 Last year Captain Hooper found them where they 
 had died, hardly changed. Probably they are still 
 lying in their rags. They numbered several hun- 
 dreds. 
 
 When the people from this village came aboard 
 to-day they said ours was the first ship of the sea- 
 son, and they were greatly delighted, running over 
 the ship like children. We gave them lead, powder 
 and caps, tobacco, et cetera, for ivory, arctic shoes, 
 and reindeer parkas, in case we should need them 
 for a winter in the ice, ordinary boots and woolen 
 clothing being wholly inadequate. These are the 
 first Eskimos that I have seen. They impress me 
 as being taller and less distinct as a race than I had 
 been led to suppose. They do not greatly differ 
 from the Tlingits of southeastern Alaska; have 
 Mongolian features well marked, seem to have 
 less brain than the Tlingits, longer faces, and are 
 more simple and childlike in behavior and disposi- 
 tion. They never quarrel much among themselves 
 or with their neighbors, contrasting greatly in this 
 respect with the Tlingits or Koluschans. 
 
 It was interesting to see how keenly and quickly 
 they felt a joke, and winced when exposed to ridi- 
 cule. Some of the women are nearly white. They 
 show much taste in the manufacture of their 
 
 [ 26 ] 
 
Among the Islands of Bering Sea 
 
 clothing, and make everything durable. With their 
 reindeer trousers, sack, shirt, and sealskin shoes 
 they bid defiance to the most extreme cold. Their 
 sack, made from the intestine of the sea-lion, while 
 exceedingly light, is waterproof. Some of their 
 parkas are made of the breast skins of ducks, but 
 in no case do they wear blankets. When they can 
 procure calico or drilling they wear overshirts of 
 this material, which gives them a very shabby and 
 dirty look. Why they should want such flimsy and 
 useless material I cannot guess. Dressed in their 
 roomy furs, tied at the waist, they seem better- 
 dressed than any other Indians I have seen. The 
 trousers of the men are made of sealskin, with the 
 fur outside. Those of the women are of deerskin 
 and are extremely baggy. The legs, where gathered 
 and tied below the knee, measure about two feet 
 in diameter. 
 
 The chief of this village is a large man, five feet 
 ten inches or six feet tall, with a very long flat face 
 and abruptly tapering forehead, small, bright, cim- 
 ning eyes, and childishly good-natured and wide- 
 awake to everything curious. Always searching for 
 something to laugh at, they are ready to stop short 
 in the middle of most important bargainings to get 
 hold of some bit of fun. Then their big faces would 
 fall calm with ludicrous suddenness, either from 
 being empty or from some business requiring atten- 
 tion. There was less apparent squalor and misery 
 
 [27] 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 among them than among any other Indians I have 
 seen. 
 
 It is a curious fact that they cut off their hair 
 close to the scalp, all save a narrow rim around the 
 base, much like the Chinese without the queue. 
 The hair in color and coarseness is exactly like that 
 of the Chinese; in a general way they resemble them 
 also in their clothes. Their heads seem insensi- 
 ble to cold, for they bare them to the storms, and 
 seem to enjoy it when the snow falls on their skulls. 
 There is a hood, however, attached to most parkas, 
 which is drawn up over the head in very severe 
 weather. 
 
 Their mode of smoking is peculiar. The pipe is 
 made of brass or copper, often curiously inlaid with 
 lead, and the bowl is very small, not over a quarter 
 of an inch in diameter inside, and with a flaring 
 cuplike rim to prevent loss when it is being filled. 
 Only a small pinch of finely pulverized tobacco is 
 required to fill it. Then the Eskimo smoker lights 
 it with a match, or flint and steel, and without 
 removing the pipe from his mouth, sucks in the 
 smoke and inhales it, inflating his lungs to the 
 utmost and holding it a second or two, expels it, 
 coughs, and puts his pipe and little bag of tobacco 
 away, the whole smoke not lasting one minute. 
 From the time he commences he holds his breath 
 until it is finished. The more acrid and pungent 
 the tobacco the better. If it does not compel them 
 
 [28] 
 
Among the Islands of Bering Sea 
 
 to cough and gasp it is not considered good. In 
 buying any considerable quantity they try it before 
 completing the bargain. This method of smoking 
 is said to be practiced among all the Eskimos and 
 also the Chukchis of Siberia. 
 
 In buying whiskey or rum from the traders it is 
 said that they select one of their number to test its 
 strength. The trader gives nearly pure alcohol, so 
 that the lucky tester becomes drunk at once, which 
 satisfies them. Then the keg that is purchased is 
 found to be well watered and intoxication goes on 
 slowly and feebly, much to their disgust and sur- 
 prise. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 SIBERIAN ADVENTURES 
 
 [Steamer Corzvin, 
 Tapkauy Siberia, May 31, 1881.] 
 
 AFTER inquiring about the movements of the 
 ice and the whaling fleet, we weighed anchor 
 and steered for Plover Bay on the coast of Siberia, 
 taking several of the natives with us. They had a 
 few poles for the frame of a boat and skins to cover 
 it, and for food a piece of walrus flesh which they 
 ate raw. This, with a gun and a few odds and ends, 
 was all their property, yet they seemed more con- 
 fident of their ability to earn a living than most 
 whites on their farms. 
 
 The afternoon was clear and the mountains about 
 Plover Bay showed themselves in bold relief, quite 
 imposing and Yosemitic in sculpture and composi- 
 tion. There was so much ice at the mouth of the 
 bay, which is a glacial fiord, that we could not 
 enter. In the edge of the pack we spoke the whaler 
 Rainbow, and delivered the Arctic mail. Then 
 we proceeded a short distance northward, put into 
 Marcus Bay, and anchored in front of a small 
 Chukchi settlement. A boatful of natives came 
 aboard and told a story "important if true," con- 
 cerning the destruction of the lost whaler Vigilant 
 
 [30I 
 
Siberian Adventures 
 
 and the death of her crew. Three Chukchi seal 
 hunters, they said, while out on the ice last Novem- 
 ber, near Cape Serdzekamen, discovered the ship 
 in the pack, her masts broken off by the ice, and 
 the crew dead on the deck and in the cabin. They 
 had brought off a bag of money and such articles 
 as they could carry away, some of which had been 
 shown to other natives, and the story had traveled 
 from one settlement to another thus far down the 
 coast. 
 
 All this was told with an air of perfect good faith, 
 and they seemed themselves to believe what they 
 were telling. We had heard substantially the same 
 story at St. Lawrence Island. But knowing the 
 ability of these people for manufacturing tales of 
 this sort, we listened with many grains of allow- 
 ance, though of course determined to investigate 
 further. 
 
 Here we began to inquire for dogs, and were suc- 
 cessful in hiring a team of six, and their owner to 
 drive them. The owner is called "Chukchi Joe," 
 and since he can speak a little English he is also to 
 act in the capacity of interpreter, his language being 
 the same as that spoken by the natives of the north 
 Siberian coast. While we were trying to hire him, 
 one of his companions kept reiterating that there 
 was no use in sending out people to look for the 
 crews of those ships, for they were all dead. Joe 
 also said that it was no use going, and that he was 
 
 [31 ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 afraid to venture so far for fear he would never get 
 back. The snow, he objected, was too soft at this 
 time of year, and many rivers hard to cross were in 
 the way, and he did not Hke to leave his family. But 
 after we had promised to pay him well, whether 
 our lost friends were found or not, he consented to 
 go, and when he went ashore to get ready we went 
 with him. 
 
 The settlement consisted of only two habitations 
 with twenty-five or thirty persons, located back 
 three quarters of a mile from the coast. On reach- 
 ing home Joe quickly vanished. His hut was about 
 twenty-five feet in diameter, and was made of 
 poles bent down at the top, where they all met 
 to form a hemisphere. This frame was covered 
 with skins of seal, sea-lion, and walrus, chiefly the 
 latter. . . . Since much of the flesh on which the 
 Chukchis subsist is eaten raw, only very small fires 
 are made, and the huts are cold. The ground inside 
 of this one was wet and muddy as a California cor- 
 ral in the rainy season, and seemed almost as large. 
 But around the sides of this cold, squalid shell, 
 little more than a wind-break and partial shelter 
 from rain and snow, there were a number of very 
 snug, clean, luxurious bedrooms, whose sides, ceil- 
 ing, and floor were made of fur; they were lighted 
 by means of a pan of whale-oil with a bit of moss 
 for a wick. After being out all day hunting in the 
 stormy weather, or on ice-packs or frozen tundras, 
 
 [32] 
 
■ 
 
 
 ^^B 
 
 !.»^^Pf 
 
 1 
 
 
Siberian Adventures 
 
 the Chukchi withdraws into this furry sanctULm, 
 takes off all his clothing, and spreads his wearied 
 limbs in luxurious ease, sleeping perfectly nude in 
 the severest weather. 
 
 After introducing ourselves and shaking hands 
 with a few of the most dignified of the old men, we 
 looked about the strange domicile. Dogs, children, 
 men, women, and utensils; spears, guns, whale- 
 lances, etc., were stuck about the rafters and hang- 
 ing on the supporting posts. We looked into one of 
 the fur bedrooms, about six by seven, and found 
 Joe enjoying a bath ere putting on his fine clothes 
 to set out with us. Soon he emerged clad in a blue 
 cloth army coat with brass buttons and shoulder 
 straps and army cap ! I scarcely knew him. 
 
 In the mean time Captain H[ooper] was off tak- 
 ing a drive over the snow with a dog-team and sled. 
 When he returned Joe was having a farewell talk 
 with his wife, who seemed very anxious about his 
 safety and long absence. His little boy, too, about a 
 year and a half old, had been told that his father 
 was going away and he seemed to understand some- 
 what, as he kept holding him by the legs and try- 
 ing to talk to him while looking up in his face. 
 When we started away from the house he kissed 
 his boy and bade him good-bye. The little fellow 
 in his funny bags of fur toddled after him until 
 caught and carried back by some of the women 
 who were looking on. Joe's wife came aboard for a 
 
 [33 ] 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 final farewell. After taking him aside and talking 
 with him, the tears running down her cheeks, she 
 left the vessel and went back with some others who 
 had come to trade deerskins, while we sailed away. 
 One touch of nature makes all the world kin, and 
 here were many touches among the wild Chukchis. 
 We next proceeded to St. Lawrence Bay in 
 search of furs and more dogs, and came to anchor 
 at the mouth of the bay, opposite a small Chukchi 
 settlement of two huts, at half-past one in the after- 
 noon, May 29. This bay, like all I have seen along 
 this coast, is of glacial formation, conducting back 
 into glacial fountains in a range of peaks of mod- 
 erate height. The wind was blowing hard from the 
 south and snow was falling. The natives, however, 
 came oif at once to trade. Here we met the volu- 
 ble Jaroochah, who sat gravely on the sloppy deck 
 in the sludge, and told the story of the wrecked 
 Vigilant in a loud, vehement, growling, roaring 
 voice and with frantic gestures. He assured us over 
 and over again that there was no use in going to 
 seek any of the crew, for they were all dead and the 
 ship with her broken masts had drifted away again 
 to the north with the ice-pack. When told that we 
 would certainly seek them whether dead or alive, 
 he explained that the snow and ice were too soft 
 for sleds at this time of year. Seeing that we were 
 still unconvinced, he doubtless regarded us as fool-: 
 ish and incorrigible white trash. 
 
 I 34 1 . 
 
Siberian Adventures 
 
 We went ashore to fetch some dogs they offered 
 to sell, but they changed their minds and refused 
 to sell at any price, nor were they willing to barter 
 deerskins that we needed for the trip and for win- 
 ter clothing in case we should be caught in the ice 
 and compelled to pass a winter in the Arctic. We 
 presented them with a bucket of hardtack which 
 no one of the party touched until the old orator 
 gave orders to his son to divide it. This he did by 
 counting it out on the deck, laying down one bis- 
 cuit for each person and then adding one to each 
 until all was exhausted, piling them on each other 
 like a money-changer counting out coins. The 
 mannerly reserve and unhasting dignity of all these 
 natives when food is set before them is very striking 
 as compared with the ravenous, snatching haste of 
 the hungry poor among the whites. Even the chil- 
 dren look wistfully at the heap of bread, without 
 touching it until invited, and then eat very slowly 
 as if not hungry at all. Nor do they ever need to 
 be told to wait. Even when a year of famine occurs 
 from any cause, they endure it with fortitude such 
 as would be sought for in vain among the civil- 
 ized, and after braving the most intense cold of 
 these dreary ice-bound coasts in search of food, if 
 unsuccessful, they wrap themselves in their furs and 
 die quietly as if only going to sleep. This they did 
 by hundreds two years ago on St. Lawrence Island. 
 
 [35] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 Finding that we could not buy anything that 
 we wanted here, savage eloquence being the only 
 article offered, we sailed for the Diomedes. Here 
 we found the natives eager to trade away every- 
 thing they had. We bought a lot of furs and nine- 
 teen dogs, paying a sack of flour for each dog. This 
 Arctic cattle market was in every way lively and 
 picturesque, and ended satisfactorily to all the 
 parties concerned. The scene of barter as each 
 Eskimo, pitching alongside in his skin boat, hoisted 
 the howling wolves aboard and thence to the upper 
 deck in front of the pilot-house, was a rare one. 
 
 The villages are perched on the steep rocky 
 slopes of mountains which drop at once sheer into 
 deep water, one mountain per island.^ No margin 
 is left for a village along the shore, so, like the sea- 
 birds that breed here and fly about in countless 
 multitudes darkening the water, the rocks, and the 
 air, the natives had to perch their huts on the 
 cliffs, dragging boats and everything up and down 
 very steep trails. The huts are mostly built of 
 stone with skin roofs. They look like mere stone- 
 heaps, black dots on the snow at a distance, with 
 whalebone posts set up and framed at the top to 
 lay their canoes beyond the dogs that would other- 
 wise eat them. The dreariest towns I ever beheld 
 
 ^* Muir noted in his journal that " Fairway Rock near the East 
 Diomede is a similar smaller island, on which the granite rock is 
 glaciated." 
 
 1 36] 
 
Siberian Adventures 
 
 — the tops of the islands in gloomy storm-clouds; 
 snow to the water's edge, and blocks of rugged ice 
 for a fringe; then the black water dashing against 
 the ice; the gray sleety sky, the screaming water 
 birds, the howling wind, and the blue gathering 
 sludge! V 
 
 We now pushed on through the strait and into 
 the Arctic Ocean without encountering any ice, 
 and passed Cape Serdzekamen this afternoon 
 [May 31]. The weather has been calm and toler- 
 ably clear for the last twenty-four hours, enabling 
 us to see the coast now and then. It showed hills 
 of moderate height, rising here and there to moun- 
 tains. 
 
 About twelve miles northwest from Cape Serd- 
 zekamen we observed a marked bluff where the 
 shore ice seemed narrower than elsewhere, and we 
 approached, intending to examine it with reference 
 to landing the party here. When we were within a 
 mile of it we saw a group of natives signaling us 
 to land by waving something over their heads. 
 The Captain, Joe, and myself got on the ice from 
 the boat, and began to scramble over it toward the 
 bluff, but found the ice very rough and made slow 
 progress. The pack is made up of a crushed mass 
 of blocks and pinnacles tilted at every angle up to 
 a height of from ten to thirty feet, and it seemed 
 to become rougher and more impassable as we 
 advanced. 
 
 t37l 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 Fortunately we discovered a group of natives a 
 quarter of a mile or so to the westward, coming 
 toward the ship, when we returned to our boat 
 that was lying at the edge of the ice, and went 
 around to meet them. After shaking hands with 
 the most imposing of the group of eight, we di- 
 rected Joe to tell them the object we had in coming, 
 and to inquire whether two of their number would 
 go with our sledge party to assist in driving the 
 teams. One of them, a strapping fellow over six 
 feet tall, said that he had a wife and four boys and 
 two girls to hunt seals for, and therefore could not 
 go. As Joe interpreted ^him in whaler English, he 
 was " already hungry like hell." Another said that 
 the journey was too long for Am, that our friends 
 were not along the coast, else he would certainly 
 have heard about them, and therefore the journey 
 would be vain. We urged that we were going to 
 seek them whether they were to be found or not, 
 and that if they would go with us we would leave 
 more food for their families than they could get 
 for them by hunting. 
 
 Two of the number at length consented to go, 
 after being assured that we would pay them well, 
 whether the journey proved successful or other- 
 wise. Then we intimated that ^ we would like to 
 visit their village, which seemed to please them; 
 for they started at once to guide us over the hum- 
 mocky ice to where they had left their dog-teams 
 
 I 38] 
 
 / 
 
Siberian Adventures 
 
 and sleds. It was a rough scramble at best, and 
 even the natives sHpped at times and hesitated 
 cautiously in choosing a way, while we, encum- 
 bered with overcoats and not so well shod, kept 
 sinking with awkward glints and slumps into 
 hopper-shaped holloas and chasms filled with snow. 
 One of them kindly gave me his balancing-stick. ) 
 
 Beyond the roughest portion of the himimock 
 region we found the dogs, nearly a hundred of 
 them, with eleven sleds, making, as they lay at 
 their ease, an imposing picture among the white 
 ice. Three of the teams were straightened out and 
 one of them given in charge of Joe, who is an adept 
 at driving, while the Captain and I were taken on 
 behind the drivers of the other two; and away we 
 sped over the frozen ceiling of the sea, two rows of 
 tails ahead. 
 
 The distance to the village, called "Tapkan" by 
 the natives, was about three miles, the first mile 
 very rough and apparently hopelessly inaccessible 
 to sleds. But the wolfish dogs and drivers seemed 
 to regard it all as a regular turnpike, and jogged 
 merrily on, up one side of a tilted block or slab and 
 down the other with a sudden pitch and plunge, 
 swishing round sideways on squinted cakes, and 
 through pools of water and sludge in blue, craggy 
 hollows, on and on, this way and that, with never 
 a halt, the dogs keeping up a steady jog trot, and 
 the leader simply looking over his shoulder occa- 
 
 [ 39 ] 
 
T'he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 sionally for directions in the worst places. The 
 driver admonished them with loud calls of "Hoora ! 
 Hoora! Shedack! Shedack! Knock! Knock!" but 
 seldom struck them. He had to hold himself in 
 constant readiness to jump off and hold the sled 
 while guiding it aroimd sharp angles and across 
 the high cutting ridges. My sled was not upset at 
 all, and the Captain's only twice. 
 
 Part of our way was across the mouth of a bay 
 on smooth ice that had not been subjected to the 
 mashing, upheaving strain of the ocean ice, and 
 over this we glided rapidly. My Chukchi driver, 
 now that he had no care about the upsetting of the 
 sled, frequently turned with a smile and did his 
 best to entertain me, though he did not under- 
 stand a word of English. It was a rare, strange ride 
 for us, yet accomplished with such everyday com- 
 monplace confidence, that it seemed at the time as 
 if this might be the only mode of land travel in the 
 world. 
 
 Some teams were just arriving from the village 
 as we were going to it. When we met, the dogs 
 passed each other to right or left as they were told 
 by their drivers, who kept flourishing a whip and 
 jingling some iron rings that were tied loosely to 
 one end of a short stick that had an iron goad in 
 the other, and of which the dogs knew the use all 
 too well. They are as steady as oxen, each keeping 
 its trace-line tight, and showing no inclination to 
 
 [ 40 ] 
 
Siberian Adventures 
 
 shirk — utterly unlike the illustrations I had seen, 
 in which all are represented as running at a wild 
 gallop with mouths wide open. 
 
 The village is built on a sand-bar pushed up by 
 the ice on the west side of a narrow bay. I counted 
 twenty huts in all. When we drove up, the women 
 and children, and a few old men who had not been 
 tempted to make the journey to the ship, came out 
 to meet us. Captain Hooper went [to the house 
 belonging to his driver, I to the one belonging to 
 mine; afterwards we joined and visited in com- 
 pany. We were kindly received and shown to good 
 seats on reindeer skins. All of them smiled good- 
 naturedly when we shook hands with them, and 
 tried to repeat our salutations. When we discussed 
 our proposed land journey the women eagerly 
 joined and the children listened attentively. . 
 
 We inquired about the Vega, knowing that she 
 had wintered hereabouts. At first they said they 
 knew nothing about her; that no ship had wintered 
 here two years ago. Then, as if suddenly remem- 
 bering, one of them said a three-masted ship, a 
 steamer like the Corwin, had stopped one season 
 in the ice at a point a few miles east of the village, 
 and had gone away when it melted in the summer. 
 A woman, who had been listening, then went to a 
 box, and after turning it over, showed us a spoon, 
 fork, and pocket compass of Russian manufacture, 
 which she said the captain had given them. 
 
 [41 1 
 
T'he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 The huts here are like those already described, 
 only they are dry because of the porous character 
 of the ground. Three or four families live in one 
 each having a private polog of deerskins, of which 
 there are several thicknesses on the floor. We were 
 shown into one — the snuggest storm nest imagin- 
 able, and perfectly clean. The common hut is far 
 otherwise; dogs mingle with the food, hair is every- 
 where, and strangely persistent smells that defy 
 even the Arctic frosts. The children seemed in 
 fair ratio with the adults. When a child is to be 
 nursed the mother merely pulls out one of her arms 
 from the roomy sleeve of her parka and pushes 
 it down until the breast is exposed. The breasts 
 are pendulous and cylindrical, like those of the 
 Tlingits. 
 
 The dishes used in domestic affairs are of wood, 
 and in the smallest of these the puppies, after lick- 
 ing them, were often noticed to lie down. They 
 seemed made specially for them, so well did they 
 fit. Dogs were eagerly licking the large kettles, 
 also, in which seal meat had been boiled. They 
 seemed to be favored in these establishments like 
 the pigs in Irish huts. Spears, lances, guns and nets 
 were fastened about the timbers of the roof and 
 sides, but little food of any kind was visible. A 
 pot was swinging over a small fire of driftwood 
 when we entered one of the huts, and an old dame 
 was stirring it occasionally, and roasting seal liver 
 
 [42] 
 
Siberian Adventures 
 
 on the coals beneath It. On leaving we were each 
 presented with a pair of fur mittens. 
 
 At the last moment, when we were ready to re- 
 turn to the ship, one of the men we had engaged 
 to go with the land party changed his mind and 
 concluded to stay at home. The other stuck to his 
 engagement, though evidently feeling sore about 
 leaving his family. His little boy cried bitterly 
 when he learned that his father was going away, 
 and refused all the offers made by the women to 
 comfort him. After we had sped away over the ice, 
 half a mile from the village, we could still hear his 
 screams. Just as the ship was about to weigh 
 anchor, the second man again offered to go with us, 
 but Joe said to the Captain, "More better not take 
 that fellow, he too much talk." 
 
 The group of lookers-on congregated on the edge 
 of the Ice was very picturesque seen from the ves- 
 sel as we moved away. The Chukchis are taller 
 and more resolute-looking people than the Eskimos 
 of the opposite coast, but both are Mongols and 
 nearly alike in dress and mode of life, as well as 
 in religion. 
 
 The weather is promising this evening. No por- 
 tion of the polar pack Is In sight, and we mean to 
 push on westward as far as we can with safety. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 IN PERIL FROM THE PACK 
 
 Steamer Conoin, 
 Near the edge of the shore ice, 
 opposite Koliuchin Island, 
 6 P.M., June 2, 1881, 
 
 AFTER leaving Tapkan, twelve miles north- 
 west of Cape Serdzekamen, on the evening of 
 the last day of May, we steamed along the coast 
 to the westward, tracing the edge of the shore-ice, 
 which seemed to be from three to six miles wide. 
 The weather was tranquil, though rather thick at 
 times, and the water was like glass and as smooth 
 as a mill-pond. About half-past five yesterday 
 afternoon we reached the end of the open lead that 
 we had been following, one hundred and thirty miles 
 west of Cape Serdzekamen, latitude 68° 28' N., 
 longitude 175° 10' W., having thus early in the 
 season gained a point farther west than the Corwin 
 was able to reach at any time last year. 
 
 At this point the firm coast ice united with the 
 great polar pack, and, as there was danger of its 
 drifting south at any time and cutting us off, we 
 made haste to the eastward, keeping as far offshore 
 as possible, that we might be able to watch the 
 movements of the pack. About seven o'clock last 
 evening, the weather becoming thick, the engine 
 
 [44I 
 
In Peril from the Pack 
 
 was stopped and the vessel was allowed to proceed 
 slowly under sail. 
 
 Shortly after one o'clock this morning I was 
 awakened by unusual sounds on deck, and after 
 listening for a few minutes, concluded that we must 
 be entangled in the edge of the pack and were un- 
 shipping the rudder for fear it might be carried 
 away. Going on deck, I was surprised to see the 
 broken rudder being hoisted, for I had not been 
 awakened by the blow. The oak shaft was broken 
 completely off, and also all three of the pintles. 
 It seems that about midnight, owing to the fog and 
 snow, we got into a field of heavy masses of ice on 
 the edge of the main pack, which, on account of a 
 north wind that had commenced to blow, was now 
 moving slowly southward, and while backing out 
 of it, a moderate bump that chanced to take the 
 rudder at the greatest disadvantage broke it off 
 without any appreciable strain. 
 
 The situation was sufficiently grave and excit- 
 ing — dark weather, the wind from the north and 
 freshening every minute, and the vast polar pack 
 pushing steadily shoreward. It was a cold, bleak, 
 stormy morning, with a close, sweeping fall of snow, 
 that encumbered the deck and ropes and nearly 
 blinded one when compelled to look to windward. 
 Our twenty-five dogs made an effective addition 
 to the general uproar, howling as only Eskimo dogs 
 can. They were in the way, of course, and were 
 
 [45] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 heartily kicked hither and thither. The necessary 
 orders, however, were being promptly given and 
 obeyed. As soon as the broken rudder was secured 
 on deck, four long spars were nailed and lashed 
 firmly together, fastened astern and weighted to 
 keep them in place at the right depth in the water. 
 This made a capital jury-rudder. It was worked 
 by ropes attached on either side and to the steam 
 windlass. The whole was brought into complete 
 working order in- a few hours, nearly everybody 
 rendering service, notwithstanding the blinding 
 storm and peril, as if jury-rudder making under 
 just these circumstances were an everyday em- 
 ployment. Then, finding everything worked well, 
 we made our escape from the closing ice and set out 
 for Plover Bay to repair the damage. 
 
 About four in the afternoon, as the clouds lifted, 
 we sighted Koliuchin Island, which our two Chuk- 
 chi natives hailed with joyful, beaming eyes. 
 Tliey evidently were uneasy because of the acci- 
 dent, and on account of being so long out of sight 
 of land — a state of mind easily explained by the 
 dangers attending their mode of life among the 
 ice. In front of the island the ice seemed to be two 
 or three miles wide and lavishly roughened with 
 jammed, angular hummocks. Captain Hooper was 
 now very anxious to get his sledge party landed. 
 Everything was ready to be put on shore as soon 
 as a safe landing-place should be discovered. The 
 
 [ 46 ] 
 
In Peril from the Pack 
 
 two Chukchis were In the pilot-house gazing wist- 
 fully at the gloomy snow-covered island as it 
 loomed up in the gray, stormy sky with its jagged 
 reach of ice in the foreground beaten by the waves. 
 
 The Captain directed Chukchi Joe, the inter- 
 preter, to ask his companion, the dog-driver, who 
 was familiar with the condition of the ice on this 
 part of the coast, whether this was a good point on 
 which to land. His answer, as interpreted by Joe, 
 was : "He says it's good; it's pretty good, he says." 
 "Then get ready, Mr. Herring, for your journey," 
 ordered the Captain. " Here, Quartermaster, get 
 the provisions on deck." " Lower the boats there." 
 "Joe, harness the dogs." 
 
 In a few minutes all was in readiness and in the 
 boats. The party is composed of First Lieutenant 
 Herring, in charge; Third Lieutenant Reynolds, a 
 sailor^ and the two Chukchis. They have twenty- 
 five dogs, four sleds, a light skin boat to cross rivers 
 and any open water they may find in their way, 
 and two months' provisions. They were directed 
 to search the coast as far to the westward as pos- 
 sible for the crew of the Jeannette or any tidings 
 concerning the fate of the expedition; to interview 
 the natives they met; to explore the prominent por- 
 tions of the coast for cairns and signals of any kind, 
 and to return to Tapkan, where we would meet 
 them, while in the mean time we propose to cruise 
 ^ Coxswain Gessler. 
 
 1 47] 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 wherever, under existing conditions, we can best 
 carry out the objects of the expedition. 
 
 The party and all their equipments were carried 
 from the vessel to the ice in three boats, roped 
 together at intervals of twenty-five or thirty feet, 
 the life-boat leading with the party, clothing, 
 provisions, etc. Then came the dinghey, loaded 
 nearly to the water's edge with the dogs, and one 
 man to thrash them and keep some sort of order 
 while they worried each other and raised an out- 
 rageous noise, on account of their uncomfortable, 
 tumbled-together condition. And last, the skin 
 boat, flying-light, with only the sleds aboard and 
 one man to steer, the whole making a very extra- 
 ordinary show. 
 
 Soon after the boats had left, while we were still 
 watching the tossing fleet from the pilot-house and 
 scanning the shore with reference to a landing- 
 place, we noticed three dark objects on top of a 
 hummock near the edge of the ice, and just back 
 of them and to one side on a flat portion of the ice, 
 a group of black dots. These proved to be three 
 natives with their dog teams. They were out hunt- 
 ing seals, and had descried the ship with their sharp 
 eyes and now came forward to gaze. This was a 
 glad discovery to us, and no doubt still more so to 
 the party leaving the ship, as they were now sure 
 of the passable state of the ice, and would have 
 guides with local knowledge to conduct them to the 
 
 [48 ] 
 
In Peril from the Pack 
 
 land. When the dogs got upon the ice, their native 
 heath, they rolled and raced about in exuberant 
 sport. The rough pack was home sweet home to 
 them, though a more forbidding combination of 
 sky, rough water, ice, and driving snow could 
 hardly be imagined by the sunny civilized south. 
 
 After all were safely knded and our boats had 
 returned, we went on our way, while the land party, 
 busied about their sled-packing and dogs, gradu- 
 ally faded in the snowy gloom. All seems well this 
 evening; no ice is in sight to the northward, and 
 the jury-rudder is working extremely well. 
 
 [Steamer Corwin, 
 En route southward, to Plover Bay.] 
 
 Junes. Snowing nearly all day. Cleared towards 
 four in the afternoon. Spoke the Helen Mar; had 
 taken five whales; another had already nine. Seven 
 other whalers in sight, all of them save two smok- 
 ing like steamers. They are trying out their abun- 
 dant blubber; in danger of being blubber-logged. 
 Saw an Indian ^ canoe leaving the Helen Mar as we 
 approached; probably had been trading, the sea 
 being smooth. 
 
 Had a good view of the two Diomedes; the west- 
 ern one is very distinctly glaciated, nearly all of 
 the summit being comprehended in one beauti- 
 
 1 Mr. Muir often applies this term to the Bering Sea natives in 
 general, whether Innuits or Chukchis. 
 
 [49] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 furice-fountain5''giving it a craterlike form. The 
 residual glacial action, however, has been light, 
 comparatively, here. No deep canons putting back 
 into the mountains, most of which are low. It is 
 interesting, however, to see undoubted traces both 
 of general and local glaciation thus far north, where 
 the ground is in general rather low. Came up to the 
 ice-pack about ten in the evening, so turned back 
 and lay to. 
 
 June 4, Calm, bland, foggy water, glassy and 
 still as a mill-pond. Cleared so that one could see 
 a mile ahead at ten o'clock, and we got under way. 
 Sun nearly clear for the first day since coming into 
 the Arctic. Mild, too, for it is 45° F. at noon; even 
 seemed hot. The clouds lifted from the mountains, 
 shc»wing their bases and slopes up to a thousand 
 feet; summits capped. East Cape in fine view; high 
 headland still streaked with snow nearly to the 
 base; summit white at close range. All the coast 
 for at least two hundred miles west of East Cape 
 shows distinct glaciation, both general and local. 
 Many glacier fountains well characterized. Indian 
 village off here. Were boarded by three canoe loads 
 of Indian seal hunters from East Cape village. 
 They traded ivory and shoes, called " susy " by their 
 interpreter. We were anxious to tell them about 
 our sledge party and inquired of one who spoke a 
 few words of English whether any of their number 
 could speak good English. He seemed to think us 
 
 [ 50] 
 
In Peril from the Pack 
 
 very unreasonable, and said, "Me speak good." 
 Got a female eider duck; very fat. In one of the 
 canoes there was a very large seal, weighing per- 
 haps four hundred pounds. 
 
 This has been by far the most beautiful and 
 gentle of our Arctic days, the water perfectly 
 glassy and with no swell, mirroring the sky, which 
 shows a few blue cloudless spots, white as satin 
 near the horizon, of beautiful luster, trying to 
 the eyes. More whalers in sight. Gulls skimming 
 the glassy level. Innumerable multitudes of eider 
 ducks, the snowy shore, and all the highest moun- 
 tains cloud-capped — a rare picture and perfectly 
 tranquil and peaceful! God's love is manifest in 
 the landscape as in a face. How unlike yesterday! 
 In the evening a long approach to sunset, a red sky 
 mingling with brown and white of the ice-blink. 
 Growing colder towards midnight. There is no 
 night at all now; only a partial gloaming; never, 
 even in cloudy midnights, too dark to read. So for 
 more than a week. Ice in sight, but hope to pass 
 it by running a few miles to shore. Are now, at 
 half-past eleven in the evening, beyond St. Law- 
 rence Bay. Hope to get into Plover Bay to-morrow 
 morning at six o'clock. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 A CHUKCHI ORATOR 
 
 Steamer Cortvtn, 
 St. Lawrence Bay, Siberia, June 6, 1881. 
 
 YESTERDAY morning at half-past one o'clock, 
 when we were within twenty-five miles of 
 Plover Bay, where we hoped to be able to repair 
 our rudder, we found that the ice-pack was crowd- 
 ing us closer and closer inshore, and that in our 
 partly disabled condition it would not be safe to 
 proceed farther. Accordingly we turned back and 
 put into St. Lawrence Bay, to await some favor- 
 able movement in the ice. 
 
 We dropped anchor at half-past seven in the 
 morning opposite a small Chukchi settlement. In 
 a few hours the wind began to blow fresh from the 
 north, steadily increasing in force, until at eight 
 in the evening it was blowing a gale, and we were 
 glad that we were in a good harbor instead of being 
 out at sea, slashing and tumbling about with a 
 broken rudder among the wind-driven ice. It also 
 rained and snowed most of the afternoon, the blue 
 and gray sleet mingling in grand uproar with the 
 white scud swept from the crests of the waves, 
 making about as stormy and gloomy an atmo- 
 sphere as I ever had the fortune to breathe. Now 
 and then the clouds broke and lifted their ragged 
 
 [ 52 1 
 
A Chukchi Orator 
 
 edges high enough to allow the mountains along 
 the sides and around the head of the bay to be 
 dimly seen, not so dimly, however, as to hide the 
 traces of the heavy glaciation to which they have 
 been subjected. This long bay, as shown by its 
 trends, its relation to the ice-fountains at its head 
 and the sculpture of its walls, is a glacial fiord that 
 only a short time ago was the channel of a glacier 
 that poured a deep and broad flood into Bering 
 Sea, in company with a thousand others north and 
 south along the Siberian coast. The more I see of 
 this region the more I am inclined to believe that 
 all of Bering Sea and Strait is a glacial excavation. 
 
 In a party of natives that came aboard soon after 
 we had dropped anchor, we discovered the remark- 
 able Chukchi orator, Jaroochah, whose acquaint- 
 ance we made at the settlement on the other side 
 of the bay, during our first visit, and who had so 
 vividly depicted the condition of the lost whaler 
 Vigilant. To-day, after taking up a favorable posi- 
 tion in the pilot-house, he far surpassed his pre- 
 vious efforts, pouring forth Chukchi in overwhelm- 
 ing torrents, utterly oblivious of the presence of his 
 rival, the howling gale. 
 
 During a sudden pause in the midst of his vol- 
 canic eloquence he inquired whether we had rum 
 to trade for walrus ivory, whereupon we explained, 
 in total abstinence phrase, that rum was very bad 
 stuff for Chukchis, and by way of illustration re- 
 
 [ S3 ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 lated its sad effects upon the Eskimo natives of 
 St. Lawrence Island. Nearly all the natives we 
 have thus far met admitted very readily that whis- 
 key was not good for them. But Jaroochah was not 
 to be so easily silenced, for he at once began an 
 anti-temperance argument in saloon-and-moderate- 
 drinker style, explaining with vehement gestures 
 that some whiskey was good, some bad ; that he 
 sometimes drank five cupfuls of the good article 
 in quick succession, the effect of which was greatly 
 to augment his happiness, while out of a small 
 bottle of the bad one, a small glass made him sick. 
 And as for whiskey or rum causing people to die, 
 he knew, he said, that that was a lie, for he had 
 drunk much himself, and he had a brother who 
 had enjoyed a great deal of whiskey on board of 
 whalers for many years, and that though now a 
 gray old man he was still alive and happy. 
 
 This speech was warmly applauded by his lis- 
 tening companions, indicating a public opinion 
 that offers but little hope of success for the efforts 
 of temperance societies among the Chukchis. Cap- 
 tain Hooper, the surgeon, and myself undertook 
 to sketch the orator, who, when he had gravely 
 examined our efforts, laughed boisterously at one 
 of them, which, in truth, was a slanderous carica- 
 ture of even his countenance, villainous as it was. 
 
 In trading his ivory for supplies of some sort, 
 other than alcohol, he tried to extract some trifling 
 
 I 54] 
 
A Chukchi Orator 
 
 article above what had been agreed on, when the 
 trader threatened to have nothing further to do 
 with him on account of the trouble he was making. 
 This set the old chief on his dignity, and he made 
 haste to declare that he was a good and honorable 
 man, and that in case the trade was stopped he 
 would give back all he had received and go home, 
 leaving his ivory on the deck heedless of what 
 became of it. The woman of the party, perhaps 
 eighteen years of age, merry and good-looking, 
 went among the sailors and danced, sang, and 
 joked with them. 
 
 The gale increased in violence up to noon to-day, 
 when it began to abate slightly, and this evening it 
 is still blowing hard. The Corwin commenced to 
 drag her anchor shortly after midnight, when an- 
 other that was kept in readiness was let go with 
 plenty of chain, which held, so that we rode out 
 the gale in safety. The whalers Francis Palmer and 
 Hidalgo came into the bay last evening from Bering 
 Strait and anchored near us. This morning the 
 Hidalgo had vanished, having probably parted her 
 cable. 
 
 Last evening a second party of natives came 
 aboard, having made their way around the head of 
 the bay or over the ice. Both parties remained on 
 board all night as they were unable to reach the 
 shore in their light skin boats against the wind. 
 Being curious to see how they were enduring the 
 
ne Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 cold, I went on deck early. They seemed scarcely 
 to feel it at all, for I found most of them lying on 
 the deck amid the sludge and sleeping soundly in 
 the clothes they wore during the day. Three of 
 them were sleeping on the broken rudder, swept 
 by the icy wind and sprinkled with snow and frag- 
 ments of ice that were falling from the rigging, 
 their heads and necks being nearly bare. 
 
 I inquired why their reindeer parkas were made 
 without hoods, while those of the Eskimos of St. 
 Lawrence Island had them; observing that they 
 seemed far more comfortable in stormy weather, 
 because they kept the head and neck warm and 
 dry. They replied that they had to hunt hard and 
 look quick all about them for a living, therefore it 
 was necessary to keep their heads free; while the 
 St. Lawrence Eskimos were la2y, and could indulge 
 in effeminate habits. They gave the same reason 
 for cutting off most of the hair close to the scalps, 
 while the women wear the hair long. 
 
 One of their number was very dirty, and Captain 
 Hooper, who is becoming interested in glacial 
 studies, declared that he had discovered two ter- 
 minal moraines In his ears. When asked why he 
 did not wash himself, our interpreter replied, "Be- 
 cause he is an old fellow, and it is too much work 
 to wash." This was given with an air of having 
 explained the matter beyond further question. 
 Considering the necessities of the lives they lead, 
 
 [56] 
 
A Chukchi Orator 
 
 most of these people seem remarkably clean and 
 well-dressed and well-behaved. 
 
 The old orator poured forth his noisy eloquence 
 late and early, like a perennial mountain spring, 
 some of his deep chest tones sounding in the storm 
 like the roar of a lion. He rolled his wolfish eyes 
 and tossed his brown skinny limbs in a frantic 
 storm of gestures, now suddenly foreshortening 
 himself to less than half his height, then shooting 
 aloft with jack-in-the-box rapidity, while his peo- 
 ple looked on and listened, apparently half in fear, 
 half in admiration. We directed the interpreter to 
 tell him that we thought him a good man, and were, 
 therefore, concerned lest some accident might befall 
 him from so much hard speaking. The Chukchis, 
 as well as the Eskimos we have seen, are keenly 
 sensitive to ridicule, and this suggestion discon- 
 certed him for a moment and made a sudden pause. 
 However, he quickly recovered and got under way 
 again, like a wave withdrawing on a shelving shore, 
 only to advance and break again with gathered 
 force. 
 
 The chief man of the second party from the other 
 side of the bay is owner of a herd of reindeer, which 
 he said were now feeding among the mountains at 
 a distance of one sleep — a day's journey — from 
 the head of a bay to the south of here. He readily 
 indicated the position on a map that we spread 
 before him, and offered to take us to see them on 
 
 I 57 1 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 a sled drawn by reindeer, and to sell us as many 
 skins and as much meat as we cared to buy. When 
 we asked how many reindeer he had, all who heard 
 the question laughed at the idea of counting so 
 many. "They cover a big mountain," he said 
 proudly, "and nobody can count them." He 
 brought a lot of ivory to trade for tobacco, but said 
 nothing about it until the afternoon. Then he sig- 
 nified his readiness for business after awakening 
 from a sound sleep on the wet icy deck. 
 
 Shortly after we had breakfasted, the reindeer 
 chief having intimated that he and his friends were 
 hungry, the Captain ordered a large pot of tea, 
 with hardtack, sugar and molasses, to be served to 
 them in the pilot-house. They ate with dignified 
 deliberation, showing no unseemly haste, but eat- 
 ing rather like people accustomed to abundance. 
 Jaroochah, who could hardly stem his eloquence 
 even while eating, was particular about having his 
 son invited in to share the meal; also, two boys 
 about eight years old, giving as a reason, "they 
 are little ones." We also called in a young woman, 
 perhaps about eighteen years old, but none of the 
 men present seemed to care whether she shared 
 with them or not, and when we inquired the cause 
 of this neglect, telling them that white men always 
 served the ladies first, Jaroochah said that while 
 girls were "little fellows" their parents looked 
 after them, but when they grew big they went away 
 
 [58] 
 
A Chukchi Orator 
 
 from their parents with "some other fellow," and 
 were of no more use to them and could look out for 
 themselves. 
 
 Those who were not invited to this meal did not 
 seem to mind it much, for they had brought with 
 them plenty of what the whalers call "black skin" 
 — the skin of the right whale — which is about an 
 inch thick, and usually has from half an inch to an 
 inch of blubber attached. This I saw them eating 
 raw with hearty relish, snow and sludge the only 
 sauce, cutting off angular blocks of it with butcher- 
 knives, while one end of the tough black rubber- 
 like mass was being held in the left hand, the other 
 between their teeth. Long practice enables them to 
 cut off mouthfuls in this way without cutting their 
 lips, although they saw their long knives back and 
 forth, close to their faces, as if playing the violin. 
 They get the whale skin from the whalers, except- 
 ing the little they procure themselves. They hunt 
 the whale now with lances and gear of every kind 
 bought from the whalers, and sometimes succeed 
 in killing a good many. They eat the carcass, and 
 save the bone to trade to the whalers, who are 
 eager to get it. 
 
 After the old orator left the steamer, the reindeer 
 man accused him of being " a bad fellow, like a 
 dog." He evidently was afraid that we were being 
 fooled by his overwhelming eloquence into believ- 
 ing that he was a great man, while the precious 
 
 [59] 
 
^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 truth to be impressed upon us was, that he, the 
 reindeer man, whose herd covers a big mountain, 
 was the trup chief. I asked his son, who speaks a 
 little English, why he did not make a trip to San 
 Francisco, to see the white man's big town. He 
 replied, as many a civilized man does under similar 
 circumstances, that he had a little boy, too little to 
 be left, and too little to leave home, but that soon 
 he would be a big fellow, so high, indicating the 
 hoped-for stature with his hand, then he would go 
 to San Francisco on some whale-ship, to see where 
 all the big ships and good whiskey came from. 
 
 These [Chukchis] also had heard the story of the 
 Vigilant. The reindeer man's son is going with us 
 to Plover Bay to look after some of his father's 
 debtors. He has been supplying them with tobacco 
 and other goods on credit, and he thought it time 
 they were paying up. His little boy, he told us, was 
 sick — had a hot, sore head that throbbed, show- 
 ing with his hand how it beat in aching pulses, and 
 asked for medicine, which the surgeon gave him 
 with necessary directions, greatly to his relief of 
 mind, it seemed. 
 
 Around the shore opposite our anchorage the 
 ground is rather low, where the ancient glacier that 
 filled the bay swept over in smooth curves, break- 
 ing off near the shore, an abrupt wall from seventy 
 to a hundred feet high. Against this wall the pre- 
 vailing north winds have piled heavy drifts of snow 
 
 [60] 
 
A Chukchi Orator 
 
 that curve over the bluff at the top and slope out 
 over the fixed ice along the shore from the base. 
 The gale has been loosening and driving out past 
 the vessel, without doing us any harm, large masses 
 of the ice, capped with the edge of the drift. One 
 large piece drifted close past the steamer and 
 immediately in front of a large skin canoe capable 
 of carrying thirty men. The canoe, which was tied 
 to the stern of the ship, we thought was doomed to 
 be carried away. The owners looked wistfully over 
 the stern, watching her fate, while the sailors 
 seemed glad of the bit of excitement caused by 
 the hope of an accident that would cost them 
 nothing. Greatly to our surprise, however, when 
 the berg, rough and craggy, ten or twelve feet high, 
 struck her bow, she climbed up over the top of it, 
 and, dipping on the other side, glided down with a 
 graceful, launching swoop into the water, like a 
 living thing, wholly uninjured. The sealskin buffer, 
 fixed in front and inflated like a bladder, no doubt 
 greatly facilitated her rise. She was tied by a line 
 of walrus hide. 
 
 Now that the wind is abating, we hope to get 
 away from here to-morrow morning, and expect to 
 find most of the ice that stopped our progress yes- 
 terday broken up and driven southward far enough 
 to enable us to reach Plover Bay without further 
 difficulty. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 ESKIMOS AND WALRUS 
 
 Steamer Convin, 
 Plover Bay, June is, 1881. 
 
 WE left our anchorage in St. Lawrence Bay at 
 four in the morning, June 7, and steered 
 once more for Plover Bay. The norther that had 
 been blowing so long gave place to a light southerly 
 breeze, and a gentle dusting of snow was falling. 
 In the afternoon the sea became smooth and glassy 
 as a mountain lake, and the clouds lifted, gradu- 
 ally unveiling the Siberian coast up to the tops of 
 the mountains. First the black bluffs, standing 
 close to the water, came in sight; then the white 
 slopes, and then one summit after another until a 
 continuous range forty or fifty miles long could be 
 seen from one point of view, forming a very beauti- 
 ful landscape. Smooth, dull, dark water in the fore- 
 ground; next, a broad belt of ice mostly white like 
 snow, with numerous masses of blue and black 
 shade among its jagged, uplifted blocks. Then a 
 strip of comparatively low shore, black and gray; 
 and back of that the pure white mountains, with 
 only here and there dark spots, where the rock 
 faces are too steep for snow to He upon. Sharp 
 peaks were seen, fluted by avalanches; glacier 
 
 [62] 
 
Eskimos and Walrus 
 
 wombs, delicate in curve and outline as shells; 
 rounded, overswept brows and domes, and long, 
 withdrawing valleys leading back into the highest 
 alpine groups, whence flowed noble glaciers in 
 imposing ranks into what is now Bering Sea. 
 
 We had hoped the gale had broken and driven 
 away the floe that barred our way on the fifth [of 
 June], but while yet thirty miles from the entrance 
 of the bay we were again stopped by an immense 
 field of heavy ice that stretched from the shore 
 southeastward as far as the eye could reach. We 
 pushed slowly into the edge of it a few miles, look- 
 ing for some opening, but the man in the crow's 
 nest reported it all solid ahead and no water in 
 sight. We thereupon steamed out and steered 
 across to St. Lawrence Island to bide our time. 
 
 While sailing amid the loose blocks of ice that 
 form the edge of the pack, we saw a walrus, and 
 soon afterward a second one with its young. The 
 Captain shot and killed the mother from the pilot- 
 house, and the dinghey was lowered to tow it along- 
 side. The eyes of our Indian passengers sparkled 
 with delight in expectation of good meat after 
 enduring poor fare aboard the ship. After floating 
 for eight or ten minutes she sank to the bottom and 
 was lost — a sad fate and a luckless deed. 
 
 It was pitiful to see the young one swimming 
 around its dying mother, heeding neither the ship 
 nor the boat. They are said to be very affectionate 
 
 [63 ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 and bold in the defense of one another against every 
 enemy whatever. We have as yet seen but few, 
 though in some places they are found in countless 
 thousands. Many vessels are exclusively employed 
 in killing them on the eastern Greenland coast, and 
 along some portions of the coast of Asia. Here also, 
 the whalers, when they have poor success in whal- 
 ing, devote themselves to walrus hunting, both for 
 the oil they yield and for the valuable ivory. The 
 latter is worth from forty to seventy cents per 
 pound in San Francisco, and a pair of large tusks 
 weighs from eight to ten pounds. 
 
 Along all the coasts, both of Asia and of Amer- 
 ica, the natives hunt and kill this animal, which to 
 them is hardly less important for food and other 
 uses than the seals. A large walrus is said to weigh 
 from one to two tons. Its tough hide is used for 
 cordage, and to cover canoes. The flesh is excellent, 
 while the ivory formerly was employed for spear 
 heads and other uses, and is now an important 
 article of trade for guns, ammunition, calico, 
 bread, flour, molasses, etc. The natives now kill a 
 good many whales, having obtained lances and 
 harpoons from the whites. Bone, in good years, 
 is more important than the ivory, and furs are 
 traded, also, in considerable quantity. By all these 
 means they obtain more of the white man's goods 
 than is well used. They probably were better off 
 before they were possessed of a single civilized 
 
 [ 64 ] 
 
Eskimos and Walrus 
 
 blessing — so many are the evils accompanying 
 them! 
 
 Our Chukchi passenger does not appear to en- 
 tertain a very good opinion of the St. Lawrence 
 natives. He advised the Captain to keep a close 
 watch of those he allowed to come aboard. We 
 asked him to-day the Chukchi name of ice, which 
 he gave as "eigleegle." When we said that another 
 of his people called it "tingting," he replied that 
 that was the way poor common people spoke the 
 word, but that rich people, the upper aristocratic 
 class to which he belonged, called it "eigleegle." 
 His father, being a rich man, had three wives; most 
 of his tribe, he said, have only one. 
 
 At nine o'clock in the evening we were still more 
 than an hour's run from St. Lawrence Island, 
 though according to reckoning we should have 
 reached the northeast end of the island at eight 
 o'clock. We had been carried north about sixteen 
 miles, since leaving St. Lawrence Bay, by the cur- 
 rent setting through the Strait. The water, having 
 been driven south by the north gale, was pouring 
 north with greater velocity than ordinary. The sky 
 was a mass of dark, grainless cloud, banded slightly 
 near the northwest horizon; one band, a degree in 
 breadth above the sun, was deep indigo, with a few 
 short streaks of orange and red. We have not seen 
 a star since leaving San Francisco, and have seen 
 the sun perfectly cloudless only once! We came to 
 
 [6s ] 
 
l^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 anchor near the northwest end of the island about 
 midnight. 
 
 The next day, the eighth of June, was calm and 
 mild. A canoe with ten men and women came along- 
 side this morning, just arrived from Plover Bay, 
 on their way home. They made signs of weariness, 
 having pulled hard against this heavy current. The 
 distance is fifty miles. It is not easy to understand 
 how they manage to find their way in thick weather, 
 when it is difficult enough for seamen with charts 
 and compass. 
 
 In trying to account for the observed similarity 
 between the peoples of the opposite shores of Asia 
 and America, and the faunas and floras, scientists 
 have long been combating a difficulty that does not 
 exist save in their own minds. They have suggested 
 that canoes and ships from both shores either were 
 wrecked and drifted from one to the other, or that 
 natives crossed on the ice which every year fills 
 Bering Strait. As to-day, so from time immemo- 
 rial canoes have crossed for trade or mere pleasure, 
 steering by the swell of the sea when out of sight of 
 land. As to crossing on the ice, the natives tell me 
 that they frequently go with their dog-sleds from 
 the Siberian side to the Diomedes, those half-way 
 houses along the route, but seldom or never from 
 the Diomedes to the American side, on account of 
 the movements of the ice. But, though both means 
 of communication, assumed to account for dis- 
 
Eskimos and Walrus 
 
 tribution as it is found to exist to-day, were left 
 out, land communication in any case undoubtedly 
 existed, just previous to the glacial period, as far 
 south as the Aleutian Islands, and northward be- 
 yond the mouth of the Strait. 
 
 While groping in the dense fogs that hang over 
 this region, sailors find their way at times by the 
 flight of the innumerable sea-birds that come and 
 go from the sea to the shore. The direction, at 
 least, of the land is indicated, which is very impor- 
 tant in the case of small islands. How the birds find 
 their way is a mystery. 
 
 This canoe alongside was "two sleeps" in mak- 
 ing the passage. Time, I suppose, is reckoned by 
 sleeps during summer, as there is no night and only 
 one day. They at once began to trade eagerly, 
 seeming to fear that they would be left unvisited, 
 now that the whalers have all gone to the Arctic. 
 In the forenoon, after the natives had left, we took 
 advantage of the calm weather to go in search of 
 the wrecked Lolita, which went ashore last fall a 
 few miles to the north of here. On the way we 
 passed through a good deal of ice in flat cakes that 
 had been formed in a deep still bay, sheltered from 
 floating ice which jams and packs it. This ice did 
 not seem to be more than two or three feet thick, 
 possibly the depth to which it froze last winter less 
 the amount melted and evaporated since spring 
 commenced. 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 Walruses, in groups numbering from two to 
 fifty, were lying on cakes of ice. They were too shy, 
 however, to be approached within shooting range, 
 though many attempts were made. Some of the 
 animals were as bulky, apparently, as oxen. They 
 would awaken at the sound of the vessel crunching 
 through the loose ice, lift their heads and rear as 
 high as possible, then drop or plunge into the water. 
 The ponderous fellows took headers in large groups; 
 twenty pairs of flippers sometimes were in the air 
 at once. They can stay under water five or six 
 minutes, then come up to blow. If they are near 
 the ship they dive again instantly, going down like 
 porpoises, always exposing a large curving mass of 
 their body while dropping their heads, and, lastly, 
 their flippers are stretched aloft for an instant. 
 Sometimes they show fight, make combined attacks 
 on boats, and defend one another bravely. The 
 cakes on which they congregate are of course very 
 dirty, and show to a great distance. Since they soon 
 sink when killed in the water, they are hunted 
 mostly on the ice, and, when it is rough and hum- 
 mocky, are easily approached. 
 
 We were not successful in finding the Lolita, so 
 we steamed back to our anchorage in the lee of 
 a high bluff near the Eskimo village. Soon three 
 or four canoes came alongside, loaded with furs, 
 ivory and whalebone. Molasses, which they carry 
 away in bladders and seal skins, is with them a 
 
 [ 68 ] 
 
Eskimos and JValrus 
 
 favorite article of trade. Mixed with flour and 
 blocks of "black skin," it is esteemed, by Eskimo 
 palates, a dish fit for the gods. A group of listeners 
 laughed heartily when I described a mixture that 
 I thought would be to their taste. They smacked 
 their lips, and shouted "yes! yes!" One brought 
 as a present to our Chukchi, the reindeer man's son, 
 a chunk of "black skin" that, in color and odor, 
 seemed to be more than a year old. He no doubt 
 judged that our Chukchi, if not starving, was at 
 least faring poorly on civilized trash. 
 
 A study of the different Eskimo faces, while 
 important trades were pending, was very interest- 
 ing. They are better behaved than white men, not 
 half so greedy, shameless, or dishonest. I made a 
 few sketches of marked faces. One, who received a 
 fathom of calico more than was agreed upon, seemed 
 extravagantly delighted and grateful. He was lost 
 in admiration of the Captain, whose hand he shook 
 heartily. 
 
 We continued at anchor here the following day, 
 June 9. It was snowing and the decks were sloppy. 
 Several canoe loads of Eskimos came aboard, and 
 there was a brisk trade in furs, mostly reindeer 
 hides and parkas for winter use; also fox [skins] and 
 some whalebone and walrus ivory. Flour and 
 molasses were the articles most in demand. Some 
 of the women, heedless of the weather, brought 
 their boys, girls, and babies. One little thing, that 
 
 [69] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 the proud mother held up for our admiration, 
 smiled delightfully, exposing her two precious new 
 teeth. No happier baby could be found in warm 
 parlors, where loving attendants anticipate every 
 want and the looms of the world afford their best in 
 the way of soft fabrics. She looked gayly out at the 
 strange colors about her from her bit of a fur bag, 
 and when she fell asleep, her mother laid her upon 
 three oars that were set side by side across the 
 canoe. The snowflakes fell on her face, yet she 
 slept soundly for hours while I watched her, and 
 she never cried. All the youngsters had to be fur- 
 nished with a little bread which both fathers and 
 mothers begged for them, saying, "He little fellow, 
 Utile fellow." 
 
 Four walrus heads were brought aboard and the 
 ivory sold, while the natives, men and women, sat 
 down to dine on them with butcher-knives. They 
 cut off the flesh and ate it raw, apparently with 
 good relish. As usual, each mouthful was cut off 
 while held between the teeth. To our surprise they 
 never cut themselves. They seemed to enjoy 
 selecting tidbits from different parts of the head, 
 turning it over frequently and examining pieces 
 here and there, like a family leisurely finishing the 
 wrecked hull of a last day's dinner turkey. 
 
 These people interest me greatly, and it is worth 
 coming far to know them, however slightly. The 
 smile, or, rather, broad grin of that Eskimo baby 
 
 [70I 
 
Eskimos and Walrus 
 
 went directly to my heart, and I shall remember it 
 as long as I live. When its features had subsided 
 into perfect repose, the laugh gone from its dark 
 eyes, and the lips closed over its two teeth, I could 
 make its sweet smile bloom out again as often as I 
 nodded and chirruped to it. Heaven bless it! Some 
 of the boys, too, lads from eight to twelve years of 
 age, were well-behaved, bashful, and usually laughed 
 and turned away their faces when looked at. But 
 there was a response in their eyes which made you 
 feel that they are your very brothers. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 AT PLOVER BAY AND ST. MICHAEL 
 
 [Steamer Corwin, 
 Plover Bayy June 1$, i88i.] 
 
 A LITTLE before four o'clock the next 
 morning, June lo, I was awakened by the 
 officer of the deck coming into the cabin and re- 
 porting that the weather was densely foggy, and 
 that ice in large masses was crowding down upon 
 us, which meant "The Philistines be upon thee, 
 Samson!" Shortly afterward, the first mass struck 
 the ship and made her tremble in every joint; then 
 another and another, in quick succession, while 
 the anchor was being hurriedly raised. The situa- 
 tion in which we suddenly found ourselves was 
 quite serious. The ice, had it been like that about 
 the ship of the Ancient Mariner, "here and there 
 and all around," would have raised but little appre- 
 hension. But it was only on one side of us, while 
 a rocky beach was close by on the other, and 
 against this beach in our disabled condition the ice 
 was steadily driving us. Whether backing or going 
 ahead in so crowded a bit of water, the result for 
 some time was only so many shoves toward shore. 
 At length a block of small size, twenty or thirty 
 feet in diameter, drifted in between the Corwin and 
 
 [72] 
 
At Plover Bay and St. Michael 
 
 the shore, aiid by steaming against it and striking 
 it on the landward bow she gHnted around, head 
 to the pack, and an opening allowed her to enter a 
 little distance. This was gradually increased by 
 stopping and starting until we were safe in the 
 middle of it. Watching the compass and constantly 
 taking soundings, we traced the edge of the pack, 
 and in an hour or two made our escape into open 
 water. 
 
 After the fog lifted we went again in search of the 
 Lolita, and discovered her five or six miles below 
 the Eskimo village. Dropping anchor at the edge 
 of a sheet of firm shore-ice, we went across it to the 
 wreck to see whether we could not get some pintles 
 from it for our rudder. We found her rudder had 
 been carried away, but procured some useful iron, 
 blocks, tackle, spars, etc. ; also, two barrels of oil 
 which the natives had not yet appropriated. The 
 transportation of these stores to the ship over ice, 
 covered with sludge and full of dangerous holes, 
 made a busy day for the sailors. 
 
 Back a hundred yards from the beach I found a 
 few hints of the coming spring, though most of the 
 ground is still covered with snow. The dwarf wil- 
 low is beginning to put out its catkins, and a few 
 buds of saxifrages, erigerons, and heathworts are 
 beginning to swell. The bulk of the vegetation is 
 composed of mosses and lichens. Half a mile from 
 the wreck there is a deserted Eskimo village. All 
 
 [ 73 1 
 
T'he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 Its inhabitants are said to have died of famine two 
 winters ago. The traces of both local and general 
 glaciation are particularly clear and telling on this 
 island. 
 
 In the afternoon, the weather being calm and 
 mild, we succeeded in mending and shipping the 
 rudder, and the next morning we set out yet again 
 for Plover Bay, where we now are, having arrived 
 about midnight on the eleventh. The men have 
 been busy sawing and blasting a sort of slip in the 
 ice for the ship that she may be secure from drift 
 ice and well situated for loading the coal that is 
 piled on the shore opposite here. The coal belongs 
 to the Russians. In loading, the coal was first 
 stowed well forward in order to lift the stern high 
 enough out of water to enable us to make the addi- 
 tional repairs required on the rudder, since we 
 cannot find access to a beach smooth enough to lay 
 her on. 
 
 The Indians here are very poor. They have 
 offered nothing to trade. With a group of men and 
 women that came to the ship a few mornings ago 
 there was a half-breed girl about two years old. 
 She had light-brown hair, regular European fea- 
 tures, and was very fair and handsome. Her 
 mother, a Chukchi, died in childbirth, and the 
 natives killed her father. She is plump, red- 
 cheeked, and in every way a picture of health. 
 That in a Chukchi hut, nursed by a Chukchi 
 
 [74] 
 
At Plover Bay and St. Michael 
 
 mother-in-law, and on Chukchi food, a half- 
 European girl can be so beautiful, well-behaved, 
 happy, and healthy is very notable. 
 
 On the twelfth of June we had snow, rain and 
 sleet nearly all day. The view up the inlet was very 
 striking — lofty mountains on both sides rising 
 from the level of the water, and proclaiming in 
 telling characters the story of the inlet's creation 
 by glaciers that have but lately vanished. Most 
 of the slopes and precipices seemed particularly 
 dreary, not only on account of the absence of trees, 
 but of vegetation of any kind in any appreciable 
 amount. No bits of shelf gardens were to be seen, 
 though not wholly wanting when we came to climb, 
 for I discovered some lovely garden spots with a 
 tellima and anemone in full bloom. [The vegeta- 
 tion was] very dwarfed, and sparse, and scattered. 
 No green meadow-hollows. The rock was fast dis- 
 integrating, and all the mountains appeared in gen- 
 eral views like piles of loose stones dumped from the 
 clouds. Plover Bay ^ takes its name from H.M.S. 
 Plover, which passed the winter of 1848-49 here 
 while on a cruise in search of Franklin. It is a gla- 
 cial fiord, which in the height of its walls is more 
 Yosemite-like than any I have yet seen in Siberia. 
 
 In the afternoon Dr. Rosse and I set out across 
 the ice to the cliffs. We found a great many seal 
 holes and cracks of a dangerous kind, and a good 
 * Called Providence Bay on recent maps. 
 
 I 75 ], 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 deal of water on top of the ice that made the walk- 
 ing very sloppy. There were dog-sled tracks trend- 
 ing up and down the inlet. The ice is broken along 
 the shore by the rise and fall of the tides, but we 
 made out to cross on some large cakes wedged 
 together. Just before we reached the edge of rocks, 
 in scanning the ruinous, crumbling face of the cliffs 
 that here are between two and three thousand feet 
 high, I noticed an outstanding buttress harder and 
 more compact in cleavage than the rest, and very 
 obviously grooved, polished, and scratched by the 
 main vanished glacier that once filled all the fiord. 
 Up to this point we climbed, and found several 
 other spots of the old glacial surface not yet weath- 
 ered off. This is the first I have seen of this kind of 
 glacial traces. 
 
 On the thirteenth the whaler Thomas Pope ^ ar- 
 rived here and anchored to the ice near us. Get- 
 ting everything in trim for the return voyage, hav- 
 ing already taken all the [whale]-oil she can carry. 
 All the fleet are doing well this year, or, as the 
 natives express it, they are getting a "big grease." 
 
 [According to brief entries in Muir's journal the 
 fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth of June were 
 spent aboard the Corwin, writing personal letters 
 and several communications to the " San Francisco 
 Bulletin." From Captain Hooper's report of the 
 cruise of the Corwin, the following interesting 
 1 Captain M. V. B. Millard. 
 [ 76 1 
 
CHUKCHIS AND A SUMMER HOUSE AT PLOVER BAY 
 Photograph by E. W. Nelson 
 
At Plover Bay and St. Michael 
 
 record of events during the interval is extracted : — 
 
 On the fourteenth we worked all day, drawing coal 
 on the sleds, assisted by the natives and two sleds 
 with three dogs each, but the rapidly melting ice 
 made it very tedious. On the fifteenth we continued 
 work, although the softness of the ice compelled us to 
 reduce the loads to one-half their former size. About 
 four in the afternoon a slight roll of the vessel was 
 perceptible, indicating a swell coming in from the 
 outside. At the same time a slight undulating motion 
 of the ice was observed. This was followed by cracks 
 in the ice running in every direction, and we had 
 barely time to take in our ice anchors, call our men 
 on board, and take the Thomas Pope in tow before 
 the ice was all broken and in motion and rapidly 
 drifting toward the mouth of the bay. At first It 
 looked as if we might have to go to sea to avoid It. 
 The wind by this time was blowing fresh from the 
 northeast with a thick snow-storm, and, judging 
 from the roll coming into the bay, a heavy sea must 
 be running. Added to this was the fact of the sea 
 being filled with large fields of heavy drift ice, mak- 
 ing the prospect anything but a pleasing one. After 
 lying off outside the ice for an hour or two and just 
 when it seemed as If our only hope was in putting to 
 sea. Captain Millard reported from the masthead 
 that the whole body of ice had started offshore, and 
 that if we could get in through it we could find good 
 anchorage in clear water. Although the ice was pitch- 
 ing and rolling badly, it was well broken up, and we 
 determined to make the attempt, and succeeded 
 better than I had anticipated, and about midnight 
 we came out Into clear water, and anchored near the 
 shore In twelve fathoms, the Thomas Pope coming 
 to just outside of us in twenty fathoms. 
 
 177 1 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 Muir's journal continues with the following 
 record under date of June 17:] 
 
 Half-clear in the morning, foggy in the afternoon. 
 Left Plover Bay at six in the morning with Thomas 
 Pope^ in tow. Left her at the mouth of the bay. It 
 was barred with rather heavy ice, which was heav- 
 ing in curious commotion from a heavy swell. We 
 gave and received three cheers in parting. Have 
 had a very pleasant time with Captains Millard 
 and Kelly. Very telling views of the sculpture of 
 the mountains along the Bay, at its head, and at 
 the mouth, where the land-ice flowed into the one 
 grand glacier that filled Bering Strait and Sea. The 
 fronting cliffs of the sea glacier seem to be hardly 
 more weathered than those of Plover Bay and 
 adjacent fiords. 
 
 St. Michael^ Alaska^ June 20, j88i. 
 
 Sunshine now in the Far North, sunshine all the 
 long nightless days ! ripe and mellow and hazy, like 
 that which feeds the fruits and vines! We came 
 into it two days ago when we were approaching 
 this old-fashioned Russian trading post near the 
 mouth of the Yukon River. How sweet and kindly 
 and reviving it is after so long a burial beneath 
 dark, sleety storm clouds! For a whole month be- 
 fore the beginning of this bright time, it snowed 
 
 ^ The San Francisco Bulletin^ in Its issue of July 13, 1881, noted 
 the arrival in port of the whaling bark Thomas Pope with a 
 series of letters from John Muir. 
 
 [78I 
 
At Plover Bay and St. Michael 
 
 every day more or less, perhaps only for an hour or 
 two, or all the twenty-four hours; not one day on 
 which snow did not fall either in wet, sleety blasts, 
 making sludge on the deck and rigging and after- 
 ward freezing fast, or in dry crystals, blowing away 
 as fast as it fell. I have never before seen so cloudy 
 a month, weather so strangely bewildering and 
 depressing. It was all one stormy day, broken here 
 and there by dim gleams of sunlight, but never so 
 dark at midnight that we could not read ordinary 
 print. 
 
 The general effect of this confusing interblend- 
 ing of the hours of day and night, of the quick suc- 
 cession of howling gales that we encountered, and 
 of dull black clouds dragging their ragged, droop- 
 ing edges over the waves, was very depressing, and 
 when, at length, we found ourselves free beneath a 
 broad, high sky full of exhilarating light, we seemed 
 to have emerged from some gloomy, icy cave. How 
 garish and blinding the light seemed to us then, 
 and how bright the lily-spangles that flashed on the 
 glassy water! With what rapture we gazed into the 
 crimson and gold of the midnight sunsets ! 
 
 While we were yet fifty miles from land a small 
 gray finch came aboard and flew about the rigging 
 while we watched its movements and listened to 
 its suggestive notes as if we had never seen a finch 
 since the days of our merry truant rambles along 
 the hedgerows. A few hours later a burly, dozing 
 
 I79l 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 bumblebee came droning around the pilot-house, 
 seeming to bring with him all the warm, summery 
 gardens we had ever seen. 
 
 The fourth of June was the most beautiful of the 
 days we spent in the Arctic Ocean. The water was 
 smooth, reflecting a tranquil, pearl-gray sky with 
 spots of pure azure near the zenith and a belt of 
 white around the horizon that shone with a bright, 
 satiny luster, trying to the eyes like clear sunshine. 
 Some seven whale-ships were in sight, becalmed 
 with their canvas spread. Chukchi hunters in pur- 
 suit of seals were gliding about in light skin-covered 
 canoes, and gulls, auks, eider ducks, and other 
 water birds in countless multitudes skimmed the 
 glassy level, while in the background of this Arctic 
 picture the Siberian coast, white as snow could 
 make it, was seen sweeping back in fine, fluent, 
 undulating lines to a chain of mountains, the tops 
 of which were veiled in the shining sky. A few 
 snow crystals were shaken down from a black cloud 
 towards midnight, but most of the day was one of 
 deep peace, in which God's lovew^as manifest as in 
 a countenance. 
 
 The average temperature for most of the month 
 commencing May twentieth has been but little 
 above the freezing point, the maximum about 
 45° F. To-day the temperature in the shade at 
 noon is 65°, the highest since leaving San Francisco. 
 The temperature of the water in Bering Sea and 
 
 [80] 
 
At Plover Bay and St. Michael 
 
 Strait, and as far as we have gone in the Arctic, 
 has been about from 29° to 35°. But as soon as we 
 approached within fifty miles of the mouths of the 
 Yukon, the temperature changed suddenly to 42°. 
 
 The mirage effects we have witnessed on the 
 cruise thus far are as striking as any I ever saw on 
 the hot American desert. Islands and headlands 
 seemed to float in the air, distorted into the most 
 unreal, fantastic forms imaginable, while the in- 
 dividual mountains of a chain along the coast 
 appeared to dance at times up and down with 
 a rhythmic motion, in the tremulous refracting 
 atmosphere. On the northeast side of Norton 
 Sound I saw two peaks, each with a flat, black table 
 on top, looming suddenly up and sinking again 
 alternately, like boys playing see-saw on a plank. 
 
 The trading post of St. Michael was established 
 by the Russians in 1833. It is built of drift timber 
 derived from the Yukon, and situated on a low 
 bluff of lava on the island of St. Michael, about 
 sixty-five miles northeast of the northmost of the 
 Yukon mouths. The fort is composed of a square 
 of log buildings and palisades, with outlying bas- 
 tions pierced for small cannon and musketry, while 
 outside the fort there are a few small buildings and 
 a Greek church, reinforced during the early part of 
 the summer with groups of tents belonging to the 
 Indians and the traders. The fort is now occupied 
 by the employees of the Alaska Conmiercial Com- 
 
 [81 ] 
 
^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 pany." This is the headquarters of the fur traders 
 of northern and central Alaska. 
 
 The Western Fur and Trading Company has a 
 main station on the side of the bay about three 
 miles from here, and the two companies, being in 
 close competition, have brought on a condition of 
 the fur business that is bitterly bewailed by the sub- 
 traders located along the Yukon and its numerous 
 tributaries. Not only have the splendid profits of 
 the good old times diminished nearly to zero, say 
 they, but the big prices paid for skins have spoiled 
 the Indians, making them insolent, lazy, and dan- 
 gerous, without conferring any substantial benefit 
 upon them. Since they can now procure all the 
 traders' supplies they need for fewer skins than 
 formerly, they hunt less, and spend their idle hours 
 in gambling and quarreling. 
 
 The furs and skins of every kind derived annu- 
 ally from the Yukon and Kuskoquim regions, and 
 shipped from here, are said to be worth from eighty 
 thousand to one hundred thousand dollars. The 
 trade goods are brought to this point from San 
 Francisco by the rival companies in June, and 
 delivered to their agents, by whom they are dis- 
 tributed to their traders and taken up the rivers to 
 the different stations in the interior in boats towed 
 most of the way by small stem-wheel steamers. 
 Then, during the winter, the furs are collected and 
 brought to tiiis point and carried to San Francisco 
 
 [82] 
 
At Plover Bay and St. Michael 
 
 by the vessels that bring the goods for the next sea- 
 son's trade. 
 
 On the nineteenth instant the steamer belonging 
 to the Western Fur and Trading Company arrived 
 from a station fifteen hundred miles up the river, 
 towing three large boats laden with Indians and 
 traders, together with the last year's collection of 
 furs. After they had begun to set up their tents 
 and unload the furs, we went over to the store- 
 rooms of the Company to look at the busy throng. 
 They formed a strange, wild picture on the rocky 
 beach; the squaws pitching the tents and cutting 
 armfuls of dry grass to lay on the ground as a lining 
 for fur carpets; the children with wild, staring eyes 
 gazing at us, or, heedless of all the stir, playing with 
 the dogs; groups of dandy warriors, arrayed in all 
 the colors of the rainbow, grim, and cruel, and 
 coldly dignified; and a busy train coming and going 
 between the warehouse and the boats, storing the 
 big bundles of shaggy bearskins, black and brown, 
 marten, mink, fox, beaver, otter, lynx, moose, wolf, 
 and wolverine, many of them with claws spread 
 and hair on end, as if still fighting for life. They 
 were vividly suggestive of the far wilderness whence 
 they came — its mountains and valleys, its broad 
 grassy plains and far-reaching rivers, its forests 
 and its bogs. 
 
 The Indians seemed to me the wildest animals of 
 all. The traders were not at all wild, save in dress, 
 
 [83 1 
 
l^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 but rather gentle and subdued In manners and 
 aspect, like half-paid village ministers. They held 
 us in a long interesting conversation, and gave us 
 many valuable facts concerning the heart of the 
 Yukon country. Some Indians on the beach were 
 basking in the yellow, mellow sun. Herring and 
 salmon were hanging upon frames or lying on the 
 rocks — a lazy abundance of food that discouraged 
 thought of the future. 
 
 The shores here are crowded with immense shoals 
 of herring, and the Indians are lazily catching just 
 enough to eat. Those we had for dinner are not 
 nearly so good as those I ate last year at Cross 
 Sound. The Yukon salmon, however, are now in 
 excellent condition, and are the largest by far that I 
 have seen. Yet the Yukon Indians suffer severely 
 at times from famine, though they might dry 
 enough in less than a week to last a year. 
 
 We are making a short stay here to take on pro- 
 visions, and intend to go northward again to- 
 morrow to meet the search party that we landed 
 near Koliuchin Island. Another delightful sun-day 
 — nearly cloudless and with lily-spangles on the 
 bay. The temperature was 65° F. in the shade at 
 noon. The birds are nesting and the plants are 
 rapidly coming into bloom. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 RETURN OF THE SEARCH PARTY 
 
 Steamer Convin, 
 
 Near the mouth of Metchigme Bay, 
 
 On the west side of Bering Strait, 
 
 June 27, 1881, 
 
 AFTER leaving St. Michael, on the evening of 
 the twenty-first, we crossed Bering Sea to 
 Plover Bay to fill our coal-bunkers from a pile 
 belonging to His Majesty, the Czar of Russia. 
 
 On the twenty-third we were sailing along the 
 north side of St. Lawrence Island against a heavy 
 wind. There was a rough sea and a clear sky, save 
 on the island. I had a tolerably clear view of the 
 most prominent portion of the island near the mid- 
 dle. It is here composed of lava, reddish in color 
 and dotted with craters and cones, most of which 
 seem recent, though a slight amount of glaciation 
 of a local kind is visible. About three in the after- 
 noon we came to anchor off" the northwest end of 
 the island opposite the village. A few natives came 
 aboard at eight o'clock. 
 
 The next day we got under way at four in the 
 morning, going east along the south side of St. 
 Lawrence Island. The norther again was blowing 
 as hard as ever. We discovered an Eskimo village, 
 but the natives were mostly dead. Coming to 
 
 [8sl 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 anchor there at six in the evening, we went ashore 
 and met a few Eskimos who, though less demon- 
 strative, seemed quite as glad to see us as those on 
 the northwest end of the island. The village, as 
 we examined it through our glasses, seemed so still 
 and desolate, we began to fear that, like some of the 
 villages on the north side of the island, not a soul 
 was left alive in it, until here and there a native 
 was discovered on the brow of the hill where the 
 sunmier houses are. 
 
 After we had landed from the life-boat, two men 
 and a boy came running down to meet us and took 
 us up to the two inhabited houses. They all gath- 
 ered about us from scattered points of observation, 
 and when we asked where all the people were to 
 whom the other houses belonged, they smiled and 
 said, "All mucky." "All gone." "Dead.?" "Yes, 
 dead!" We then inquired where the dead people 
 were. They pointed back of the houses and led us 
 to eight corpses lying on the rocky ground. They 
 smiled at the ghastly spectacle of the grinning 
 skulls and bleached bones appearing through the 
 brown, shrunken skin. 
 
 Being detained on the twenty-fifth by the norther 
 which was still blowing, we went ashore after break- 
 fast, and had a long walk through graves, back to 
 noble views of the island, telling the grandeur of its 
 glaciation by the northern ice-sheets. Weighed 
 anchor and steered for Plover Bay shortly after 
 
 186] 
 
Return of the Search Party 
 
 nine in the evening, and arrived there early on the 
 morning of the twenty-sixth. While the ship was 
 being coaled, I climbed the east wall of the fiord 
 three or four miles above the mouth, where it is 
 about twenty-two hundred feet above the level of 
 the sea, and, as the day was clear, I obtained cap- 
 ital views of the mountains on both sides and 
 around the head of the fiord among the numerous 
 ice-fountains which, during the glacial winter, 
 poured their tribute through this magnificent 
 channel into Bering Sea. 
 
 When the glacier that formed what is now called 
 Plover Bay, was in its prime, it was about thirty 
 miles long and from five to six miles in width at the 
 widest portion of the trunk, and about two thou- 
 sand feet deep. It then had at least five main trib- 
 utaries, which, as the trunk melted towards the 
 close of the ice period, became independent glaciers, 
 and these again were melted into perhaps seventy- 
 five or more small residual glaciers from less than 
 a mile to several miles in length, all of which, as far 
 as I could see, have at length vanished, though 
 some wasting remnants may still linger in the high- 
 est and best-protected fountains above the head of 
 the fiord. I had a fine glissade down the valley of a 
 tributary glacier whose terminal moraines show the 
 same gradual death as those of the Sierra. The 
 mountains hereabouts, in the forms of the peaks, 
 ridges, lake-basins, bits of meadow, and in sculp- 
 
 [87] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 ture and aspects in general, are like those of the 
 high Sierra of California where the rock is least 
 resisting. 
 
 \ Snow still lingers in drift patches and streaks and 
 avalanche heaps down to the sea-level, while there 
 is but little depth of solid snow on the highest peaks 
 and ridges, so that, there being no warm, sunny 
 base of gentle slopes and foothills, no varying belts 
 of climate, this region as a whole seems to consist of 
 only the storm-beaten tops of mountains shorn off 
 from their warm, well-planted bases. Still there 
 are spots here and there, where the snow is melted, 
 that are already cheered with about ten species of 
 plants in full bloom: anemones, buttercups, primu- 
 las, several species of draba, purple heathworts, 
 phlox and potentilla, making charming alpine gar- 
 dens, but too small and thinly planted to show at a 
 distance of more than a few yards, while trees are 
 wholly wanting. 
 
 On our way north to-day we stopped a few min- 
 utes opposite a small native settlement, six or eight 
 miles to the northeast of the mouth of Metchigme 
 Bay, in search of Omniscot, the rich reindeer owner, 
 whom we had met further up the coast two weeks 
 ago, and who had then promised to have a lot of 
 deerskins ready for us if we would call at his village. 
 
 Some of the natives, coming off to the steamer 
 to trade, informed us that Omniscot lived some 
 distance up the bay that we had just passed, and 
 
 [88] 
 
Return of the Search Party 
 
 one of them, who speaks a little English, inquired 
 why we had not brought back Omniscot's son. He 
 told us that he was his cousin and that his mother 
 was crying about him last night, fearing that he 
 would never come back. 
 
 We informed him that his cousin was crazy and 
 had tried to kill himself, but that he was now at 
 Plover Bay with one of his friends and would prob- 
 ably be home soon. This young Omniscot, whom 
 we had taken aboard at St. Lawrence Bay, think- 
 ing that he might be useful as an interpreter, is a 
 son of the reindeer man and belongs to the Chukchi 
 tribe. We soon came to see that we had a trouble- 
 some passenger, for the expression of his eyes, and 
 the nervous dread he manifested of all the natives 
 wherever we chanced to stop, indicated some form 
 of insanity. He would come to the door of the cabin 
 to warn the Captain against the people of every 
 village that we were approaching as likely to kill 
 us, and then he would hide himself below deck or 
 climb for greater safety into the rigging. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth, when we were lying at 
 anchor off St. Lawrence Island, he ofi'ered his rifle, 
 which he greatly prized, to one of the officers, say- 
 ing that inasmuch as he would soon die he would 
 not need it. He also sent word to the Captain that 
 he would soon be "mucky," but came to the cabin 
 door shortly afterward, with nothing unusual ap- 
 parent in his face or behavior, and began a discus- 
 
 [89] 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 sion concerning the region back of St. Michael as a 
 location for a flock of reindeer. He thought they 
 would do well there, he said, and that his father 
 would give him some young ones to make a begin- 
 ning, which he could take over in some schooner, 
 and that they would get plenty of good moss to eat 
 on the tundra, and multiply fast until they became 
 a big herd like his father's, so big that nobody could 
 count them. 
 
 In three or four hours after this he threw himself 
 overboard, but was picked up and brought on deck. 
 Some of the sailors stripped off his wet furs, and 
 then the discovery was made that before throwing 
 himself into the sea the poor fellow had stabbed 
 himself in the left lung. The surgeon dressed his 
 wound and gave as his opinion that it would prove 
 fatal. He was doing well, however, when we left him, 
 and is likely to recover. The Plover Bay natives, 
 in commenting on the affair, remarked that the 
 St. Lawrence people were a bad, quarrelsome set, 
 and always kept themselves in some sort of trouble. 
 
 Having procured a guide from among the natives 
 that came aboard here, we attempted to reach 
 Omniscot's village, but found the bay full of ice, 
 and were compelled to go on without our winter 
 supply of deerskins, hoping, however, to be able to 
 get them on the east coast. 
 
 There is quite a large Chukchi settlement near 
 the mouth of the bay, on the north side. Seven 
 
 [90] 
 
Return of the Search Party 
 
 large canoe-loads of the population came aboard, 
 making quite a stir on our little ship. They are the 
 worst-looking lot of Siberian natives that I have 
 yet seen, though there are some fine, tall, manly 
 fellows amongst them. Mr. Nelson, a naturalist, 
 and zealous collector for the Smithsonian Institu- 
 tion, who joined us at St. Michael, photographed a 
 group of the most villainous of the men, and two 
 of the women whose arms were elaborately tat- 
 tooed up to the shoulders. Their faces were a curi- 
 ous study while they were trying to keep still under 
 circumstances so extraordinary. 
 
 The glaciation of the coast here is recorded in 
 very telling characters, the movement of the ice 
 having been in a nearly south-southwest direction. 
 There is also a considerable deposit of irregularly 
 stratified sand and gravel along this part of the 
 coast. For fifteen or twenty miles it rises in crum- 
 bling bluffs fifty feet high, and makes a flat, gently 
 sloping margin, from one hundred yards to several 
 miles in width, in front of the mountains. The bay, 
 moreover, is nearly closed by a bar, probably of the 
 same material. The weather is delightful, clear 
 sunshine, only a few fleecy wisps of cloud in the 
 west, and the water still as a mill-pond. 
 
 June 28, Anchored an hour or two this forenoon 
 at the west Diomede, and landed a party to make 
 observations on the currents and temperature of 
 
 1 91 1 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 the water that sets through Bering Strait. Then 
 proceeded on our way direct to Tapkan to seek our 
 search party. The fine weather that we have en- 
 joyed since the day before our arrival at St. Michael 
 ended in the old, dark, gloomy clouds and drizzling 
 fog on reaching the Diomedes, though the coast 
 above East Cape has until now been in sight most 
 of the time up to a height of about a thousand feet. 
 The glaciation, after the melting of the ice-sheet, 
 has been light, sculpturing the mountains into shal- 
 low, short valleys and round ridges, mostly broad- 
 backed. The valleys, for the most part, are not cut 
 down to the sea. The shore seems to have been cut 
 off by the glacier sheet that occupied the sea, after 
 it was too shallow to flow over the angle of land 
 formed by East Cape. This overflow is well- 
 marked, fifteen to twenty-five miles northwest of 
 the Cape, in the trends of the ridges and valleys as 
 far back as I could see, that is, about twenty-five 
 miles from the shore. The north wind is, and has 
 been, blowing for twenty-four hours, and we fear 
 that we will soon meet with the drifting ice from 
 the main polar pack. 
 
 Steamer Corwin, 
 OS the Chukchi village of Tapkan^ 
 Near Cape Serdzekamen, Siberia, 
 June 2Q, 1881. 
 
 We arrived here about eight this morning to meet 
 the search party that we landed about a month ago, 
 
 I 92 ] 
 
Return of the Search Party 
 
 near KoHuchin Island. They had been waiting for 
 us nearly two weeks. We were unable to land on 
 account of the stormy weather, but after waiting 
 about two hours we saw them making their way 
 out to the edge of the drift ice, which extended 
 about three miles from shore, and after a good deal 
 of difficulty they reached the steamer in safety. 
 The air was gray with falling snow, and the north 
 wind was blowing hard, dashing heavy swells, with 
 wild, tumultuous uproar, against jagged, tumbling 
 ice blocks that formed the edge of the pack. The 
 life-boat was lowered and pulled to the edge of the 
 pack and a line was thrown from it to the most 
 advanced of the party, who was balancing himself 
 among the heaving bergs. This line was made fast 
 to a light skin boat that the party had pushed out 
 over the ice from the shore, and, getting into it, 
 they soon managed to get themselves fairly 
 launched and free from the tossing, wave-dashed 
 ice which momentarily threatened to engulf them. 
 Mr. Herring, the officer in charge, reported that 
 they had proceeded along the coast as far as Cape 
 Wankarem and had been so fortunate as to accom- 
 plish the main objects of their mission, namely, to 
 determine the value of the stories prevalent among 
 the natives to the southward of here concerning the 
 lost whalers Vigilant and Mount WoUaston; to 
 ascertain whether any of the crews of the missing 
 vessels had landed on the Siberian coast to the 
 
 [93 ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 southeastward of Cape Yakan; and in case any 
 party should land there in the future, to bespeak 
 in their behalf the aid and good-will of the natives. 
 
 At the Chukchi village at Cape Onman they were 
 told that at the village of Oncarima, near Cape 
 Wankarem, they would find three men who could 
 tell them all about the broken ship, for they had 
 seen the wreck and been aboard of her, and had 
 brought off many things that they had found on 
 the deck and in the cabin. This news caused them 
 to hurry on, and when they arrived at the village, 
 and had bestowed the customary presents of to- 
 bacco and coffee, Mr. Herring stated the object of 
 his visit. 
 
 Three natives then came forward and stated 
 through the interpreter that last year, when they 
 were out hunting seals on the ice, about five miles 
 from the land, near the little island which they call 
 Konkarpo, at the time of year when the new ice 
 begins to grow in the sea, and when the sun does 
 not rise, they saw a big ship without masts in the 
 ice-pack, which they reached without difficulty and 
 climbed on deck. The masts, they said, had been 
 chopped down, and there was a pair of horns on the 
 end of the jib-boom, indicating the position of them 
 on a sketch of a ship. The hold, they said, was full 
 of water so that they could not go down into it to 
 see anything, but they broke a way into the cabin 
 and found four dead men, who had been dead a 
 
 [94] 
 
Return of the Search Party 
 
 long time. Three of them were lying in bunks, and 
 one on the floor. They also got into the galley and 
 found a number of articles which they brought 
 away; also, some from the cabin and other parts of 
 the ship. 
 
 While they were busy looking for things which 
 they fancied, and considered worth carrying away, 
 one of the three called out to his companions that 
 the wind was blowing ofi'shore, and that they must 
 make haste for the land as the ice was beginning to 
 move, which caused them to hurry from the wreck 
 with what articles they could conveniently carry 
 without being delayed. Next day they went as far 
 out towards the spot where they had left the vessel 
 as the state of the ice would allow, hoping to pro- 
 cure something else. But they found that she had 
 drifted out of sight, and as the wind had been blow- 
 ing from the southwest, they supposed that she 
 had drifted in a northeasterly direction. They had 
 looked for this ship many times after her first dis- 
 appearance, but never saw her again. 
 
 After they had finished their story, Mr. Herring 
 requested them to show him all the things that they 
 had brought from the wreck, telling them that he 
 would give them tobacco for some of them that he 
 might want to show to his friends. Thereupon they 
 brought forward the following articles, which were 
 carefully examined by our party in hopes of being 
 able to identify the vessel: — 
 
 [ 95 ] 
 
l^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 A pair of marine glasses 
 
 A pair of silver-mounted spectacles in a tin case (the 
 
 lenses showing that they had belonged to an aged 
 
 person) 
 A jack-knife 
 A carving-knife 
 A butcher's chopping-knife 
 
 Two table-knives, the handle of one of them marked V 
 A meat saw 
 A soup ladle 
 A stew pan 
 A tin collander 
 A hand lamp 
 
 A square tin lantern painted green 
 A draw-knife 
 An adze 
 
 Two carpenter's saws 
 A chisel 
 A file ^ 
 
 A brace and bit 
 A tack hammer 
 A pump-handle 
 A shovel 
 A bullet-mould 
 A truss 
 
 A bottle of some sort of medicine 
 A sailor's ditty bag, with thread 
 A razor 
 
 A linen jumper 
 Two small coins 
 Two coils of Manila rope 
 Three whale spades 
 One harpoon 
 
 The harpoon and whale spades are marked 
 "B.K.," and will no doubt serve to identify the 
 
 [96] 
 
Return of the Search Party 
 
 owners. Not a single private name was found on 
 any of the articles; nor did the natives produce 
 any books or papers of any sort, though they said 
 that they saw books in the cabin. A number of 
 the articles enumerated above were purchased 
 by Mr. Herring and are now on board the Corwin, 
 namely, the marine glasses, spectacles, harpoon, 
 and table-knives. 
 
 The fate, then, of one of the two missing ships 
 is discovered beyond a doubt, though a portion of 
 the crew may possibly be alive. If the statement as 
 to the deer horns on the jib-boom is to be relied on, 
 it is the Vigilant, as she is said to be the only ves- 
 sel in the fleet that had deer horns on her jib-boom. 
 
 A party of Chukchi traders, also, were met here, 
 being on their way to East Cape with reindeer skins. 
 They stated that no vessel had been seen anywhere 
 along the coast to the northwest of Wankarem as 
 far as Cape Yakan except one, a three-masted 
 steamer, the Vega, two years ago; that if any ships 
 had been seen they certainly should have heard 
 about it. The place where the Vega wintered,^ fif- 
 teen or twenty miles to the northwest of Cape 
 Serdzekamen, is well known to nearly all the na- 
 tives living within a hundred miles of it. 
 
 The Jeannette was last seen by the natives oiF 
 Cape Serdzekamen two years ago, probably just 
 before she went north into the ice. A party of 
 
 1 Pittle Keg. 
 
 [97] 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 walrus hunters went aboard of her. They described 
 her as a three-masted steamer, with plenty of coal 
 and dogs on deck. When Wrangell Land was 
 pointed out on a chart to the natives at Cape 
 Wankarem, they shook their heads and said that 
 they knew nothing of land in that direction. But 
 one old man told them that long ago he had heard 
 something about a party of men who had come 
 from some far unknown land to the north, over the 
 ice. 
 
 According to Lieutenant Reynolds, nine Chukchi 
 settlements were passed on the coast between 
 Tapkan and Oncarima, namely, Naskan, Undrillan, 
 Illwinoop, Youngilla,^ Illoiuk, Koliuchin, Unatap- 
 kan, Onman and Enelpan. The largest of these is 
 Koliuchin, with twenty-seven houses and about 
 three hundred people. 
 
 The natives, everyivhere along the route trav- 
 eled, treated the party with great kindness, giving 
 them food for their dog-teams and answering the 
 questions put to them with good-natured patience. 
 At Koliuchin one of the chief men of the village 
 invited them to dinner and greatly surprised them 
 by giving them good tea served in handsome China 
 cups, which he said he had bought from the Rus- 
 sians. 
 
 * lintlin. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 VILLAGES OF THE DEAD 
 
 Steamer CorwiUy 
 East Cape, Siberia, July J, i88l. 
 
 AFTER getting our search party on board at 
 Tapkan, we found it impossible, under the 
 conditions of ice and water that prevailed, to land 
 our Chukchi dog-driver, who lives there, and who 
 had come off with the party to get his pay. He was 
 in excellent spirits, however, and told the Captain 
 that since he had received a gun and a liberal sup- 
 ply of ammunition he did not care where he was 
 put ashore — Cape Serdzekamen, East Cape, or 
 any point along the shore or edge of the ice-pack 
 would answer, as he could kill plenty of birds and 
 seals, and get home any time. The dogs and sledges 
 were left in his care at Tapkan, to be in readiness 
 in case they should be required next winter. 
 
 Speeding southward under steam and sail we 
 reached East Cape yesterday at seven in the morn- 
 ing. By this time the wind was blowing what sea- 
 men call a "living gale," whitening the sea, and 
 filling up the air with blinding scud. We found good 
 anchorage, however, back of the high portion of 
 the Cape, opposite a large settlement of Chukchis. 
 East Cape is a very bold bluff of granite about two 
 thousand feet high, which evidently has been over- 
 
 [99 1 
 
ne Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 swept 'from the northwest. I eagerly wa^ited to 
 get off and to climb high enough to make sure of 
 the trends of the ridges and grooves, and to seek 
 scratches, bossed surfaces, etc. But the howHng, 
 shrieking norther blew all day, and had not abated 
 at eleven o'clock last night. 
 
 This morning Mr. Nelson and I went ashore to 
 see what we could learn. The village here, through 
 which we passed on our way up the mountain-side, 
 consists of about fifty huts, built on a small, rocky, 
 terminal moraine, and so deeply sunk in the face of 
 the hill that the entire village makes scarcely more 
 show at a distance of a few hundred yards than a 
 group of marmot burrows. The lower portion of 
 the walls is built of moraine boulders, the upper 
 portion and the curving beehive roof of driftwood 
 and the ribs of whales, framed together and covered 
 with walrus hide or dirt. 
 
 During the winter the huts are entered by a low 
 tunnel, so as to exclude the cold air as much as 
 possible. The floor is simply the natural dirt mixed 
 into a dark hairy paste, with much that is not at all 
 natural. Fires are made occasionally in the middle 
 of the floor to cook the small portion of their food 
 that is not eaten raw. Ivory-headed spears, arrows, 
 seal nets, bags of oil, rags of seal or walrus meat, 
 and strips of whale blubber and skin, lie on shelves 
 or hang confusedly from the roof, while puppies 
 and nursing motherndogs and children may be seen 
 
 I 100 ] 
 
Villages of the Dead 
 
 scattered here and there, or curled snugly in the 
 pots and eating-troughs, after they have licked 
 them clean, making a kind of squalor that is pic- 
 turesque and daring beyond conception. 
 
 In all of the huts, however, there are from one to 
 three or four luxurious bedrooms. The walls, ceil- 
 ing, and floor are of soft reindeer skins, and [each 
 polog has] a trough -filled with oil for heat and 
 light. After hunting all day on the ice, making 
 long, rough, stormy journeys, the Chukchi hunter, 
 mufiled and hungry, comes into his burrow, eats 
 his fill of oil and seal or walrus meat, then strips 
 himself naked and lies down in his closed fur nest, 
 his polog, in glorious ease, to smoke and sleep. 
 
 I was anxious to reach the top of the cape penin- 
 sula to learn surely whether it had been overswept 
 by an ice-sheet, and if so from what direction,^ and 
 to study its glacial conditions in general and the 
 character of the rocks. I therefore hastened to 
 make the most of .my opportunity, and pushed on 
 through the village towards the lowest part of the 
 divide between the north and south sides, followed 
 by a crowd of curious boys, who good-naturedly 
 assisted me whenever I stopped to gather the flow- 
 ers that I found in bloom. The banks of a stream 
 coming from a high basin filled with snow was quite 
 richly flowered with anemones, buttercups, poten- 
 tillas, drabas, primulas and many species of dwarf 
 willows, up to a height of about a thousand feet 
 
 [ loi ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 above the level of the sea; beyond this, spring had 
 hardly made any impression, while nearly a thou- 
 sand feet of the highest summits were still covered 
 with deep snow. 
 
 Mr. Nelson soon left me in pursuit of a bird, and 
 in crossing a rocky ridge to come up with me again, 
 he came upon a lot of other game, which seemed to 
 interest him still more, namely, dead natives scat- 
 tered about on the rough stones at one of the ceme- 
 teries belonging to the village. The bodies of the 
 dead, together with whatever articles belonged to 
 them, are simply laid on the surface of the ground, 
 so that a cemetery is a good field for collectors. A 
 lot of ivory spears, arrows, dishes of various kinds, 
 and a stone hammer, formed the least ghastly of 
 his spoils. Leaving Mr. Nelson alone in his glory, 
 I pushed on to the top of the divide, then followed 
 it westward to the highest summit on the penin- 
 sula, whence I obtained the views I was in search of. 
 
 The dividing ridge all along the high eastern por- 
 tion of the peninsula is rounded from nearly north 
 to south. The curves on the north begin almost at 
 the waters' edge, while the south side is quite pre- 
 cipitous along the shore. There is also a telling 
 series of parallel grooves and ridges trending north 
 and south across the peninsula. The highest point 
 is about twenty-five hundred feet above the sea, 
 and the mountainous portion has been nearly 
 eroded from the continent and made an island like 
 
 [ I02 1 
 
Villages of the Dead 
 
 the two Diomedes, the wide gap of low ground con- 
 necting it with the high mainland being only a few 
 feet above tide-water. In this low portion there is 
 here and there a rounded upswelling of more resist- 
 ing rock, with trends, all telling the same story of 
 a vast oversweeping ice-flood from the north. 
 
 I also had a clear view of the coast mountains for 
 a hundred miles or thereabouts, all of which are 
 tellingly glaciated in harmony with the above gen- 
 eralization. Most of the rock is granite with cleav- 
 age planes that cause it to weather rapidly into flat 
 blocks. One conical black hill, fifteen hundred feet 
 high, is volcanic rock, close-grained and dense like 
 some kinds of iron ore. I saw an Arctic owl, a big 
 snowy fellow, fitting his place; also, snow-buntings 
 and linnets. When the natives saw Mr. Nelson 
 returning without me they said that he had killed 
 me, not being aware of the fact that he understood 
 their language. 
 
 On my way down to the shore I crossed an- 
 other of the village cemeteries on a very rough and 
 steep slope of weathered granite, several hundred 
 feet above the village and to the westward of it. 
 Whole skeletons or single bones and skulls lay here 
 and there, wedged into chance positions among 
 the stones, weathering and falling to pieces like 
 the ivory-pointed spears, arrows, etc., mixed with 
 them. The mountain that [they were lying on is 
 crumbling also — dust to dust. Some of the corpses 
 
 [ 103 ] 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 have had stones piled on them, and their goods on 
 top of all; others were laid on the rough rocks with 
 a row of big stones on the lower side to keep them 
 from rolling down. 
 
 The damp, lower portion of the wild north wind, 
 as it was deflected up and over the slopes and frosty- 
 summit of the peninsula, has given birth to a re- 
 markably beautiful covering of white ice crystals 
 on the windward sides of exposed boulders, an^d in 
 some places on the snow. The crystals resemble 
 white feathers in their aggregate forms, but are 
 firm and icy in structure, and as evenly and grace- 
 fully imbricated on each other over the rough faces 
 of the rocks as are the feathers on the breast of a 
 bird. The effect is marvelously beautiful and inter- 
 esting as seen on those castellated rock-piles, so 
 frequently found on bleak summits. The points of 
 the feathers grow to windward, and indicate by 
 their curves all the varying directions pursued by 
 the interrupted wind as it glints and reverberates 
 about the innumerable angles of the rock fronts. 
 Thus the rocks, where the exposure to storms is 
 greatest, and where only ruin seems to be the 
 object, are all the more lavishly clothed upon with 
 beauty — beauty that grows with and depends 
 upon the violence of the gale. In like manner do 
 men find themselves enriched by storms that seem 
 only big with ruin, both in the physical and the 
 moral worlds. 
 
 [ 104 ] 
 
Villages of the Dead 
 
 We weighed anchor and got away at two o'clock 
 in the afternoon and reached the West Diomede 
 Island village at half-past four. Here we took 
 aboard the boatswain and Mr. Nelson's man, whom 
 we had left to make observations on the currents, 
 tides, etc. He was to have been assisted by the 
 natives, ^but the rough weather prevented work. 
 About half-past five we left the Diomede for Mar- 
 cus Bay in order to land Joe, the Chukchi. The 
 sea is smooth now, at a quarter of an hour before 
 midnight, and there is a lovely orange-and-gold 
 sunset. The gulls are still on the wing. 
 
 July 2. Clear, calm, sunful; the coast of Asia is 
 seen to excellent advantage; crowds of glacial peaks, 
 ice-fountains, and fiords far inreaching. The snow 
 on them is melting fast. About noon ^ twelve 
 canoes from a large village twenty miles north of 
 Marcus Bay came oil to trade. The schooners that 
 came to this region to trade were perhaps afraid to 
 touch here. Consequently the Corwin was the first 
 vessel with trade goods that they have seen this 
 year, and the business in bone and ivory went on 
 with hearty vigor. A hundred or more Chukchis 
 were aboard at once, making a stir equal to that of 
 a country fair. One of them spoke a little whaler 
 English, three quarters of which was profanity and 
 nearly one quarter slang. He asked the Captain 
 
 ^ Opposite Cape Chaplin. 
 
 [los] 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 why he did not like him, [and intimated that] if he 
 should come ashore to his house he, the Indian, 
 would show him by his treatment that he liked him 
 very much. 
 
 We are now, at five in the afternoon, approach- 
 ing Marcus Bay, where Joe lives, for the purpose 
 of taking him home. For his month's work and his 
 team of five dogs he has been paid a box of hard 
 bread, ten sacks of flour, some calico, a rifle, and a 
 considerable quantity of ammunition. Although 
 this is doubtless five times more than he expected, 
 he does not show any excitement or rise of spirits, 
 but only a stoical composure, which seems so Arctic 
 and immovable that I doubt whether he would 
 move a muscle of his face if he were presented with 
 the whole ship's cargo and the ship itself thrown in. 
 
 Steamer Corwin^ 
 
 St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, 
 
 July 5, i88i, 
 
 St. Lawrence Island, the largest in Bering Sea, is 
 situated at a distance of about one hundred and 
 twenty miles off the mouths of the Yukon, and 
 forty-five miles from the nearest point on the coast 
 of Siberia. It is about a hundred miles in length 
 from east to west and fifteen miles in average 
 width; a dreary, cheerless-looking mass of black 
 lava, dotted with volcanoes, covered with snow, 
 without a single tree, and rigidly bound in ocean 
 ice for more than half the year. 
 
 I io6] 
 
CHUKCHIS AT INDIAN POINT, SIBERIA (CAPE CHAPLIN) 
 Photograph by E. W. Nelson 
 
Villages of the Dead 
 
 Inasmuch as it lies broadsidewise to the way pur- 
 sued by the great ice-sheet that once filled Bering 
 Sea, it is traversed by numerous valleys and ridges 
 and low gaps, some of which have been worn 
 down nearly to the sea-level. Had the glaciation to 
 which it has been subjected been carried on much 
 longer, then, instead of this one large island, we 
 should have had several smaller ones. Nearly all 
 of the volcanic cones with which the central por- 
 tion of the island is in great part covered, are post- 
 glacial in age and present well-formed craters but 
 little weathered as yet. 
 
 All the surface of the low grounds, in the glacial 
 gaps, as well as the flat table-lands is covered with 
 wet, spongy tundra of mosses and lichens, with 
 patches of blooming heathworts and dwarf willows, 
 and grasses and sedges, diversified here and there 
 by drier spots, planted with larkspurs, saxifrages, 
 daisies, primulas, anemones, ferns, etc. These form 
 gardens with a luxuriance and brightness of color 
 little to be hoped for in so cold and dreary-looking 
 a region. 
 
 Three years ago there were about fifteen hundred 
 inhabitants on the island, chiefly Eskimos, living 
 in ten villages located around the shores, and sub- 
 sisting on the seals, walruses, whales, and water 
 birds that abound here. Now there are only about 
 five hundred people, most of them in one village 
 on the northwest end of the island, nearly two 
 
 [ 107 ] 
 
^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 thirds of the population having died of starvation 
 during the winter of 1878-79. In seven of the vil- 
 lages not a single soul was left alive. In the largest 
 village at the northwest end of the island, which 
 suffered least, two hundred out of six hundred died. 
 In the one at the southwest end only fifteen out of 
 about two hundred survived. There are a few sur- 
 vivors also at one of the villages on the east end of 
 the island. 
 
 After landing our interpreter at Marcus Bay we 
 steered for St. Michael, and in passing along the 
 north side of this island we stopped an hour or so 
 this morning at one of the smallest of the dead 
 villages. Mr. Nelson went ashore and obtained a 
 lot of skulls and specimens of one sort and an- 
 other for the Smithsonian Institution. Twenty-five 
 skeletons were seen. 
 
 A few miles farther on we anchored before a 
 larger village, situated about halfway between the 
 east and west ends of the island, which I visited in 
 company with Mr. Nelson, the Captain, and the 
 Surgeon. We found twelve desolate huts close to 
 the beach with about two hundred skeletons in 
 them or strewn about on the rocks and rubbish 
 heaps within a few yards of the doors. The scene 
 was indescribably ghastly and desolate, though 
 laid in a country purified by frost as by fire. Gulls, 
 plovers, and ducks were swimming and flying about 
 in happy life, the pure salt sea was dashing white 
 
 [ 108 ] 
 
Villages of the Dead 
 
 against the shore, the blooming tundra swept back 
 to the snow-clad volcanoes, and the wide azure sky 
 bent kindly over all — nature intensely fresh and 
 sweet, the village lying in the foulest and most 
 glaring death. The shrunken bodies, with rotting 
 furs on them, or white, bleaching skeletons, picked 
 bare by the crows, were lying mixed with kitchen- 
 midden rubbish where they had been cast out by 
 surviving relatives while they yet had strength to 
 carry them. 
 
 In the huts those who had been the last to perish 
 were found in bed, lying evenly side by side, be- 
 neath their rotting deerskins. A grinning skull 
 might be seen looking out here and there, and a 
 pile of skeletons in a corner, laid there no doubt 
 when no one was left strong enough to carry them 
 through the narrow underground passage to the 
 door. Thirty were found in one house, about half 
 of them piled like fire-wood in a corner, the other 
 half in bed, seeming as if they had met their fate 
 with tranquil apathy. Evidently these people did 
 not suffer from cold, however rigorous the winter 
 may have been, as some of the huts had in them 
 piles of deerskins that had not been in use. Nor, 
 although their survivors and neighbors all say that 
 hunger was the sole cause of their death, could they 
 have battled with famine to the bitter end, because 
 a considerable amount of walrus rawhide and skins 
 of other animals was found in the huts. These 
 
 [ 109 ] 
 
^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 would have sustained life at least a week or two 
 longer. 
 
 The facts all tend to show that the winter of 
 1878-79 was, from whatever cause, one of great 
 scarcity, and as these people never lay up any con- 
 siderable supply of food from one season to another, 
 they began to perish. The first to succumb were 
 carried out of the huts to the ordinary ground for 
 the dead, about half a mile from the village. Then, 
 as the survivors became weaker, they carried the 
 dead a shorter distance, and made no effort to mark 
 their positions or to lay their effects beside them, 
 as they customarily do. At length the bodies were 
 only dragged to the doors of the huts, or laid in 
 a corner, and the last survivors lay down In des- 
 pair without making any struggle to prolong their 
 wretched lives by eating the last scraps of skin. 
 
 Mr. Nelson went into this Golgotha with hearty 
 enthusiasm, gathering the fine white harvest of 
 skulls spread before him, and throwing them in 
 heaps like a boy gathering pumpkins. He brought 
 nearly a hundred on board, which will be shipped 
 with specimens of bone armor, weapons, utensils, 
 etc., on the Alaska Commercial Company's steamer 
 St. Paul. 
 
 We also landed at the village on the southwest 
 corner of the island and interviewed the fifteen 
 survivors. When we inquired where the other peo- 
 ple of the village were, one of the group, who speaks 
 
 [ no 1 
 
Villages of the Dead 
 
 a few words of English, answered with a happy, 
 heedless smile, "Allmucky." "All gone!" "Dead?" 
 "Yes, dead, all dead!" Then he led us a few yards 
 back of his hut and pointed to twelve or fourteen 
 skeletons lying on the brown grass, repeating in 
 almost a merry tone of voice, "Dead, yes, all dead, 
 all mucky, all gone!" 
 
 About two hundred perished here, and unless 
 some aid be extended by our government which 
 claims these people, in a few years at most every 
 soul of them will have vanished from the face of 
 the earth; for, even where alcohol is left out of 
 the count, the few articles of food, clothing, guns, 
 etc., furnished by the traders, exert a degrading 
 influence, making them less self-reliant, and less 
 skillful as hunters. They seem easily susceptible of 
 civilization, and well deserve the attention of our 
 government. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 GLIMPSES OF ALASKAN TUNDRA 
 
 St, Michael, Alaskdy July 8, i88i, 
 
 THE Corwin arrived here on the Fourth, and, 
 in honor of the day, made some noise with 
 her cannon in concert with those belonging to the 
 fort, to the steamer St. Paul, and to the post of the 
 Western Fur and Trading Company across the bay. 
 We have taken on a supply of coal and provisions 
 for nine months, in case we should by any accident 
 be caught in the ice north of Bering Strait before 
 calling here again in the fall. 
 
 We hope to get away from here this evening for 
 the Arctic, intending to cruise along the Alaskan 
 coast beyond Point Barrow, spending some time 
 about Kotzebue Sound in order to look after reve- 
 nue interests, and to make, perhaps, some explora- 
 tions on the lower courses of the Inland ^ and Buck- 
 land Rivers, and on the Colville,^ of which nearly 
 nothing is yet known to geographers. The coast will 
 also be carefully searched for traces of the Jean- 
 nette and missing whalers in case any portion of 
 their crews have come over the ice last winter. Per- 
 
 * Now called Noatak River. 
 
 * The upper reaches of the Colvllle and Buckland Rivers, 
 according to the Geological Survey map of 191 5, are still unex- 
 plored. The former empties into the Arctic Ocean, the latter into 
 Eschscholtz Bay. 
 
 [ 112 ] 
 
Glimpses of Alaskan "Tundra 
 
 haps a month will be spent thus, when an attempt 
 will be made to reach Wrangell Land, where the 
 Jeannette probably spent her first winter. And 
 since the Corwin has already passed Cape Serd- 
 zekamen twice this season, we have sanguine hopes 
 of success under so favorable a condition of the ice. 
 
 Arctic explorations are exciting much interest 
 among the natives here. Last evening the shamans 
 called up the spirits supposed to be familiar with 
 polar matters. The latter informed them that not 
 only was the Jeannette forever lost in the ice of the 
 Far North with all her crew, but also that the Cor- 
 win would never more be seen after leaving St. 
 Michael this time, information which caused our 
 interpreter to leave us, nor have we as yet been 
 able to procure another in his place. The Jeannette 
 took two men from here.^ 
 
 This is the busy time of the year at St. Michael, 
 when the traders come with their furs from stations 
 far up the Yukon and return with next year's sup- 
 ply of goods. Those of the Western Fur and Trad- 
 ing Company left for the upper Yukon yesterday, 
 and those connected with the Alaska Commercial 
 Company will follow as soon as the new steamboat, 
 which they are putting together here, can be got 
 ready. 
 
 ^ These were the two native Alaskan hunters Alexey and 
 Aneguin. The former was among those who perished with De 
 Long on the delta of the Lena River, 
 
 [ "3 1 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 The party of prospectors which left San Fran- 
 cisco this spring in a schooner, to seek a mountain 
 of solid silver, reported to have been seen some dis- 
 tance up a river that flows into Golofnin Bay on 
 the north side of Norton Sound, about one hundred 
 miles from here, has arrived, and is now up the 
 river prospecting. From what I can learn, they will 
 not find the mountain to be solid silver, but some 
 far commoner mineral. Gold is said to have been 
 discovered by Mr. Harker on the Tanana River — 
 bar diggings that would pay about twelve dollars 
 per day. There will probably be a rush to the new 
 mines ere long, though news of this kind is kept 
 back as long as possible by the fur companies. 
 
 The weather is delightful, temperature about 
 60° F. in the shade, and the vegetation is growing 
 with marvelous rapidity. The grass already is 
 about two feet high about the shores of the bay, 
 making a bright green surface, not at all broken as 
 far as can be seen from the steamer. Almost any 
 number of cattle would find excellent pasturage 
 here for three or four months in the year. 
 
 During our last visit Dr. Rosse and I crossed the 
 tundra to a prominent hill about seven miles to the 
 southward from the redoubt. We found the hill to 
 be a well-formed volcanic cone with a crater a hun- 
 dred yards in diameter and about twenty feet deep, 
 from the rim of which I counted upwards of forty 
 others within a distance of thirty or forty miles. 
 
 [ 114] 
 
Glimpses of Alaskan T^'undra 
 
 This old volcano is said by the medicine men to be 
 the entrance to the spirit world for their tribe, and 
 the rumbling sounds heard occasionally are sup- 
 posed to be caused by the spirits when they are 
 conducting in a dead Indian. The last eruption 
 was of ashes and pumice cinders, which are strewn 
 plentifully around the rim of the crater and down 
 the sides of the cone. 
 
 Our walk was very fatiguing, as we sank deep in 
 spongy moss at every step, and staggered awk- 
 wardly on the tops of tussocks of grass and sedge, 
 which bent and let our feet down between them. It 
 was very delightful, however, and crowded with 
 rare beauty. 
 
 We saw a great number of birds, most of which 
 were busy about their nests ; there were ptarmigan, 
 snipes, curlews, sandpipers, song sparrows, titmice, 
 loons, many species of ducks, and the Emperor 
 goose. The ptarmigan is a magnificent bird, about 
 the size of the dusky grouse of the Sierra. They are 
 quite abundant here, flying up with a vigorous 
 whirr of wings and a loud, hearty, cackling "kek- 
 kek-kep" every few yards all the way across the 
 tundra. The cocks frequently took up a position 
 on some slight eminence to observe us. They 
 seemed happily in place out on the wide moor, 
 with abundance of berries to eat through the sum- 
 mer, spring, and fall, and willows and alder buds 
 for winter. Then they are pure white, and warmly 
 
 [ IIS 1 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 feathered down to the ends of their toes. The 
 sandpipers had fine feeding-grounds about the 
 shallow pools. The gray moor is a fine place for 
 curlews, too, and snipe. 
 
 The plants in bloom were primula, andromeda, 
 dicentra, mertensia, veratrum, ledum, saxifrage, 
 empetrum, cranberry, draba of several species, 
 lupine, stellaria, silene, polemonium, buckbean, 
 bryanthus, several sedges, a liliaceous plant new 
 to me, five species of willow, dwarf birch, alder, 
 and a purple pedicularis, the showiest of them all. 
 The primula and a bryanthus-like heathwort were 
 the most beautiful. 
 
 The tundra is composed of a close sponge of 
 mosses about a foot deep, with lichens growing on 
 top of the mosses, and a thin growth of grasses and 
 sedges and most of the flowering plants mentioned 
 above, with others not then in bloom. The moss 
 rests upon a stratum of solid ice, and the ice on 
 black vesicular lava, ridges of which rise here and 
 there above the spongy mantle of moss, and afford 
 ground for plants that like a dry soil. There are 
 hollows, too, beneath the general level along which 
 grow tall aspidiums, grasses, sedges, larkspurs, 
 alders, and willows — the alders five or six inches 
 in diameter and from eight to ten feet high, the 
 largest timber I have seen since leaving California. 
 
 Visits from Indians in kayaks. At full speed they 
 can run about seven miles an hour for a short dis- 
 
 [ ii6 I 
 
Glimpses of Alaskan "Tundra 
 
 tance. The salmon, that is, the best red-fleshed 
 species, are about finishing their run up the river 
 now. A very fat one, weighing about fifty pounds, 
 was bought from an Indian for a Httle hardtack. 
 After enough had been cut ifrom lit for one meal, 
 it was lost overboard by dropping from its head 
 while suspended by it. Specimens of a hundred 
 pounds or more are said to be caught at times. Mr. 
 Nelson saw dried specimens six feet long. 
 
 [Steamer Conaitif 
 En route to the Arctic Ocean,] 
 
 July p. Left St. Michael, having on board provi- 
 sions for nine months, and about one hundred tons 
 of coal. Decks heavily piled. A weird red sunset; 
 land miraged into most grotesque forms. Heavy 
 smoke from the burning tundra southwest from 
 St. Michael. The season's cruise seems now to be 
 just beginning. 
 
 July 10. Arrived this morning, about seven 
 o'clock, in Golofnin Bay, and dropped anchor. 
 There is a heavy sea and a stifiF south wind, with 
 clouds veiling the summits down to a thousand feet 
 from sea level. I was put ashore on the right side 
 of the bay after breakfast at a small Indian village 
 of two huts made of driftwood. They were full of 
 dried herring. Inhabitants not at home, but saw a 
 few at another village farther up the bay. All the 
 
 [ 117] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 huts are strictly conical and of driftwood. A few 
 Indians came oif in canoes, very fine ones, of a 
 slightly different pattern from any others I have 
 seen. There is a round hole through the front end 
 to facilitate lifting. I had a long walk and returned 
 to the ship at three in the afternoon. 
 
 The principal fact I discovered is a heavy de- 
 posit of glacial drift about fifty feet high, facing 
 several miles of coast. It is coarsely stratified, and 
 water-worn — the material of a' terminal moraine, 
 leveled by water flowing from a broad glacier, while 
 separated from the sea by a low, draggled flat, and 
 then eaten into blufi's by the sea waves. It is now 
 overgrown with alders, willows, and a good crop of 
 sedges and grasses, bright with flowers.^ Found the 
 small blue violet rather common. White spiraea, 
 in flower, is abundant in damp places about alder 
 groves where the tundra mosses are not too thick. 
 The cranberries, huckleberries, and rubus will soon 
 be ripe. The purple-flowered rubus is only in bloom 
 now. 
 
 The driftwood is spruce and Cottonwood. The 
 rock, containing mica, slate, and a good deal of 
 quartz, seems favorable for gold. The life-boat, 
 rigged with sails, has been sent to board the pros- 
 pectors' schooner anchored farther up the bay. 
 Seven men are aboard, and seven are off prospect- 
 ing. They are reported to have found promising 
 * See "Botanical Notes," p. 265. 
 
 1 118 ] 
 
Glimpses of Alaskan Tundra 
 
 galena assaying high values per ton. They mean 
 to visit the quicksilver mines on the Kuskoquim. 
 The rocks on the opposite side of the bay exhibit 
 clear traces of glacial' sculpture. 
 
 July II. Sailed this morning from the anchorage 
 in Golofnin Bay, and reached Sledge Island at nine 
 in the evening. The natives are mostly away on 
 the mainland. The island seems to be of granite 
 and to have been overswept [by glaciers]. Obtained 
 a pretty good view of the mountains at the head 
 of Golofnin Bay. They seem to be from four to five 
 thousand feet high. 
 
 July 12. Reached King Island this morning 
 about seven o'clock, and left at half-past ten. 
 Reached Cape Prince of Wales about three in the 
 afternoon and anchored. Left at six in the evening. 
 Clear, bright day; water, pale green. Had a fine 
 view of the Diomedes, Fairway Rock, King Island, 
 Cape Prince of Wales, and the lofty mountains 
 towards the head of the river that enters Golofnin 
 Bay, all from one point of view. The King Island 
 natives were away on the mainland, all save a few 
 old or crippled men, and women and children. 
 
 Their town, of all that I have seen, is the most 
 remarkably situated, on the face of a steep slope, 
 almost a cliff", and presents a very strange appear- 
 ance. Some fifty stone huts, scarcely visible at a 
 
 I 119] 
 
T'he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 short distance, like those of the Arizona clifF- 
 dwellers, rise like heaps of stones among heaps of 
 stones. These are the winter huts, and are entered 
 by tunnels. The summer huts, large square boxes 
 on stilts, are of skin, [stretched over] large poles of 
 driftwood. There is no way of landing save amid 
 a mass of great wave-beaten boulders. In stormy 
 times the King Islanders' excellent canoes have to 
 be pitched off into the sea when a wave is about to 
 recede. Two are tied together for safety in rough 
 weather. These pairs live in any sea. A few gray- 
 headed old pairs came off with some odds and ends 
 to trade. 
 
 Mr. Nelson and I went ashore to obtain photo- 
 graphs and sketches and to bargain for specimens 
 of ivory carvings, etc. A busy trade developed 
 on the roof of a house, the only level ground. 
 Groups of merry boys went skipping nimbly from 
 rock to rock, and busily guided us over the safest 
 places. They showed us where between the huge 
 boulders it was best to attempt a landing, which 
 was difficult. Though the sea was nearly calm, a 
 slight swell made a heavy surf. One hut rose above 
 another like a village on Yosemite walls. The whole 
 island is precipitous, so much so that it seems 
 accessible only to murres, etc., which flock here 
 in countless multitudes to breed. 
 
 In the afternoon, at Cape Prince of Wales, we 
 lay opposite a large village whose inhabitants have 
 
 [ I20 ] 
 
Glimpses of Alaskan "Tundra 
 
 a bad character. They started a fight while trading 
 on board of a schooner. Many of them were killed, 
 and they have since been distrusted not only on 
 account of their known bad character, but also 
 because of the law of blood revenge which obtains 
 universally among these natives. They are noted 
 traders and go far in their large skin boats which 
 carry sails. While we were here a canoe, met by our 
 search party, arrived from East Cape — a party 
 of Chukchi traders, bringing deerskins from Cape 
 Yakan. They are in every way much better-look- 
 ing men than the natives of this side, being taller, 
 better-formed, and more cordial in manner. They 
 at once recognized our Third Lieutenant Reynolds, 
 whom they had met at Tapkan. Fog at night; 
 going under sail only. 
 
 July 13, Lovely day, nearly cloudless. Average 
 temperature of 50° F. At half-past five in the after- 
 noon we fell in with a trading schooner ^ opposite an 
 Indian village.^ One of the boats came alongside 
 the Corwin and traded a few articles. Nothing 
 contraband was found, though rifles probably had 
 been sold during the first part of her cruise. These 
 vessels, as well as whalers, carry more or less whis- 
 key and rifles in order to obtain ivory, whalebone, 
 and furs. They go from coast to coast and among 
 islands, and thus pick up valuable cargoes. The 
 ^ The O. S. Fowler. * Near Cape Espenberg. 
 
 [ I" 1 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 natives cannot understand why the Corwin inter- 
 feres with trade in repeating rifles and whiskey. 
 They consider it all a matter of rivalry and superior 
 strength. No wonder, since our government does 
 nothing for them. Conmion rifles would be better 
 for them, partly on account of the difficulty of 
 obtaining supplies of cartridges, and partly be- 
 cause repeating rifles tempt them to destroy large 
 amounts of game which they do not need. The 
 reindeer has in this manner been well-nigh exter- 
 minated within the last few years. 
 
 July 14, A hot, sunny day. Came to anchor this 
 morning at the head of Kotzebue Sound opposite 
 the mouth of the Kiwalik River. Between eight 
 and nine o'clock this morning Lieutenant Reynolds, 
 with six seamen, took Mr. Nelson and me up the 
 river in one of the boats. We reached a point about 
 eight miles from the mouth of the estuary near the 
 head of the delta. Since the bay is shoal oif the 
 estuary, the ship was anchored about four miles 
 from the mouth. We, therefore, had a journey of 
 about twenty-four miles altogether. We first landed 
 at the mouth of the estuary and walked a mile or 
 two along a bar shoved up by the waves and the 
 ice. Here we found one native hut in good repair. 
 The inhabitants were away, but the trodden grass 
 showed that they had not been gone very long. 
 This is the time of the year when the grand gather- 
 
 [ 122 ] 
 
Glimpses of Alaskan Tundra 
 
 ing of the clans for trade takes place at Cape 
 Blossom, and they probably had gone there. The 
 floor of the hut was about ten feet in diameter, [and 
 the hut itself] was made of a frame of driftwood 
 covered with sod, and was entered by a narrow 
 tunnel two feet high and eighteen inches wide. We 
 saw traces of a great many houses, showing that 
 quite a large village was at one time located here. 
 In some only a few decaying timbers were to be 
 seen, in others all the timbers had vanished and 
 only the excavation remained. Some six miles 
 farther up the stream I noticed other ruins, indi- 
 cating that many natives once lived here, though 
 now their number has dwindled to one family. 
 
 The delta is about five miles wide and about 
 eight miles long. It is covered with a grassy, flow- 
 ery, sedgy vegetation, with pools, lagoons, and 
 branches of the river here and there. It is a lonely 
 place, and a favorite resort of ducks, geese, and 
 other water birds which come here to breed and to 
 moult. We saw swans ^ with their young; eider 
 ducks, also, were seen with their young, and some 
 were found on their eggs, which are green and about 
 the size of hens' eggs. Their nests were among the 
 grass on the margin of a lagoon and were made with 
 a handful of down from their breasts. These as well 
 as other ducks, which had their young with them, 
 could not be made to fly, though we came within 
 ^ Whistling swans {Olor columbianus), 
 [ 123 ] 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 three or four yards of them in a narrow pool. When 
 I threw sticks at the flock they would only dive. 
 They were very graceful, and took good care of 
 their children. We could easily have killed them 
 all. 
 
 The wild geese which we saw also had young — 
 a dozen families altogether.^ They are moulting 
 now and cannot fly. We chased a large flock in the 
 estuary. When they saw us coming, they made 
 frantic efforts to keep ahead of the boat. When we 
 overtook them, they dived and scattered, coming 
 up here and there, often close to the boat, and al- 
 ways trying to keep themselves concealed by lay- 
 ing their necks along the water and sinking their 
 bodies and lying perfectly still; or, if they were well 
 away from the boat and fancied themselves unseen, 
 they swam in this sunken, outstretched condition 
 and were soon lost to view, if there was the least 
 wind-ripple on the water. Saw three plovers, the 
 godwit from the Siberian side, and many finches 
 and gulls. On a small islet in the middle of a pond 
 we found one nest of the burgomaster gull. They 
 tried to drive us away by swooping down upon us. 
 I noticed also the robber-gull and several others. 
 Butterflies were quite abundant among the bloom- 
 ing meadow vegetation. I noticed six or more spe- 
 
 ^ Mr. E, W. Nelson reported the geese observed here as be- 
 longing to two species, the American white-fronted goose {Anser 
 albtfrons gamhelt) and the white-cheeked goose {Bernicla canaden- 
 sis Uucoparia), 
 
 [ 124 ] 
 
Glimpses of Alaskan T^undra 
 
 cies. The vegetation is like that of Cape Prince of 
 Wales and Norton Sound. Found one red poppy, 
 one wintergreen, allium, saxifrages, primulas, lu- 
 pines, pedicularis, and peas, quite abundant. This 
 region is noted for its fossil ivory. Found only 
 a fragment of a tusk and a few bones. The deposit 
 whence they were derived is probably above the 
 point reached by us. The gravel is composed of 
 quartz, mica, slate, and lava. There are many lava 
 cones and ridges on both sides of the estuary. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 CARIBOU AND A NATIVE FAIR 
 
 JULY 1$, Rainy and cold; cleared at seven in 
 the evening. Left the head of Kotzebue Sound 
 this morning at seven-thirty, for Cape Blossom, 
 where the natives assemble from near and far to 
 trade, but only one poor family was left. We went 
 ashore and found them engaged in fishing for sal- 
 mon with a net which was pushed out from the 
 shore by a long pole sixty feet in length, made of 
 three tied together. The Indians had gone fifteen 
 or twenty miles up the coast, near Cape Krusen- 
 stern. Their tents were to be seen, looking like 
 Oakland across the bay from San Francisco, so 
 numerous they seemed. A small schooner, the 
 Fowler, was at anchor there trading. Soon half a 
 dozen canoes came alongside of us, and oflPered to 
 trade, but asked big prices. The Captain obtained 
 only two wolfskins, a deerskin, and a few muskrats, 
 and bunches of sinew. [The Corwin then proceeded 
 to Hotham Inlet and came to anchor about two 
 miles from the native village called Sheshalek, 
 inhabited by Kobuk and Noatak River Eskimos.] 
 
 July i6, A fresh breeze from the north, but the 
 day is tolerably clear. A swell is breaking into 
 
 [ 126 ] 
 
Caribou and a Native Fair 
 
 whitecaps here and there. A busy day with the 
 Indians, trading for a winter supply of deerskins. 
 We obtained over a hundred altogether at the rate 
 of about a dollar each for summer skins, and half 
 as much for those taken in winter. With what we 
 have already picked up here and there, and with 
 the parkas we have collected, this will be amply 
 sufficient. Reindeer are killed in immense numbers 
 inland from here. All are wild; no domesticated 
 herds are found on the American continent, though 
 the natives have illustrations enough of their value 
 on the opposite shores of Bering Sea. These Indi- 
 ans prefer herds that require no care, though they 
 are not always to be found when wanted. Some of 
 the wild herds that exist up the Inland River are 
 said, by the Indians, to be so large as to require 
 more than a day in passing. 
 
 The number of these animals, considering the 
 multitude of their enemies. Is truly wonderful. The 
 large gray wolves kill many during the winter, and 
 when the snow is deep, large flocks are slaughtered 
 by the Indians, whether they need them or not. 
 They make it a rule to kill every animal that comes 
 within reach, without a thought of future scarcity, 
 fearing, as some say, that, should they refuse to 
 kill as opportunity offers, though It be at a time 
 when food is no object, then the deer-spirit would 
 be offended at the refusal of his gifts and would not 
 send any deer when they are in want. Probably, 
 
 .[ 127 ] 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 however, they are moved simply by an Instinctive 
 love of killing on which their existence depends, 
 and these wholesale slaughters are to be regarded 
 as only too much of a good thing. Formerly there 
 were large herds about St. Michael, but since the 
 introduction of repeating rifles they have wholly 
 vanished. Hundreds were surrounded in passes 
 among the hills, were killed and left lying where 
 they fell, not even the hides being taken. Often a 
 band of moose or reindeer is overtaken in deep 
 snow, when they are easily killed with clubs by 
 Indians on snowshoes, who will simply cut out 
 their tongues, and leave the rest to be eaten by 
 wolves. 
 
 The reindeer is found throughout the Arctic and 
 subarctic regions of both Asia and America, and, 
 in either the wild or the domestic state, supplies to 
 the natives an abundance of food and warm cloth- 
 ing, thus rendering these bleak and intensely cold 
 regions inhabitable. I believe it is only in Lapland 
 and Siberia that the reindeer is domesticated. They 
 are never sold alive by the Chukchis on account of 
 a superstitious notion that to do so would surely 
 bring bad luck by incensing the spirit of the deer. 
 A hundred can be bought, after they are killed, for 
 less than one alive. Certain ceremonies must also 
 be observed before killing. 
 
 Out on the frozen tundra great care is required, 
 both by day and by night, to keep them from being 
 
 [ 128] 
 
Caribou and a Native Fair 
 
 scattered and torn by wolves. A reindeer weighs 
 from three to four hundred pounds. The winter 
 skins are heavier, the hair being long and tipped 
 with white, giving them a hoary appearance, 
 especially on the back; but the hair is easily broken 
 and pulled out, a fact which renders them much 
 less durable when used for bedding, tents, or cloth- 
 ing than those taken in summer, when the hair is 
 short, and dark blue, almost black. Reindeer hides 
 are easily tanned; those tanned in Siberia are dyed 
 a rich reddish-brown on the inside with alder bark. 
 The domestic reindeer skins are considered better 
 than those of the wild animals. Wrangell ^ has de- 
 scribed the herds as affording a grand sight. 
 
 At this point ^ the Indians from the interior, and 
 from many miles up and down the coast, assemble 
 once a year in July to trade with each other, with 
 parties of Chukchis who come from Siberia in 
 umiaks, and with the few schooners that bring 
 goods from San Francisco and from the Sandwich 
 Islands. After trading they indulge in games of 
 wrestling, playing ball, gambling, dancing, and 
 drinking whiskey, if they can get it. Then they 
 break up their camps and go to their widely scat- 
 tered homes, some a month's journey or more up 
 the Inland and down the Col ville Rivers. They now 
 
 * Admiral Baron Ferdinand Petrovich von Wrangell, polar 
 explorer and Russian Governor, Administrator of the Russian- 
 American colonies, 1829-36. 
 
 ^ The head of Kotzebue Sound. 
 
 [ 129 ] 
 
^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 have about one hundred and forty tents set in a 
 row along the beach, their Hght kayaks in front of 
 the tents in a neat row, each with paddles and 
 spears that belong to it, and in front of these a 
 row of large skin umiaks. They are a mixed, jolly 
 multitude, wearing different ornaments, superb fur 
 clothes, or shabby foreign articles; one sees long 
 hair, short hair, or closely shaven; here is headgear 
 of hats, caps, or cowls, and folk who go bareheaded ; 
 labrets, too, of every conceivable size, color, and 
 material — glass, stone, beads, ivory, brass. They 
 show good taste and ingenuity in the manufacture 
 of pipes, weapons, knickknacks of a domestic kind, 
 utensils, ornaments, boats, etc. 
 
 Though savage and sensual, they are by no 
 means dull or apathetic like the sensual savages of 
 civilization, who live only to eat and indulge the 
 senses, for these Eskimos, without newspapers or 
 telegraphs, know all that is going on within hun- 
 dreds of miles, and are keen questioners and alive 
 to everything that goes on before them. They 
 dearly like to gossip. One tried to buy some of 
 the cabin boy's hair, on account of its curious 
 whiteness; another, who has red hair, is followed 
 and commented on with ludicrous interest. 
 
 The shores hereabouts are comparatively low, 
 the hills, back a few miles from shore, rolling and 
 of moderate height, and mountains are to be seen 
 beyond. 
 
 [ 130 ] 
 
Caribou and a Native Fair 
 
 July 77. The northerly wind still prevails ; cloudy 
 all day, but dry. Left the Eskimo "Long Branch" 
 at four o'clock in the morning and sailed to Cape 
 Thompson, where we mean to look into the con- 
 dition of the Eskimos and inquire whether they 
 have obtained whiskey, from any of the traders, 
 contrary to law. The coast is rather low. Moun- 
 tains are visible thirty miles back; low hills be- 
 tween. 
 
 July 18. Numerous snow squalls. Came to 
 anchor at five this morning in the lee of Point Hope. 
 Norther blowing. Remained all day in company 
 with the Sea Breeze.^ A few of the natives came off 
 shore — good-natured fellows. A negro, who win- 
 tered here last season, was well used by them, for 
 he was given the best of what they had. He had 
 lost an axe overboard, so the story goes, and de- 
 serted on account of trouble he had over the matter 
 with the second officer of the brig Hidalgo. He was 
 taken on board again this spring. 
 
 We landed and walked through the village. 
 Found a fine gravel beach, beautifully flowered 
 beyond the reach of the waves. Most of the natives 
 seem to be away — at the summer gathering, per- 
 haps. The graveyard is of great extent and very 
 conspicuous from the custom of surrounding the 
 graves with poles. 
 
 * A whaling bark. 
 
 [ 131 1 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 July Jp. Cold, stiff, north wind; clear. Left our 
 anchorage at five o'clock this morning and pro- 
 ceeded north, but found the gale too strong to make 
 much headway and, therefore, turned back and 
 anchored at Cape Thompson, thirty miles south of 
 Point Hope. Watering ship all day; the wind is 
 blowing hard. Going north again since seven 
 o'clock this evening. Wind moderating slightly. 
 
 I went ashore this forenoon and, after passing a 
 few minutes interviewing a group of vagabond 
 natives from Point Hope who were camped here to 
 gather eggs, kill murres, and loaf, I pushed on up 
 the hillside, whose sheer scarped face forms the 
 Cape. I found It five hundred and fifty feet high, 
 composed of calcareous slates, much bent and con- 
 torted, and a considerable portion was fossiliferous. 
 Where hills of this rock have steep slopes, and so 
 much drainage and wash that soil is not allowed to 
 form, nor the usual moss mantle to grow, they 
 bleach white and present a remarkably desolate 
 aspect in the distance. Such hills are common back 
 of Kotzebue Sound. These barren slopes, however, 
 alternate with remarkably fertile valleys, where 
 flowers of fifty or more species bloom in rich pro- 
 fusion, making masses of white, purple, and blue. 
 Sometimes this occurs on a comparatively thin 
 soil where the leaves do not veil the rocky ground; 
 but at the bottom of the valleys there usually is a 
 green ground below the bloom. 
 
 [ 132 ] 
 
Caribou and a Native Fair 
 
 The slopes over which I passed in to-day's walk 
 are planted chiefly with sweet fern — Dryas — 
 with its yellowish-white flowers. A purple silene is 
 also very abundant, making beautiful bosses of 
 color. Phlox is present in dwarfed masses, only the 
 stems and leaves being dwarfed, not the flowers. 
 Anemones occur in fine patches, and buttercups, 
 and several species of daisies and lupines. Dodeca- 
 theon I met here for the first time this season. 
 Dwarf willows are abundant. There was one fern 
 and one heathwort along a streamside. I saw no 
 true tundra here, its absence, no doubt, being due 
 to the free drainage of the surface. The winds from 
 the north are violent here, as evidenced by the 
 immense snow-drifts still unmelted along the shore 
 where we landed, and also back in the hollows 
 where they feed the stream at which we got water 
 for the ship. They probably will last all summer. 
 This circumstance, of course, leaves the hill slopes 
 all the barer and dryer. 
 
 The trends of two main ridges, of which I ob- 
 tained approximate measurements, probably coin- 
 cide with the direction of the movement of the ice. 
 There is a small wasted moraine in the lower part 
 of the stream valley, extending to the shore. Par- 
 tial after-glaciation has been light, and on rocks 
 of this sort has left only very faint traces. 
 
 July 20. Last night we again anchored on the 
 [ 133 J 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 south side of Point Hope, the norther still blowing 
 hard. About noon to-day it began to abate, and 
 we again pushed off northward. Now, at eight 
 o'clock in the evening, we are approaching Cape 
 Lisburne, a bold bluff of gray stratified rocks about 
 fifteen hundred feet high. All along the coast, from 
 the neighborhood of Cape Prince of Wales, the 
 peculiar gray color of the rocks, and the forms into 
 which they are weathered and glaciated, indicate 
 one continuous formation, partially described yes- 
 terday. Magnificent sections are exposed between 
 the north side of Point Hope and Cape Lisburne. 
 The age of the formation I do not as yet certainly 
 know. The existence of coal-veins here and there in 
 connection with conglomerates, and the few fossils, 
 would tend to identify it as Carboniferous, though 
 some of the sections show a wide vertical range. 
 Probably a considerable amount of the formation 
 is older. The few fossils I have seen point to the 
 Carboniferous, or older formations. 
 
 Between eleven and twelve o'clock this forenoon 
 several white whales were seen near the shore, 
 showing their white backs above the water when 
 they rose to breathe, so white at a little distance 
 that they might easily have been mistaken for 
 breaking waves. We saw the Indians shoot and 
 kill one, and went ashore to have a good look at 
 this Beluga. It proved to be a small one, only about 
 seven feet long, and of a pale gray ashen color, 
 
 [ 134 ] 
 
Caribou and a Native Fair 
 
 probably a young specimen. In general form it is 
 like a whale, but more slender. The head is narrow 
 and rather high in the forehead. The eyes are very 
 small, about five eighths of an inch in diameter. 
 The ears are hardly visible, would scarcely admit a 
 common lead pencil. The blow-hole, as in the true 
 whales, is about an inch in diameter. The fore- 
 feet, the only limbs, are in the form of short flip- 
 pers, and the tail, which is large, is formed by an 
 expansion of the thick skin. They are more nearly 
 related to the dolphins than to the whales — the 
 dolphins, porpoises, and grampuses forming one 
 of the divisions of the three Cetacea delphinoidea. 
 
 While we were ashore looking at this specimen, 
 a much larger one came along parallel with the 
 shore-line and not more than twenty or thirty 
 yards from it. The natives were on the watch and 
 shot it through the body when it rose to blow. 
 Instead of making out to sea when wounded, it kept 
 its course alongshore and the natives followed 
 excitedly, ready to get another shot. They kept it 
 in sight while it was ten or twelve feet under water, 
 which they were enabled to do on account of its 
 whiteness. Eight or ten men jumped into a canoe 
 and followed it, one standing in the bow with a 
 spear. After swimming about half a mile and 
 receiving four or more bullets from Henry and 
 Winchester rifles, it began to struggle and die. The 
 boat came up, an Eskimo drove in a spear, and the 
 
 [ 135 ] 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 whale was taken in tow and brought back to where 
 the first was killed, the crew, meanwhile, singing 
 in triumph. Then a rolling hitch was made, and a 
 dozen willing hands landed the animal, a female. 
 She measured about twelve feet in length and nine 
 in circumference. They at once began to eat the 
 tail and back fin raw, cutting off blocks of it and 
 giving it to the children, not because they were 
 hungry, but because they regarded it as so very 
 palatable. Then a fire was built of driftwood. 
 Looking back from the ship, only two red spots 
 were visible on the beach — and a group of fifty 
 feasting Eskimos! Probably not a bit of the 
 Belugas, except a little of the blubber, will be left 
 by night. 
 
 The attitudes of the riflemen, legs spread, rifle 
 to shoulder, and eyes vividly on the alert, as they 
 watched the animal's appearance above water, 
 were very striking. These animals are quite abun- 
 dant hereabouts, and used to be killed with spears 
 that had heads made of stone or ivory. Whales 
 were killed in the same manner. A much larger 
 number of right whales is killed by the natives 
 about the shores of Bering Sea and along the polar 
 shores than is supposed. Almost every village gets 
 from one to five every season. Then comes a joyful 
 time. The bone belongs to the boat's crew that 
 strikes the whale, the carcass to all the village. 
 
 A mountain slope just to the northeast of Cape 
 [ 136 ] 
 
Caribou and a Native Fair 
 
 Lisburne is so covered at the top with slender, 
 spirey columns of rock, that I at first glance took 
 them for trees. A slight dusting of snow has lately 
 whitened the peaks. To the south of the Cape 
 twelve or fifteen miles two small valleys, cut nearly 
 to the level of the sea, exhibit terminal and lateral 
 moraines. After-glaciation has been light. The 
 higher mountains do not approach the coast nearly. 
 No deep fiords like those of the west coast. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 ZIGZAGS AMONG THE POLAR PACK 
 
 JULY 21, Rainy this forenoon, clear at night. 
 Wind blowing hard from the southeast and 
 raising a heavy swell. Reached Icy Cape about 
 noon and found to our disappointment that, not- 
 withstanding the openness of the season, further 
 advance northeastward was barred by the ice. 
 After the sky began to clear somewhat, and the 
 rain to cease falling, we observed an ice-blink 
 stretching all around the northern horizon for 
 several hours before we sighted the ice, a peculiar 
 brown and yellow band within a few degrees of the 
 horizon. There was a dark belt beneath it, which 
 indicated water beyond the ice. 
 
 We then turned westward, tracing the loose- 
 drift edge of the pack until eight in the evening, 
 when we turned to the east again, intending to 
 await the further movements of the ice for a few 
 days, and especially a change of wind to blow it off- 
 shore. There is a coal-vein between here and Cape 
 Lisburne which we will visit and mine as much coal 
 as possible, in case the weather permits. But as 
 there is no shelter thereabouts, we may not be able 
 to obtain any and in that case will be compelled 
 to go to Plover Bay for our next supply. 
 
 [ 138] 
 
Zigzags among the Polar Pack 
 
 About fifteen miles southwest of Icy Cape there 
 IS quite a large settlement ^ of Eskimos on the low, 
 sandy, storm-swept shore. Cool and breezy must 
 be their lives, and they can have but little induce- 
 ment to look up, or time to spend in contemplation. 
 Theirs is one constant struggle for food, interrupted 
 by sleep and by a few common quarrels. In winter 
 they hibernate in noisome underground dens. In 
 summer they come out to take breath in small 
 conical tents, made of white drill, when they can 
 get it. They waved a piece of cloth on the end of a 
 pole as we passed, inviting us to stop and trade 
 with them. From Cape Lisburne up the coast to 
 Point Barrow there is usually a two-knot current, 
 but the wind and the ice have completely stopped 
 the flow at present. The sun is above the horizon 
 at midnight. 
 
 July 22. A dull, leaden day; dark fog and rain 
 until about four in the afternoon; rained but a small 
 fraction of an inch. About noon we once more 
 sighted the ice-pack. The heavy swell of the sea is 
 rapidly subsiding and the wind is veering to the 
 northeast. We hope it will move the ice offshore 
 and allow us to round Point Barrow. The pack is 
 close and impenetrable, though made up of far 
 smaller blocks than usual, owing, no doubt, to the 
 mildness of last winter, and to the chafing and 
 
 » Ututok? 
 [ 139 1 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 pounding of a succession of gales that have been 
 driving over it at intervals all the spring. We 
 pushed into it through the loose outer fringe, but 
 soon turned back when we found that it stretched 
 all around from the shore. By retreating we 
 avoided the danger of getting fixed in it and carried 
 away. Nearly all the vessels that have been lost in 
 the Arctic have been caught hereabouts. 
 
 The approach to the ice was signalized by the 
 appearance of walruses, seals, and ducks. The wal- 
 rus is very abundant here, and when whales are 
 scarce the whalers hunt and kill great numbers of 
 them for their ivory and oil. They are found on 
 cakes of ice in hundreds, and if a party of riflemen 
 can get near, by creeping up behind some hum- 
 mock, and kill the one on guard, the rest seem to 
 be heedless of noise after the first shot, and wait 
 until nearly all are killed. But if the first be only 
 wounded, and plunges into the water, the whole 
 **pod" is likely to follow. Came to anchor at half- 
 past ten this evening, a little to the south of Icy 
 Cape. 
 
 July 23. Clear and calm. Weighed anchor at 
 eight in the morning and ran close inshore, 
 anchored, and landed with instruments to make 
 exact measurements for latitude and longitude, 
 and to observe the dip. I also went ashore to see 
 the vegetation, and Nelson to seek birds and look 
 
 [ 140 ] 
 
Zigzags among the Polar Pack 
 
 for Eskimo specimens. Found only four plants in 
 bloom — saxifrage, willow, artemisia, and draba. 
 This is the bleakest and barest spot of all. Well 
 named Icy Cape. A low bar of sand and shingle 
 shoved up by the ice that is crowded against the 
 shore every year. Inside this bar, which is only a 
 hundred yards wide, there is a stretch of water 
 several miles wide; then, low gravelly coast. Sedges 
 and grasses, dwarfed and frost-bitten, constitute 
 the bulk of the flora. 
 
 We noticed traces of Eskimo encampments. 
 There was blubber in abundance from a dead whale 
 that had been cast up on the shore. They had 
 plenty of food when they left. But before this they 
 must have been hungry, for we found remains of 
 dogs that they had been eating; also, white foxes' 
 bones, picked clean. Found a dead walrus on the 
 beach beyond the wreck of the whale. 
 
 At one in the afternoon we weighed anchor and 
 turned north, crossing inside of Blossom Shoals, 
 which are successive ridges pushed up by the ice, 
 and extending ten or twelve miles ofi'shore. In a 
 few hours we reached the limit of open water. The 
 ice extended out from the shore, leaving no way. 
 Turned again to the south. Sighted the bark 
 Northern Light ^ and made up to her. She showed 
 grandly with her white canvas on the dark water, 
 now nearly calm. Ice just ahead as we accompa- 
 * A whaler. 
 
 1 141 1 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 nied her northward while the Captain visited her. 
 The sun is low in the northwest at nine o'clock. 
 A lovely evening, bracing, cool, with a light breeze 
 blowing over the polar pack. The ice is marvelously 
 distorted and miraged; thousands of blocks seem 
 suspended in the air; some even poised on slender 
 black poles and pinnacles; a bridge of ice with in- 
 numerable piers, the ice and water wavering with 
 quick, glancing motion. At midnight the sun is 
 still above the horizon about two diameters; purple 
 to west and east, gradually fading to dark slate 
 color in the south with a few banks of cloud. A bar 
 of gold in the path of the sun lay on the water and 
 across the pack, the large blocks in the line [of 
 vision] burning like huge coals of fire. 
 
 A little schooner^ has a boat out in the edge of 
 the pack killing walruses, while she is lying a little 
 to east of the sun. A puif of smoke now and then, 
 a dull report, and a huge animal rears and falls — 
 another, and another, as they lie on the ice without 
 showing any alarm, waiting to be killed, like cattle 
 lying in a barnyard ! Nearer, we hear the roar, lion- 
 like, mixed with hoarse grunts, from hundreds like 
 black bundles on the white ice. A small red flag 
 is planted near the pile of slain. Then the three 
 men pull ofi" to their schooner, as it is now midnight 
 and time for the other watch to go to work. 
 
 These magnificent animals are killed oftentimes 
 1 The R. B. Handy, Captain Winants. 
 [ 142 ] 
 
Zigzags among the Polar Pack 
 
 for their tusks alone, like buffaloes for their tongues, 
 ostriches for their feathers, or for mere sport and 
 exercise. In nothing does man, with his grand 
 notions of heaven and charity, show forth his in- 
 nate, low-bred, wild animalism more clearly than 
 in his treatment of his brother beasts. From the 
 shepherd with his lambs to the red-handed hunter, 
 it is the same; no recognition of rights — only 
 murder in one form or another. 
 
 July 24. A lovely morning, sunful, calm, clear; 
 a broad swath of silver spangles in the path of the 
 sun; ice-blink to the north; a pale sky to the east 
 and around to the south and west; blue above, not 
 deep blue; several ships in sight. Sabbath bells are 
 all that is required to make a Sabbath of the day. 
 
 Ran inshore opposite the Eskimo village; about 
 a hundred came off. Good-natured as usual. A few 
 biscuits and a little coaxing from the sailors made 
 them sing and dance. The Eskimo women laughed 
 as heartily at the curious and extravagant gestures 
 of the men as any of the sailors did. They were 
 anxious to know what was the real object of the 
 Corwin's cruise, and when the steam whaler Belve- 
 dere hove in sight they inquired whether she had 
 big guns and was the same kind of ship. Our inter- 
 preter explained as well as he could. 
 
 In the afternoon we had the Sea Breeze, the 
 Sappho, the Northern Light, and the schooner 
 
 1 143 1 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 about us. The steam whaler had only six whales. 
 He had struck ten, taken four, and found two dead. 
 Last year he took twenty-seven. The whales were 
 in windrows then; at one time twenty-five were so 
 near that no gaps between them were so wide but 
 that a man could strike on either side. They were 
 more abundant last year on the American coast; 
 this year, on the Asiatic. They are always more 
 abundant in spring and fall than during the summer. 
 Had a graphic account, from Captain Owen, of 
 the loss of the thirty-three ships of the whaling 
 fleet near Point Barrow in 1874. Caution incul- 
 cated by such experiences. Anchored this evening 
 near the Belvedere and four other vessels. The 
 schooner people complain that this is a bad year 
 for "walrusing"; ice too thin; after killing a few 
 the hot blood so weakens the ice that' in their 
 struggles they break it and then fall in and sink. 
 
 July 25. Steamed northward again, intending, 
 after reaching the ice, to make an effort to go to 
 Point Barrow with the steam launch, and the life- 
 boat in tow, to seek the Daniel Webster, and oifer 
 aid if necessary. [This whaler is] now shut in about 
 Point Belcher. We found, however, that the ice 
 was shoved close inshore south of Icy Cape, and 
 extended in a dense pack from there to the south- 
 west, leaving no boat channel even. This plan was 
 therefore abandoned with great reluctance, and 
 
 [ 144 ] 
 
Zigzags among the Polar Pack 
 
 we again moved southward, intending to coal, if 
 the weather allowed, near Cape Lisburne. Calm, 
 lovely night; slight breeze; going slowly under sail 
 alone. 
 
 July 26, Lovely day; gentle breeze. Eight ves- 
 sels in sight this morning. The Belvedere got under 
 sail and is proceeding southward with us. Mirages 
 in wonderful variety; ships pulled up and to either 
 side, out of all recognition; the coast, with snow- 
 patches as gaps, pulled up and stratified; the snow 
 looking like arched openings in a dark bridge above 
 the waters. About nine-thirty we noticed a rare 
 effect just beneath the sun — a faint, black, in- 
 definite, cloudlike bar extended along the horizon, 
 and immediately beyond this dark bar there was 
 a strip of bright, keenly defined colors like a showy 
 spectrum, containing nearly all the colors of the 
 rainbow. 
 
 July 27. A lovely day, bright and calm and 
 warm. Coaling ship from a vein in a sandstone cliff 
 twenty miles northeast of Cape Lisburne. In com- 
 pany with the Belvedere. Seeking fossils. Discov- 
 ered only two species of plants. Coal abundant. 
 Mined, took out, and brought on board fifteen tons 
 to-day. The Belvedere also is coaling and taking on 
 water. Three Eskimo canoes came from the south 
 this evening and camped at the stream which flows 
 
 [145 J 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 into the sea on the north side of the coal bluff. The 
 dogs followed the canoes alongshore. After camp- 
 ing they came alongside, but not before their re- 
 peated signs of peace, consisting of throwing up 
 hands and shouting "Tima," were answered by 
 the officer of the deck. This custom seems to be 
 dying out, also that of embracing and nose-rubbing. 
 
 July 28. Lovely, tranquil day, all sunshine. Tak- 
 ing coal until half-past four in the afternoon. Then 
 sailed toward Herald Island. I spent the forenoon 
 along the face of the shore cliffs, seeking fossils. 
 Discovered only four, all plants. Went three miles 
 westward. Heavy snowbank, leaning back in the 
 shadow most of the distance, almost changing to 
 ice; very deep and of several years' formation — 
 not less than forty feet in many places. The cliffs 
 or bluffs are from two hundred to nearly four hun- 
 dred feet high, composed of sandstone, coal, and 
 conglomerate, the latter predominating. Great 
 thickness of sediments; a mile or more visible on 
 upturned edges, which give a furrowed surface by 
 unequal weathering. Some good bituminous coal; 
 bums well. Veins forty feet thick, more or less 
 interrupted by clayey or sandy strata. Fossils not 
 abundant. 
 
 While I was scratching the rocks for some light 
 on the history of their formation, eight canoe loads 
 of Eskimos with all their goods, tents, children, 
 
 [146] 
 
Zigzags among the Polar Pack 
 
 etc., passed close along the shore, going toward 
 Icy Cape; all except one were drawn by dogs — 
 from three to five to each canoe — attached by 
 a long string of walrus hide, and driven by a 
 woman, or half-grown girl, or boy. "Ooch, ooch, 
 ooch," they said, while urging them along. They 
 dragged the canoe with perhaps two tons altogether 
 at two and one half miles per hour. When they 
 came to a sheer bluff the dogs swam and the 
 drivers got into the canoe until the beach again 
 admitted of tracking. The canoe that had no dogs 
 was paddled and rowed by both men and women. 
 One woman, pulling an oar on the starboard bow, 
 was naked to the waist. They came from Point 
 Hope, and arrived last evening at a camping- 
 ground on the edge of a stream opposite the Cor- 
 win's anchorage. This morning they had eight 
 tents and all the food, canoes, arms, dogs, babies, 
 and rubbish that belong to a village. The encamp- 
 ment looked like a settled village that had grown up 
 by enchantment. Only one was left after ten in the 
 morning, the occupants busying themselves cach- 
 ing blubber of walrus. In the sunshine some of the 
 children enjoyed the luxury of running about naked. 
 Eleven-thirty; a calm evening. The sun has just 
 set, its disk curiously distorted by refraction and 
 light diminished by vaporous haze, so that it could 
 be looked at, a glorious orb of crimson and gold 
 with a crisp surface. . . . Horizontal layers of 
 
 1 147] 
 
ne Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 color, piled on each other evenly, made the whole 
 look like cheeses of different sizes laid neatly one 
 on top of the other. Sketched the various phases. 
 It set as a flat crimson cake of dull red. No cloud; 
 only haze, dark at the horizon, purple higher, and 
 then yellow. 
 
 July 2g. Calm, lovely, sunny day. Thermome- 
 ter standing at 50° F. in the shade; warm in the 
 sun; the water smooth with streaks; rufiled, like an 
 alpine lake; mostly glassy, stirred with irregular 
 breaths of air. Ice visible about noon, near "Post- 
 Ofiice Point." ^ Fine-grained, hazy, luminous mist 
 about the horizon. A few gulls and ducks. Sun 
 barely dipped beneath the horizon. Curiously 
 modeled by refraction; bars dividing in sections 
 always horizontal. Ducks flying at midnight. 
 
 July 30. Another glassy, calm day, all sunshine 
 from midnight to midnight. Kotzebue's gull, the 
 kittiwake, about the ship; no seals or walrus. 
 Herald Island came in sight about one o'clock. At 
 a distance of eight to ten miles we reached the ice, 
 but made our way through it, as it was mostly light 
 and had openings here and there. But we suffered 
 some hard bumps; pushed slowly and got close 
 alongside, much to the satisfaction of the crew. 
 
 ^ Said to be a point north of Bering Strait in the Arctic Ocean 
 where, for some reason, the drift of oceanic currents is not strong. 
 Whalers and other vessels customarily went there to exchange 
 mail and news. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 FIRST ASCENT OF HERALD ISLAND 
 
 Steamer Corwin, 
 
 Of Herald Island^ Arctic Ocean, 
 
 July3iyj88i, 
 
 WE left Herald Island this morning at three 
 o'clock, after landing upon it and exploring 
 it pretty thoroughly from end to end. On the 
 morning of the twenty-fifth we were steaming along 
 the coast a few miles to the south of Icy Cape, in- 
 tending to make an effort to reach Point Barrow 
 in order to give aid to the whale-ship Daniel Web- 
 ster, which we learned was beset in the ice there- 
 abouts and was in great danger of being lost. 
 
 We found, however, that the pack extended 
 solidly from Icy Cape to the southward and pressed 
 so hard against the shore that we saw it would be 
 impossible to proceed even with the steam launch. 
 We therefore turned back with great reluctance 
 and came to anchor near Cape Lisburne, where 
 we mined and took on about thirty tons of coal. 
 About half-past four in the afternoon, July twenty- 
 eighth, we hoisted anchor and sailed toward Herald 
 Island, intending to make a general survey of the 
 edge of the great polar ice-pack about Wrangell 
 Land, hardly hoping to be able to effect a landing 
 so early in the season. 
 
 [ 149 1 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 On the evening of the thirtieth we reached 
 Herald Island, having been favored with delight- 
 ful weather all the way, the ocean being calm and 
 glassy as a mountain lake, the surface stirred gently 
 here and there with irregular breaths of air that 
 could hardly be called winds, and the whole of this 
 day from midnight to midnight was all sunshine, 
 contrasting marvelously with the dark, icy storm- 
 days we had experienced so short a time ago. 
 
 Herald Island came in sight at one o'clock in the 
 afternoon, and when we reached the edge of the 
 pack it was still about ten miles distant. We made 
 our way through it, however, without great diffi- 
 culty, as the ice was mostly light and had openings 
 of clear water here and there, though in some close- 
 packed fields the Corwin was pretty roughly 
 bumped, and had to steam her best to force a pas- 
 sage. At ten o'clock in the evening we came to 
 anchor in the midst of huge cakes and blocks about 
 sixty-five feet thick within two or three hundred 
 yards of the shore. 
 
 After so many futile efforts had been made last 
 year to reach this little Ice-bound Island, every- 
 body seemed wildly eager to run ashore and climb 
 to the summit of Its sheer granite cliffs. At first a 
 party of eight jumped from the bowsprit chains 
 and ran across the narrow belt of margin ice and 
 madly began to climb up an excessively steep 
 gully, which came to an end In an Inaccessible slope 
 
 [ISO] 
 

 ^ 
 
 
 . < 
 
 
 ^.F. - 
 
 M(' 
 
 'KJ 
 
 ■*T*- ""'"^ 
 
 
 s»1^#*»«* 
 
 *i 
 
 ^^^^> 
 
 1 \ 
 
 "^^g. 
 
 tt 
 ^ 
 
First Ascent of Herald Island 
 
 a few hundred feet above the water. Those ahead 
 loosened and sent down a train of granite boulders, 
 which shot over the heads of those below in a far 
 more dangerous manner than any of the party 
 seemed to appreciate. Fortunately, nobody was 
 hurt, and all made out to get down in safety.^ 
 
 ^ Captain Hooper's report of the incident and of Muir's skillful 
 ascent of the island adds some interesting details: — 
 
 "Muir, who is an experienced mountaineer, came over the ice 
 with an axe in his hand, and, reaching the island a few hundred 
 feet farther north, opposite a bank of frozen snow and ice a hun- 
 dred feet high, standing at an angle of 50°, he deliberately com- 
 menced cutting steps and ascending the ice cliff, the top of which 
 he soon reached without apparent difficulty, and from there the 
 top of the island was reached by a gradual ascent neither difficult 
 nor dangerous. 
 
 "While approaching the island, by a careful examination with 
 the glass, Muir's practiced eye had easily selected the most suit- 
 able place for making the ascent. The place selected by the 
 others, or rather the place upon which they stumbled, — for the 
 attempt to ascend was made on the first point reached, — was 
 a small, steep ravine about two hundred feet deep. The jagged 
 nature of its steep sides made climbing possible, and from the sea- 
 level the top of this ravine appeared to these ambitious but inex- 
 perienced mountain-climbers to be the top of the island. After 
 several narrow escapes from falling rocks they succeeded in gain- 
 ing the top of the ravine, when they discovered that the ascent 
 was hardly begun. Above them was a plain surface of nearly a 
 thousand feet in height, and so steep that the loose, disintegrating 
 rock with which it was covered gave way on the slightest touch and 
 came thundering to the bottom. Some of the more ambitious were 
 still anxious to keep on, notwithstanding the difficulty and dan- 
 ger, and I found it necessary to interpose my authority to prevent 
 this useless risk of life and limb. A retreat was ordered, and with 
 a good deal of difficulty accomplished. The descent had to be 
 made one at a time, the upper ones remaining quiet until those 
 below were out of danger. Fortunately, all succeeded in reaching 
 the bottom in safety. In the meantime Muir and several others 
 had reached the top of the island and were already searching for 
 cairns or other signs of white men. Although the search was kept 
 
 [ isi ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 While this remarkable piece of mountaineering 
 and Arctic exploration was in progress, a light skin- 
 covered boat was dragged over the ice and launched 
 on a strip of water that stretched in front of an 
 accessible ravine, the bed of an ancient glacier, 
 which I felt assured would conduct by an easy- 
 grade to the summit of the island. The slope of this 
 ravine for the first hundred feet or so was very- 
 steep, but inasmuch as it was full of firm, icy snow, 
 it was easily ascended by cutting steps in the face 
 of it with an axe that I had brought from the ship 
 for the purpose. Beyond this there was not the 
 slightest difficulty in our way, the glacier having 
 graded a fine, broad road. 
 
 Kellett, who discovered this island in 1849, and 
 landed on it under unfavorable circumstances, de- 
 scribed it as "an inaccessible rock." In general the 
 sides are, indeed, extremely sheer and precipitous 
 all around, though skilled mountaineers would find 
 many gullies and slopes by which they might reach 
 the summit. I first pushed on to the head of the 
 glacier valley, and thence along the backbone of 
 the island to the highest point, which I found to 
 be about twelve hundred feet above the level of the 
 sea. This point is about a mile and a half from 
 the northwest end, and four and a half from the 
 
 up until half-past two in the morning, nothing was found." (C. L. 
 Hooper's Report oj the Cruise oj the U.S. Revenue Steamer Thomas 
 Corwin in the Arctic Ocean, 1881, p. 52.) 
 
 [ 152] 
 
First Ascent of Herald Island 
 
 northeast end, thus making the island about six 
 miles in length. It has been cut nearly in two 
 by the glacial action it has undergone, the width 
 at the lowest portion being about half a mile, and 
 the average width about two miles. 
 
 The entire island is a mass of granite, with the 
 exception of a patch of metamorphic slate near 
 the center, and no doubt owes its existence, with 
 so considerable a height, to the superior resistance 
 this granite offered to the degrading action of the 
 northern ice-sheet, traces of which are here plainly 
 shown, as well as on the shores of Siberia and 
 Alaska and down through Bering Strait southward 
 beyond Vancouver Island. Traces of the subse- 
 quent partial glaciation to which it has been sub- 
 jected are also manifested in glacial valleys of con- 
 siderable depth as compared with the size of the 
 island. I noticed four of these, besides many mar- 
 ginal glacial grooves around the sides. One small 
 remnant [of a glacier] with feeble action still exists 
 near the middle of the island. I also noted several 
 scored and polished patches on the hardest and 
 most enduring of the outswelling rock-bosses. This 
 little island, standing as it does alone out in the 
 Polar Sea, is a fine glacial monument. 
 
 The midnight hour I spent alone on the highest 
 summit — one of the most impressive hours of my 
 life. The deepest silence seemed to press down on 
 all the vast, immeasurable, virgin landscape. The 
 
 [153 ] 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 sun near the horizon reddened the edges of belted 
 cloud-bars near the base of the sky, and the jagged 
 ice-boulders crowded together over the frozen 
 ocean stretching indefinitely northward, while per- 
 haps a hundred miles of that mysterious Wrangell 
 Land was seen blue in the northwest — a wavering 
 line of hill and dale over the white and blue ice- 
 prairie! Pale gray mountains loomed beyond, well 
 calculated to fix the eye of a mountaineer. But It 
 was to the far north that I ever found myself turn- 
 ing, to where the ice met the sky. I would fain have 
 watched here all the strange night, but was com- 
 pelled to remember the charge given me by the Cap- 
 tain, to make haste and return to the ship as soon 
 as I should find it possible, as there was ten miles of 
 shifting, drifting ice between us and the open sea. 
 I therefore began the return journey about one 
 o'clock this morning, after taking the compass 
 bearings of the principal points within sight on 
 Wrangell Land, and making a hasty collection of 
 the flowering plants on my way. I found one spe- 
 cies of poppy quite showy, and making consider- 
 able masses of color on the sloping uplands, three 
 or four species of saxifrage, one silene, a draba, 
 dwarf willow, stellaria, two golden compositae, 
 two sedges, one grass, and a veronica, together 
 with a considerable number of mosses and lichens, 
 some of them quite showy and so abundant as to- 
 furnish most of the color over the gray granite. 
 
 [IS4] 
 
First Ascent of Herald Island 
 
 Innumerable gulls and murres breed on the steep 
 cliffs, the latter most abundant. They kept up a 
 constant din of domestic notes. Some of them are 
 sitting on their eggs, others have young, and it 
 seems astonishing that either eggs or the young can 
 find a resting-place on cliffs so severely precipitous. 
 The nurseries formed a lively picture — the par- 
 ents coming and going with food or to seek it, 
 thousands in rows standing on narrow ledges like 
 bottles on a grocer's shelves, the feeding of the 
 little ones, the multitude of wings, etc. 
 
 Foxes were seen by Mr. Nelson ^ near the top of 
 the northeast end of the island, and after we had 
 
 * In a recent article on " The Larger North American Mam- 
 mals" Mr. E. W. Nelson has given the following account of this 
 incident: — 
 
 "The summer of 1881, when we landed from the Corwin on 
 Herald Island, northwest of Bering Straits, we found many white 
 foxes living in burrows under large scattered rocks on the plateau 
 summit. They had never seen men before and our presence ex- 
 cited their most intense interest and curiosity. One and some- 
 times two of them followed closely at my heels wherever I went, 
 and when I stopped to make notes or look about, sat down and 
 watched me with absurd gravity. Now and then one at a distance 
 would mount a rock to get a better view of the stranger. 
 
 "On returning to the ship, I remembered that my notebook 
 had been left on a large rock over a fox den, on the island, and at 
 once went back for it. I had been gone only a short time, but no 
 trace of the book could be found on or about the rock, and it was 
 evident that the owner of the den had confiscated it. Several 
 other foxes sat about viewing my search with interest and when 
 I left followed me to the edge of the island. A nearly grown young 
 one kept on the Corwin was extraordinarily intelligent, inquisi- 
 tive, and mischievous, and afforded all of us much amusement 
 and occasional exasperation." {National Geographic Magazine, 
 November, 1916, p. 425.) 
 
 [issl 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 all returned to the ship and were getting under 
 way, the Captain discovered a polar bear swim- 
 ming deliberately toward the ship between some 
 floating blocks within a few yards of us. After he 
 had approached within about a dozen yards the 
 Captain shot at him, when he turned and made 
 haste to get away, not diving, however, but swim- 
 ming fast, and keeping his head turned to watch 
 the ship, until at length he received a ball in the 
 neck and stained the blue water with his blood. 
 He was a noble-looking animal and of enormous 
 strength, living bravely and warm amid eternal 
 ice. 
 
 We looked carefully everywhere for traces of the 
 crew of the Jeannette along the shore, as well as on 
 the prominent headlands and cliffs about the sum- 
 mit, without discovering the faintest sign of their 
 ever having touched the island. 
 
 We have been steaming along the edge of the 
 pack all day after reaching open water, with 
 Wrangell Land constantly in sight; but we find 
 that the ice has been sheering us off farther and 
 farther from it toward the west and south. The 
 margin of the main pack has a jagged saw-tooth 
 outline, the teeth being from two to ten miles or 
 more in length, and their points reaching about 
 forty miles from the shore of Wrangell Land. Our 
 chances, however, of reaching this mysterious 
 country some time this year seem good at present, 
 
 [ iS6 ] 
 
First Ascent of Herald Island 
 
 alls the ice is melting fast and is much lighter than 
 usual, and its wind and current movements, after 
 it breaks up, will be closely watched for an avail- 
 able opening. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 APPROACHING A MYSTERIOUS LAND 
 
 Steamer Corwin, 
 Of Point Barrow, August i6, i88i, 
 
 WE left Herald Island at three o'clock in the 
 morning of July 31. The clear water seen 
 by me from the top of the island is called "the 
 Hole " by whalers. I am told that it is remarkably 
 constant in its appearance and position from year 
 to year. What combination of currents, coast-lines, 
 winds, etc., is the cause of it is not yet known. 
 Neither is the Post-Office Point of ice understood. 
 On the day after leaving Herald Island the fine 
 weather we had been enjoying for a week began to 
 vanish, heavy cloud-piles grew about the horizon, 
 and reeking fogs over the ice. We kept on around 
 the serrated edge of the pack, and were glad to find 
 a wide opening trending to the northwest, that is, 
 toward the southmost point of Wrangell Land. 
 Up we steamed, excited with bright hopes of effect- 
 ing a landing and searching the shores for traces of 
 the Jeannette. In the afternoon, while yet our way 
 was tolerably clear, and after the land had been 
 long in sight, we were enveloped in fog, and hove to, 
 instead of attempting to grope a course through 
 the drift ice and running the danger of getting the 
 
 [iS8] 
 
Approaching a Mysterious Land 
 
 ship embayed. A few seals, gulls, and walruses were 
 observed. 
 
 Next day, August 2, the fog lifted early in the 
 morning, when we got under way and pushed hope- 
 fully onward once more, with the mountains and 
 blue foothills of the long-lost land in full view, 
 until noon, making our way easily through the 
 drift ice, dodging to right and left past the large 
 masses, some of which were a mile or more in 
 length. Then the fog began to settle again over all 
 the wild landscape; the barometer was falling, and 
 the wind began to blow with indications of a stiff 
 breeze that would probably press the ice toward 
 the shore. Under these conditions we dared not 
 venture farther, but loath to turn back we made 
 fast to an ice-floe and waited developments. The 
 fog partially cleared again, which induced us to 
 make another short push ahead, but our hopes 
 were again and again baffled by darkness and 
 close-packed ice, and we were at length compelled 
 to seek the open water once more, and await a 
 general calm and clearance. 
 
 A piece of wood twenty-seven inches long, cut 
 with a sharp axe, was picked up in the morning 
 within, perhaps, twenty-five miles of Wrangell 
 Land. It was evident, by its length and by the way 
 it was split and cut, that it was intended for fire- 
 wood. It seemed clearly to be the work of white 
 men, possibly of some of the Jeannette's crew. But 
 
 I 159] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 the grand excitement of the day, apart from the 
 untrodden shore we were seeking, was caused by 
 three polar bears, magnificent fellows, fat and 
 hearty, rejoicing in their strength out here in the 
 bosom of the icy wilderness. 
 
 When discovered they were regarding us atten- 
 tively from a large cake of ice, each on a hummock 
 commanding a good view of the ship, an object 
 they no doubt saw for the first time in their lives. 
 One of them was perched on top of a pile of blocks, 
 the topmost of which was a pedestal square and 
 level as if built up for an outlook. He sat erect and, 
 as he was nearly the color of the ice, was not 
 noticed until we were quite near. They watched, 
 motionless, for some time, throwing forward their 
 long necks and black-tipped noses as if trying to 
 catch and pass judgment on the scent of the big, 
 smoking, black monster that was approaching them. 
 
 When we were within about fifty yards of them, 
 they started, walked a step or two, and turned to 
 gaze again as the strange object came nearer. Then 
 they showed fear and began to lumber along over 
 and across the wavelike rough hills and dales of 
 the ice, afraid, perhaps, for the first time in their 
 lives. For polar bears are the master existences of 
 these frozen regions, the walruses being no match 
 for them. First they broke into a lumbering trot; 
 then, into a panicky, walloppy gallop, with fewer 
 and fewer halts to look back, until they reached 
 
 [ i6o] 
 
Approaching a Mysterious Land 
 
 the far side of the ice-field and plunged into the 
 water with a splash that sent the spray ten feet 
 'into the air. Then they swam, making all haste 
 toward a larger floe. If they could have gained it 
 they would have made good their retreat. But the 
 steamer gave chase at the rate of seven knots an 
 hour, headed them off, and all were shot without 
 the least chance of escape, and without their being 
 able to offer the slightest resistance. 
 
 The first one overtaken was killed instantly at 
 the second shot, which passed through the brain. 
 The other two were fired at by five fun-, fur-, and 
 fame-seekers, with heavy breech-loading rifles, 
 about forty times ere they were killed. From four 
 to six bullets passed through their necks and shoul- 
 ders before the last through the brain put an end to 
 their agony. The brain is small and not easily pene- 
 trated, except from the side of the head, while their 
 bodies may be shot through and through a score 
 of times, apparently, without disabling them for 
 fighting or swimming. When a bullet went through 
 the neck, they would simply shake their heads 
 without making any sort of outcry, the effect being 
 simply to hasten their flight. The same was true 
 of most other wounds. But occasionally, when 
 struck in the spine, or shoulder, the pain would 
 make them roar, and groan, and turn to examine 
 the spot, or to snap at the wound as if seeking an 
 enemy. They would dive occasionally, and swim 
 
 r i6i 1 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 under water a few yards. But, being out of breath, 
 they were always compelled to come up in a min- 
 ute or so. They had no chance whatever for their 
 lives, and the whole affair was as safe and easy a 
 butchery as shooting cows in a barnyard from the 
 roof of the barn. It was prolonged, bloody agony, 
 as clumsily and heartlessly inflicted as it could well 
 be, except In the case of the first, which never knew 
 what hurt him. 
 
 The Eskimos hunt and kill them for food, going 
 out to meet them on the ice with spears and dogs. 
 This is merely one savage living on another. But 
 how civilized people, seeking for heavens and 
 angels and millenniums, and the reign of universal 
 peace and love, can enjoy this red, brutal amuse- 
 ment, is not so easily accounted for. Such soft, 
 fuzzy, sentimental aspirations, and the frame of 
 mind that can reap giggling, jolly pleasure from 
 the blood and agony and death of these fine ani- 
 mals, with their humanlike groans, are too devilish 
 for anything but hell. Of all the animals man is at 
 once the worst and the best. 
 
 Two of the bears were hoisted on board, the other 
 was neglected until it could not be found. Then 
 came the vulgar business of skinning and throwing 
 the mangled carcasses back into the clean blue 
 water among the ice. The skins were stretched on 
 frames to be dried and taken home to show angelic 
 sweethearts the evidence of pluck and daring. 
 
 [ 162] 
 
Approaching a Mysterious Land 
 
 The Indians sometimes adorn their belts with 
 the claws of bears and place their skulls about the 
 graves of the men who killed them. I have seen as 
 many as eighteen set about the skeleton of an 
 Eskimo hunter, making for his bones an oval en- 
 closure like a frame of shells set around a grave. 
 The strength of the polar bear is in proportion to 
 the massiveness of his limbs. The view of their 
 limb muscles, swelling in braided bosses, could not 
 fail to awaken admiration as they lay exposed on 
 the deck. Such is the strength of the large bears, 
 which are nine to ten feet long, that they can stand 
 on the edge of an ice-floe and drag up out of the 
 water a walrus weighing more than a thousand 
 pounds. 
 
 The feet of the larger one measured nine and a 
 half inches across behind the toes. They have long 
 hair on the soles and around the sides of the feet 
 for warmth in the dreary solitudes which they 
 inhabit. When standing, the claws are not visible; 
 the whole foot seems to be a large mop of hair 
 spreading all around. The expression of the eye is 
 rather mild and doglike in the shape of the muzzle 
 and the droop of the lips, and only the teeth would 
 suggest his character as a killer. 
 
 The third of August was spent in groping anx- 
 iously landward again through fog and ice until 
 about six in the evening, when we reached the 
 heavy, unbroken edge of the coast ice, at a distance 
 
 [ 163 J 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 of about twenty-five miles from the nearest point 
 of land, and all hope of advancing farther was now 
 at an end. We, therefore, turned away, determined 
 to bide our time, hoping that warm winds and 
 waves would at length melt and smash the heavy 
 fields alongshore some time before the setting-in of 
 winter. Nor were we altogether without hope of 
 finding open water leading around the west shore 
 of Wrangell Land. We soon found, however, that 
 the pack stretched continuously across to Cape 
 North on the Siberian coast, thus promptly forbid- 
 ding all efforts in that direction. 
 
 The bottom of the ocean in that region is very 
 level. Soundings made every hour for three days ^ 
 varied scarcely more than five fathoms, and for 
 half a day not one fathom. We saw several small 
 fishes among the ice at our nearest point to lee; 
 also seals, both saddleback and hair. Just as we 
 were turning we discovered a bear observing us 
 from a large field of ice. He kept coming nearer a 
 few steps and then halting to catch the smell of the 
 ship. We did not attempt to kill him, however, as 
 the advantage we had was not great enough. We 
 could not chase him here with the steamer. 
 
 On the morning of the fourth we discovered a 
 
 ship's foreyard with bits of rope still attached to 
 
 it in such a way as to show that it had been carried 
 
 away while the sail was bent. It seemed to have 
 
 * In an average depth of twenty-one fathoms. 
 
 [ 164 ] 
 
Approaching a Mysterious Land 
 
 been ground in the ice for a winter or two, and 
 probably belonged to one of the missing whalers. 
 
 After cruising along the Siberian coast for a few 
 days, and calling at the Cape Wankarem village 
 to procure as many as possible of the articles taken 
 by the natives from the wreck of one of the lost 
 whalers, we found ourselves once more on the edge 
 of Wrangell ice, and again in dense fog on the morn- 
 ing of the ninth of August. A huge white bear came 
 swimming through the drizzle and gloom and black 
 heaving waves toward the ship as we lay at anchor, 
 guided doubtless by scent. He was greeted by a 
 volley of rifle balls, no one of which injured him, 
 however, and fortunately he could not be pursued. 
 
 The fog lasted in dismal thickness until one 
 o'clock on the morning of the eleventh, when we 
 once more saw the hills and dales of Wrangell Land 
 hopefully near. We discovered a lead that enabled 
 us to approach within perhaps fifteen miles of the 
 nearest portion of the coast. At times we thought 
 ourselves much nearer, when the light, falling 
 favorably, would bring out many of the smaller 
 features, such as the subordinate ridges on the 
 faces of the mountains and hills, the small dimpling 
 hollows with their different shades of color, fur- 
 rows that seemed the channels of small streams, 
 and the peculiar rounded outlines due to glacial 
 action. Then pushing eagerly through the huge 
 drifting masses toward the nearest cape, judging 
 
 [i6sl 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 by the distinctness of its features, it would sud- 
 denly seem to retreat again into the blue distance, 
 and some other point catching the sunlight would 
 be seen rising grandly across the jagged, hum- 
 mocky ice-plain, relieved against the blue shadowy 
 portions to right and left as a background. 
 
 It was not long, however, after tracing one lead 
 after another, and coming always to a standstill 
 with the ship's prow against ice of enormous thick- 
 ness, before we were forced to the conclusion that 
 all efforts made hereabouts would now be vain. 
 The ice did not seem to have been broken or moved 
 in any way for years. We turned, therefore, and 
 made our way back to open water with difficulty 
 and steamed along the edge of the pack to the north- 
 eastward. After a few hours' run we found the ice 
 more promising, for it showed traces of having 
 been well crushed and pounded, enabling us to bear 
 gradually in toward the land through a wedge- 
 shaped lead about twenty miles in length. 
 
 At half-past five in the afternoon we were again 
 brought to a standstill against heavy ice, but this 
 time within about five miles of the shore. We now 
 felt pretty sure that we would be able to make a 
 landing, and the questions that we wanted to put 
 to this land of mystery came thronging to mind. 
 This being, perhaps, the most likely place to find 
 traces of the Jeannette expedition, in case any por- 
 tion of this island was reached, would we find such 
 
 [ i66 ] 
 
Approaching a Mysterious Land 
 
 traces? Has the country any human Inhabitants? 
 Would we find reindeer or musk oxen ? What birds 
 shall we find ? What plants, rocks, streams, etc. ? 
 
 We intended to walk the five miles of ice, drag- 
 ging a light skin-covered boat with us to cross any 
 open spot that we might come to; but ere we could 
 set off, the fog began to settle gloomily down over 
 the land and we determined to wait until the next 
 morning, and in the meantime steam back out of 
 the narrow, ice-jammed throat of the lead a few 
 miles to a safer position, in case the ice should close 
 upon us. Just as we turned from our nearest point 
 of approach, we fired a cannon to stir the echoes 
 among the hills and give notice of our presence in 
 case anybody was near to listen. 
 
 The next morning, steaming ahead once more 
 to the end of our water-lane, we were rejoiced to 
 find that though there were now about eight or ten 
 miles of ice separating us from the shore, it was less 
 firmly packed, and our little vessel made a way 
 through it without difficulty, until we were within 
 two miles of the shore, when we found the craggy 
 blocks extremely hard and wedged closely. But a 
 patch of open water near the beach, now plainly in 
 sight, tempted us to continue the struggle, and with 
 the throttle wide open the barrier was forced. By 
 ten o'clock in the morning the Corwin was riding 
 at anchor less than a cable's length from a dry, 
 gravel bar, stretching in front of the mouth of a 
 
 [ 167] 
 
T'he Cruise of the Corwtn 
 
 river. The long battle we had fought with the ice 
 was now fairly won, and neither the engine nor the 
 hull of the" ship seemed to have suffered any appre- 
 ciable damage from the terrible shocks and strains 
 they had undergone. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE LAND OF THE WHITE BEAR 
 
 [Steamer Corwirif 
 Wrangell Land^ August 12, l88l,\ 
 
 A NOTABLE addition was made to the national 
 domain when Captain Calvin L. Hooper 
 landed on Wrangell Land,^ and took formal posses- 
 sion of it in the name of the United States. We 
 landed near the southeast cape, at the mouth of a 
 river, in latitude 71° 4', longitude 177° 40' 30" W. 
 The extent of the new territory thus acquired is not 
 definitely known, nor is likely to be for many a cen- 
 tury, or until some considerable change has taken 
 place in the polar climate, rendering the new land 
 more attractive and more accessible. For at pres- 
 ent even its southmost portion is almost constantly 
 beset with ice of a kind that renders it all but in- 
 accessible during both the winter and summer, 
 while to the northward it extends far into the 
 frozen ocean. 
 
 Going inland, along the left bank of the river, 
 we found it much larger than it at first appeared 
 to be. There was no snow left on the lowlands or 
 any of the hills or mountains in sight, excepting the 
 remnants of heavy drifts; nevertheless, it was still 
 
 * The landing was made August 12, 1881. 
 
 [ 169] 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 about seventy-five yards wide, twelve feet deep, 
 and was flowing on with a clear, stately current, 
 at a speed of about three miles an hour. While the 
 snow is melting it must be at least two hundred 
 yards wide and twenty feet deep, and its sources 
 must lie well back in the interior of the island. 
 
 Not the slightest trace, however, could we find 
 along the river, along the shore, or on the blufi" to 
 the northeastward, of the Jeannette party, or of 
 any human inhabitant. A land more severely soli- 
 tary could hardly be found anywhere on the face 
 of the globe. 
 
 The beach was well tracked by polar bears, but 
 none of the party could discover any sign of rein- 
 deer or musk oxen, though the country seems to 
 abound in the kind of food they require. A single 
 fox track was observed, and some burrows of a 
 species of spermophile;^ also a number of birds,^ 
 
 ^ E. W. Nelson, in Mammals of Northern Alaska (1886), iden- 
 tified this spermophile as Spermophilus empetra empetra (Pallas), 
 and remarks, "upon the hill where we planted our flag on 
 Wrangell Island were many of their burrows." 
 
 2 The following birds were observed by Mr. Nelson on Wrangell 
 Land and Herald Island: Snow Bunting, Snowy Owl, Pacific 
 Golden Plover, Pectoral Sandpiper, Red Phalarope, some kind 
 of wild goose (perhaps Black Brant), King Eider Duck, Red- 
 faced Cormorant, Ivory Gull, Pacific Kittiwake, Glaucous Gull, 
 Glaucous-winged Gull, Ross's Gull, Sabine's Gull, Pomarine 
 Jaeger, Long-tailed Jaeger, Rodgers's Fulmar, Horned Puffin, 
 Crested Auk, Black Guillemot, Pigeon Guillemot, Thick-billed 
 Guillemot, and a dead specimen of the Crested Shrike. This list is 
 made from E. W. Nelson's Birds of Bering Sea and the Arctic 
 Ocean ^ published with Muir's botanical observations in Treasury 
 Department Document No. 429 (1883). 
 
 [ 170 ] 
 
T^he Land of the White Bear 
 
 and about twenty species of plants,^ most of them 
 in bloom. The rock is clay slate, which weathers 
 smoothly, and is covered with a sparse growth of 
 mosses, lichens, and flowering plants, not unlike 
 that of the adjacent coasts of Siberia and Alaska. 
 
 Some small fragments of knowledge concerning 
 this mysterious country have been in existence for 
 nearly a century, mostly, however, of so vague and 
 foggy a character as to be scarce at all available as 
 geography, while up to the time of Captain Hoop- 
 er's visit no explorer so far as known had set foot 
 on it. In the year 1820 Lieutenant Wrangell was 
 ordered by Alexander, Emperor of Russia, to pro- 
 ceed from the mouth of the Kolyma as far as Cape 
 Schelagskoj, and from thence in a northerly direc- 
 tion over the ice with sledges drawn by dogs, to 
 ascertain whether an inhabited country existed in 
 that quarter, as asserted by the Chukchis and 
 others. 
 
 But the land in question was far from being gen- 
 erally known even by tradition among the Chuk- 
 chis inhabiting the Siberian coast nearest to it. 
 Wrangell seems to have found only one person dur- 
 ing his long search for this land that had heard or 
 could tell him anything concerning it. This man, 
 an intelligent chief or head of a family, drew with 
 charcoal a correct sketch of Cape Schelagskoj, 
 Aratuan Island, and another to the east of the 
 1 See "Botanical Notes," p. 272. 
 
 [ 171 ] 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 Cape, and then assured Wrangell in the most posi- 
 tive manner that there was no other island along 
 the coast. When asked whether there was any- 
 other land to the north beyond the visible horizon, 
 he seemed to reflect a little, and then said that, 
 between Cape Schelagskoj and Cape North, there 
 was a part of the coast where, from some cliff's near 
 the mouth of a river, one might on a clear summer 
 day descry snow-covered mountains at a great dis- 
 tance to the north, but that in winter it was impos- 
 sible to see so far. He said also that formerly herds 
 of reindeer sometimes came across the ice, prob- 
 ably from thence, but that they had been fright- 
 ened back by hunters and wolves. He claimed to 
 have himself once seen a herd returning to the 
 north in this way in April, and followed them in a 
 sledge drawn by two deer for a whole day until the 
 roughness of the ice forced him to turn back. His 
 opinion was that these distant mountains he had 
 seen were not on an island, but on an extensive land 
 similar to his own country. 
 
 He had been told by his father that a Chukchi 
 elder had once gone there with a few followers in 
 large boats, but what they found there, or whether 
 they ever returned, he did not know. Still he main- 
 tained that the distant land was inhabited, and 
 adduced as proof of it that some years ago a dead 
 whale was found at Aratuan Island pierced by 
 spears pointed with slate; and as his people did not 
 
 [ 172 ] 
 
"The Land of the TVhite Bear 
 
 use such weapons he supposed that the whale must 
 have been killed by the people of the northland. 
 
 After spending three winters Baron Wrangell 
 wrote concerning this country: "Our return to 
 Nishne Kolymsk closed the series of attempts made 
 by us to discover a northern land, which though 
 not seen by us, may nevertheless exist, and be 
 attainable under a combination of very favorable 
 circumstances, the principal of which would be a 
 long, cold, and stormless winter, and a late spring. 
 If another attempt should be made, it would be 
 advisable to leave the coast about Cape Yakan, 
 which all the native accounts concur in represent- 
 ing as the nearest point to the supposed northern 
 region.'* 
 
 Steamer Corzvitiy 
 
 Of Point Barrow^ Alaska^ 
 
 August 17, 188 1, 
 
 The Corwin made a very short stay at Wrangell 
 Land, partly because of the condition of the ice, 
 which threatened to shut us in; and partly because 
 it seemed improbable that a prolonged search in the 
 region about our landing-point could in any way 
 advance the main objects of the expedition. A con- 
 siderable stretch of the bluff coast where we landed 
 was scanned closely as we approached. Captain 
 Hooper, Mr. Nelson, and myself examined a mile 
 or two of the left bank of the river, a gently sloping 
 hillside back from the river, and a stretch of smooth 
 
 [ 173 1 
 
ne Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 beach at its mouth. Meanwhile a party of officers, 
 after erecting a cairn, depositing records in it, and 
 setting the flag on the edge of the bluff fronting 
 the ocean, went northeastward along the brow of 
 the shore-bluff to a prominent headland a distance 
 of three or four miles, searching carefully for traces 
 of the Jeannette explorers, and of any native inhab- 
 itants that might chance to be in the country; then 
 all were hurriedly recalled, and we forced our way 
 back through ten miles of heavy drifting ice to open 
 water. 
 
 On the shore we found the skeleton of a large 
 bowhead whale, an oak barrel stave, a piece of a 
 boat mast about seven feet long and four inches in 
 diameter, a double kayak paddle with both blades 
 broken, and a small quantity of driftwood. Every 
 bit of flotsam was much scoured and abraded, 
 showing that the articles had long been exposed to 
 the action of waves and ice. 
 
 Back on the hills and along the river-bank the 
 tracks of geese, marmots, foxes, and bears were 
 seen, but no trace whatever of human beings, 
 though the mouth of a river would above all others 
 be the place to find them if the country were inhab- 
 ited or had been visited by Europeans within a 
 decade or two. Not a stick of the driftwood seemed 
 to have been turned over or stirred in any way, 
 though, from the steepness of the slate bluffs for 
 miles along the coast, and the heavy snowbanks 
 
 [ 174 J 
 
T^he Land of the White Bear 
 
 drifted over them, this low, open portion of the 
 shore is about the only place in the neighborhood 
 where driftwood could come to rest on a beach and 
 be easily accessible to natives or others while 
 traveling along the coast either on the ice or on 
 land, and where they would also find a good camp- 
 ground and water. 
 
 A few yards back from high-water mark there is 
 a low pile of broken slate, with level ground about 
 it, where any traveler passing this way would natu- 
 rally choose to camp. But the surface of the slate 
 is covered with gray, brown, and yellow rock- 
 lichens of slow growth, showing that not one of 
 these stones had been moved for many a year. 
 Again, neither the low nor the high ground in this 
 vicinity is at all mantled with spongy tundra 
 mosses and lichens like most of the Arctic shores 
 over which a man might walk without leaving a 
 footprint. On the contrary, it is mostly bare, pre- 
 senting a soft clay soil, derived from the disintegra- 
 tion of slates, the scanty dwarf vegetation — saxi- 
 frages, drabas, potentillas, carices, etc. — occur- 
 ring in small tufts at intervals of a yard or so, with 
 bare ground between them, smooth and mellow and 
 plastic, with gentle drainage, admirably adapted 
 for the reception and preservation of footprints. 
 Had any person walked on this ground any time 
 in summer when the snow was gone, and where 
 the drainage slopes are not too steep, his track 
 
 [ I7S 1 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 would remain legible to the dullest observer for 
 years. 
 
 We concluded, therefore, that this part of the 
 country is not inhabited. Nor should the absence 
 of inhabitants be wondered at, notwithstanding 
 they might be derived from the Siberian coast at 
 long intervals in accordance with the traditions 
 bearing on the question among the Chukchis, or 
 even from the coast of Alaska about Point Barrow 
 or Cape Lisburne. For, though small parties of 
 Eskimos or Chukchis might reach the land on floes 
 detached from the pack while they chanced to be 
 out hunting seals, or in boats driven by storm- 
 winds or otherwise, such parties would probably 
 seek to get back to their old homes again, or would 
 die of famine. The seal and walrus, the two ani- 
 mals on which the natives of the Arctic shores 
 chiefly depend for subsistence, are not to any great 
 extent available, inasmuch as the ice seldom or 
 never leaves the south Wrangell shores, and jour- 
 neys twenty or thirty miles long would have to be 
 made over rough ice to reach them. 
 
 Reindeer and musk oxen may exist in some other 
 portions of the country, but if they occur in such 
 numbers as would be required for the support of 
 any considerable population the tracks of at least 
 some few stragglers should have been seen here- 
 abouts. Migratory water birds are no doubt abun- 
 dant during the breeding and moulting season, 
 
 [ 176 ] 
 
T^he Land of the JVhite Bear 
 
 producing sufficient food to last through a few of 
 the summer months, and there are plenty of white 
 bears, huge animals weighing from ten to twenty- 
 hundred pounds. Most of them, however, roam far 
 out from land on the rugged edge of the ice-pack 
 among the seals and walruses, and even under the 
 most advantageous circumstances polar bears are 
 poor cattle to depend on for a living. They cer- 
 tainly do not seem to have been fed upon lately to 
 any marked extent, for we found them everywhere 
 in abundance along the edge of the ice, and they 
 appeared to be very fat and prosperous, and very 
 much at home, as if the country had belonged to 
 them always. They are the unrivaled master- 
 existences of this ice-bound solitude, and Wrangell 
 Land may well be called the Land of the White 
 Bear. 
 
 Commander De Long, in a letter to his wife, 
 written at sea, August 17, 1879, said that he pro- 
 posed to proceed north by the way of the east coast 
 of Wrangell Land, touching at Herald Island, where 
 he would build a cairn and leave records; that if he 
 reached Wrangell Land from there he would leave 
 records on the east coast under a series of cairns 
 twenty-five miles apart. In a previous letter, dated 
 July 17, 1879, he said: — 
 
 In the event of disaster to the ship, we shall retreat 
 upon the Siberian settlements, or to those of the 
 natives around East Cape, and wait for a chance to 
 
 [ 177 ] 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 get back to our depot at St. Michael. If a ship comes 
 up merely for tidings of us, let her look for them on 
 the east side of Wrangell Land and on Herald Island. 
 If I find that we are being carried east against our 
 efforts to get north, I shall try to push through into 
 the Atlantic by way of the east coast of Greenland, 
 if we are far enough north; and if we are far south, 
 then by way of Melville Bay and Lancaster Sound. 
 
 While evidently pursuing this plan, he was seen 
 by the whaler Sea Breeze on the second of Septem- 
 ber, 1879, about fifty miles south of Herald Island, 
 entering a lead in heavy ice, which probably closed 
 in upon his vessel and carried him past Herald 
 Island. The search we made over Herald Island 
 shows pretty clearly that he did not succeed in 
 landing there, for if a cairn had been built on any 
 conspicuous point we could not have failed to see it, 
 as we traveled over it all in good bright weather. 
 Nor would the failure of this part of his plan be un- 
 likely when it is considered that he was fifty miles 
 from the island so late in the season as September, 
 and when heavy ice a hundred feet thick was 
 already about him, and packed around the island. 
 Neither does it seem at all probable from what we 
 have seen this summer that he could have been suc- 
 cessful in reaching Wrangell Land so late in the 
 season under so many adverse circumstances of 
 weather and ice. That he did not build a cairn or 
 leave any trace of his presence within a few miles 
 of our landing point does not prove by any means 
 
 [ 178] 
 
"The Land of the IVhite Bear 
 
 that he did not reach Wrangell Land at all, or that 
 cairns with records may not exist elsewhere to the 
 northward or westward. But the point where we 
 landed being the easternmost point of the lower 
 portion of Wrangell Land, it would seem from his 
 plans as well as from known conditions of the ice 
 to be of all others the likeliest place to find traces 
 of the expedition. 
 
 In the case of the loss of his vessel and his reach- 
 ing the land farther up the coast, he would be likely, 
 in following his plan of retreat, to travel southward 
 past this east point where the ice is more broken 
 and extends a shorter distance offshore than else- 
 where — conditions that seem applicable to the 
 last two years at least, judging by what we have 
 observed. Even should he not have built a cairn on 
 so prominent and comparatively accessible a point, 
 likely to be discovered by relief vessels, he could 
 hardly have been able to pass without leaving some 
 sign on the bank of the river, whether he made 
 efforts to mark his presence or not. In case the 
 explorers passed their first winter on Wrangell 
 Land, they might either try to cross over the ice to 
 Siberia toward spring from some point to the west- 
 ward of our landing, or in case they reached the 
 easternmost cape, near the south extreme of the 
 land, about midsummer, they would probably find 
 it the most favorable point of departure in making 
 their way to the Siberian coast with sleds over the 
 
 [ 179 ] 
 
I'he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 shore pack, and thence in boats. But as no trace 
 of the explorers appears here, and no tidings have 
 been obtained concerning them from the Chukchis, 
 this, with all the evidence discovered thus far, goes 
 to show that the Jeannette expedition either did 
 not reach Wrangell Land at all, or did not make 
 any extended stay upon it. 
 
 Notwithstanding the improbability of finding 
 the expedition, the Corwin would gladly have been 
 fast to a stranded berg, for a few days at least, 
 during the fine August weather we were enjoying 
 at the time, in order to send out exploring and 
 search parties along the coast fifty or sixty miles in 
 opposite directions, and back into the mountains, 
 to learn something about the topography, geology, 
 and natural history of the country, and to deter- 
 mine as surely as possible whether the missing 
 explorers had touched this portion of the coast. 
 But in so doing we should have risked being shut 
 in, losing the vessel, and thus making still another 
 party to be searched for. Besides, we might then 
 be prevented from making other landings farther 
 north in case the ice should leave the shores in that 
 direction, and from extending relief to other vessels 
 that might stand in need of it among the ice of this 
 dangerous sea. 
 
 The floe outside of our anchorage was drifting 
 along shore to the northeast with a powerful cur- 
 rent at a speed of fifty miles a day, the majestic 
 
 I i8o] 
 
"The Land of the White Bear 
 
 movement being made strikingly manifest by large 
 bergs that were aground in water sixty feet deep, 
 standing like islands, while the main mass of the 
 pack went grating past them. With so much mo- 
 tion in the ice, the open lane and the strip of loose 
 blocks and cakes through which we had forced our 
 way in coming in was liable to close at any time, 
 making escape impossible, at least until some chance 
 change in the winds and currents might result in 
 setting us free. 
 
 As it was, we escaped with difficulty after both 
 engine and hull had been severely tested, the lane 
 by which we entered having almost vanished, and 
 the point where we reached open water was several 
 miles to the northward of our ingoing track. Had 
 our retreat been cut off, we would not, perhaps, 
 have suifered greatly for a year or thereabouts, 
 inasmuch as we had nine months' provisions 
 aboard, which, with what game we might chance to 
 kill in the nature of seals, bears, and walruses, could 
 easily have been made to last considerably longer. 
 We also had plenty of reindeer clothing and pologs, 
 bought with a view to spending a winter in the 
 Arctic, in case it should be necessary to do so. 
 Everything could have been landed under favor- 
 able auspices, and preparations could have been 
 made in the way of building shelters and store- 
 houses. Then we would have had a fine long op- 
 portunity to explore this grand wilderness in its 
 
 [ i8i ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 untouched freshness during the remaining months 
 of summer and all the winter, while the vessel 
 might possibly have escaped being smashed if laid 
 up at the mouth of the river, and by a hairbreadth 
 chance have been gotten out next summer. 
 
 Perhaps the ice does not leave the shore free 
 more than once in ten years. The small quantity 
 of driftwood on the beach would seem to indicate 
 open water at times, but it might have been brought 
 in by shifting, tumbling ice, after being held fast 
 and gradually worked inshore after years of change 
 in its position among the shifting floes, without the 
 occurrence of any perfectly free channel of com- 
 munication with the open part of the ocean. Our 
 plan of retreat would have been similar to that pro- 
 posed by Commander De Long, that is, to the coast 
 of Siberia. The loss of the vessel, however, and any 
 work and hardship that might follow would not 
 have been allowed to weigh against any reasonable 
 hope of finding the lost explorers and carrying relief 
 to them. But it was decided that more could be 
 done, in all probability, towards carrying out the 
 objects of the expedition by keeping the Corwin 
 free. Only about half of the workdays of the sum- 
 mer were spent as yet, the weather was mild, the 
 ice melting, and we had good hopes of finding open 
 water reaching well inshore farther north, through 
 which some other portion of the coast might be 
 found accessible where the danger of being perma- 
 
 [ 182 ] 
 
-iKT 
 
 "The Land of the TVhite Bear 
 
 nently beset would be less, and from whence ex- 
 tended land journeys might be made. Our efforts, 
 however, to get northward along the eastern shore 
 of Wrangell Land have, thus far, been unavailing. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 TRAGEDIES OF THE WHALING FLEET 
 
 Steamer Corwin, 
 Off Point Barrow, August i8y 1881. 
 
 FINDING It impossible to get northward 
 through the ice anywhere near the east side 
 of Wrangell Land, it was decided that we should 
 cross to the American coast to make another effort 
 to reach Point Barrow in order to learn the fate of 
 the whale-ship Daniel Webster, which, as I have 
 stated in a former letter, was beset in the ice there, 
 and to offer assistance in case it should be required. 
 
 On the fifteenth, near Icy Cape, we spoke one of 
 the whalers from whom we learned that the Daniel 
 Webster was crushed and sunk, that about half 
 the crew had made their way down the coast to 
 near Icy Cape, where they found the Coral and 
 were taken on board, and that the others were still 
 at Point Barrow or scattered along the shore, un- 
 less picked up by some of the fleet that were going 
 north in search of them as fast as the state of the 
 ice would allow. 
 
 Captain Owen of the bark Belvedere had sent a 
 letter to them by one of the natives, directing them 
 to build large driftwood fires on the beach to indi- 
 cate their positions, and assuring them that relief 
 was near. We had hoped that, though beset in the 
 
 [ 184 ] 
 
"Tragedies of the Whaling Fleet 
 
 heavy, drifting pack and carried northward help- 
 less and rigid as a fly in amber, some change in the 
 wind and current might set them free. But in dis- 
 cussing the question with an experienced whaler 
 who had lost the first ship that he was master of 
 at the same place and in the same way, he said 
 that he had given her up for lost as soon as she 
 was known to be embayed. 
 
 On receiving this news we started for Point 
 Barrow and found the way clear, the pack having 
 been blown ofi'shore a few miles, and a heavy cur- 
 rent was sweeping to the northward. Tuesday, the 
 sixteenth, was calm and foggy at times; large 
 masses of beautiful ice, blue and green and white, 
 of every conceivable form, like the bergs derived 
 from glaciers, were drifting with the riverlike cur- 
 rent or lying aground — the remnants of the grand 
 pack that so lately held possession of all the sea 
 hereabouts. 
 
 When we were passing Point Belcher and Sunar- 
 nara ^ we learned from the natives that the ice was 
 ofi'shore as far as Point Barrow and beyond, that 
 several whale-ships were already there, and that all 
 the men from the broken ship had been taken on 
 board. For some time the fog was so dense and the 
 huge bergs so abundant we were compelled to lie 
 to and drift with the current; but shortly after noon 
 the sun came out, making a dazzling show among 
 
 ^ Sinaru? 
 
 I i8S] 
 
l^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 the Ice and silvery water. Then the conical huts of 
 the Eskimo village on Point Barrow came in sight, 
 and rounding the Point we found ourselves in the 
 midst of quite a fleet of whalers, from whom we 
 received the good news that, as we had been told 
 by the natives, all the missing members of the 
 wrecked crew had at length been picked up and 
 were now distributed among the different vessels. 
 A few of them have been permanently added to the 
 crews of the rescuing ships lying here, and nine 
 have been received on board of the Corwin. 
 
 The strip of water sometimes found between Icy 
 Cape and Point Barrow is perhaps the most dan- 
 gerous whaling ground yet discovered. The ice is 
 of tremendous thickness, a hundred feet or more, 
 and its movements are extremely variable from 
 season to season, and almost from day to day. It 
 seldom leaves this part of the coast very far, some 
 years not at all, and it is always liable to be driven 
 close inshore by a few hours or days of strong wind 
 blowing from any point of the compass around from 
 north to southwest. When, as frequently happens, 
 there Is a margin of fixed ice along the shore the 
 position of ships Is most dangerous, for when the 
 pack comes In and catches vessels In this ice-bound 
 lane while trying to beat southward against wind 
 and current, It closes upon them and crushes them 
 as between huge crunching jaws. Should there be no 
 fixed ice, then vessels may simply be shoved ashore. 
 
 [ 186] 
 
"Tragedies of the Whaling Fleet 
 
 It IS not long since the first whale-ship passed 
 Bering Strait, and yet no less than forty-seven 
 have been crushed hereabouts, or pushed ashore, 
 or embayed and swept away northward to nobody 
 knows where, while many others have had narrow 
 escapes. 
 
 Thirty-three were caught and lost in this way 
 here at one time, thirteen the following season, 
 and one last July, while two others barely made 
 their escape the same day just as the fatal ice- 
 jaws closed behind them. This last victim, the 
 Daniel Webster, left New Bedford in November, 
 1880, passed through Bering Strait on the tenth 
 of June, and was caught in the pack July 3. 
 It seems from the account furnished us by the 
 first mate that she was following up a lead of 
 open water about five miles wide, between the 
 main ocean pack and a strip of shore-ice, fancy- 
 ing that two other ships that she had been fol- 
 lowing the day previous were still ahead, and 
 on whose movements the Captain, who had no 
 experience here, this being his first voyage, was 
 to some extent depending. These two leaders, 
 however, had turned and fled during the night 
 without being observed, while the Daniel Webster 
 kept on northward, until within sight of the end of 
 the water-lane, when she turned and attempted to 
 beat her way back. But wind and current were 
 against her, the huge ice-walls came steadily nearer, 
 
 [ 187] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 and at length closed on the doomed vessel, carrying 
 her away as if she were a mere bit of drift timber. 
 About an hour later she was crushed, and sank to 
 her upper deck in about twenty minutes. Then she 
 fell over on her beam-ends against the ice and soon 
 vanished in the icy wilderness. 
 
 The Point Barrow Eskimos, keenly familiar with 
 the actions of the winds and currents on the move- 
 ments of the ice, watched the struggling ship, and 
 came aboard before the ice had yet closed upon her, 
 like wolves scenting their prey from afar. Many a 
 wreck had they enjoyed here, and now, sure of yet 
 another, they ran about the ship examining every 
 movable article, and narrowly scanning the rigging 
 and sails with reference to carrying away as much 
 as possible of the best of everything, such as the 
 sails, lead pipe for bullets, hard bread, sugar, 
 tobacco, etc., in case they should have but a short 
 time to work. 
 
 She filled so quickly after being crushed that the 
 crew saved but little more than the clothes they 
 were wearing. Some hard bread, beef and other 
 stores were hastily thrown over upon the ice, and 
 one boat was secured. As soon as she was given up, 
 the Eskimos climbed into the rigging, and dexter- 
 ously cut away and secured all the sails, which they 
 value highly for making sails for their large travel- 
 ing canoes and for covers for their summer huts. 
 Then they secured as much lead as possible and 
 
 [ i88 ] 
 
T^ragedies of the Whaling Fleet 
 
 anything they could lay hands on, acting promptly 
 and showing the completeness of the apprentice- 
 ship they had served. 
 
 The ship was then about five miles from the 
 Eskimo village, and the natives were allowed to 
 assist in carrying everything that had been saved. 
 Under the circumstances, in getting over the five 
 miles of ice with such riches, they, like white men, 
 reasoned themselves into the belief that everything 
 belonged to them, even the chronometers and sex- 
 tants. Accordingly, at the village a general divi- 
 sion was made in so masterly a manner that by the 
 time the officers and crew reached the place their 
 goods had vanished into a hundred-odd dens and 
 holes; and when, hungry, they asked for some of 
 their own biscuits, the natives complacently offered 
 to sell them at the rate of so much tobacco apiece. 
 Even the chronometers had been divided, it is said, 
 after being taken apart, the wheels and bits of 
 shining metal being regarded as fine jewelry for 
 the young women and children to wear. A keg of 
 rum, that the officers feared might fall into the 
 Eskimos' hands and cause trouble by making them 
 drunk, was thrown heavily over on the ice with the 
 intention of smashing it, but it was not broken by 
 the fall. One of the Eskimos picked up the prize, 
 to him more precious than its weight in gold, and 
 sped away over the slippery crags and hollows of 
 the ice with admirable speed, vainly pursued by 
 
 [ 189 1 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 the first mate, and at the village It disappeared as 
 far beyond recovery as if it had been poured into a 
 hot sand bank. As wreckers, traders, and drinkers 
 these sturdy Eskimos are making rapid progress, 
 notwithstanding the fortunate disadvantages they 
 labor under, as compared with their white brethren, 
 dwelling in so severe a climate on the confines of the 
 frozen sea. 
 
 The entire crew numbered twenty-eight men. 
 All except the second mate and two of the sailors 
 started down the coast afoot, after waiting some 
 time for the ice to drift ofi'shore far enough to allow 
 some of the other ships to come to their relief, or 
 at least far enough to leave a passage for their boat. 
 At the river Cogrua ^ ten of the party turned back, 
 weary and hungry and discouraged, to Cape Smyth, 
 to pick up a living of oil and seal meat until relieved, 
 rather than face the danger of fording the river and 
 enduring yet greater hardships. The others pushed 
 forward. Directed by one of the natives, they went 
 up the bank of the river about twenty miles from 
 its mouth, to where it is much narrower. Here they 
 forded without danger, carrying their clothes on 
 their heads to keep them dry. 
 
 Both parties seem to have suffered considerably 
 from hunger as well as from cold and fatigue. The 
 
 * Kugnia, a river tributary to the Arctic Ocean at the Seahorse 
 Islands, a little east of Pt. Belcher. According to John Murdoch, 
 Kug'ru is the Eskimo name of the Whistling Swan. 
 
 • [ 190 ] 
 
Tragedies of the JVhaling Fleet 
 
 seal and oil meals, which the natives of the differ- 
 ent villages they passed good-naturedly allowed 
 them to share, but ill-supplied the place of their 
 old-fashioned, rough and regular rations. They 
 speak of having been reduced to the strait of eating 
 roots and leaves of the few dwarf plants found 
 along their way. At Point Belcher they were so 
 fortunate as to find a traveling party of natives, 
 who, after their shaman had duly consulted the 
 spirits, supposed to be influential and wise con- 
 cerning the affairs of this rough region, and reported 
 favorably, agreed to take the party in their canoe 
 southward to seek the whaling fleet, the pack hav- 
 ing by this time commenced to leave the shore. By 
 this means the wanderers reached the bark Coral 
 in four days, at a cost of two rifles and some 
 tobacco. 
 
 The others were kindly received by the Cape 
 Smyth people and entertained until the ice left the 
 shore. One of the three left at Point Barrow, it 
 seems, wandered southward alone and lost himself 
 with fright and hunger. He was without food for 
 five days, save what he could pick up from the 
 sparse sedgy vegetation, and was nearly dead when 
 discovered by a relief party from one of the ships. 
 The natives, he said, refused to allow him to enter 
 their huts, because his eyes were wild and he would 
 soon be crazy. Fortunately, all are now cared for. 
 
 Newly discovered whaling grounds, like gold 
 
 [ 191 ] 
 
T'he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 mines, are soon overcrowded and worked out, the 
 whales being either killed or driven away. But 
 whales worth four or five thousand dollars apiece 
 are so intensely attractive and interesting that the 
 grand game has been hunted in the face of a thou- 
 sand dangers over nearly all the seas and oceans on 
 the face of the globe. According to Alexander Star- 
 buck, in his history of the American whale fishery, 
 there belonged, in the year 1846, to the various 
 ports of the United States six hundred and seventy- 
 eight ships and barks, thirty-five brigs, and twenty- 
 two schooners that were hunting whales. In 1843 
 the first bowhead whales taken in the North Pacific 
 were captured on the coast of Kamchatka, and in 
 1848 the first whale-ship passed Bering Strait. This 
 was the bark Superior, Captain Royce. A full cargo 
 was easily obtained, because of the abundance and 
 tameness of the whales. 
 
 The news, like a gold discovery, spread rapidly, 
 and within the next three years two hundred and 
 fifty ships had obtained cargoes of oil and bone 
 here. This is, therefore, a comparatively new 
 hunting ground. Nevertheless it is being rapidly 
 exhausted. The precious bowheads are no longer 
 seen in "long winrows," as described by an old 
 whaleman familiar with the region. This year only 
 twenty vessels are engaged in the business. 
 
 In 1 87 1 thirty-three vessels were caught in one 
 flock off Point Belcher and crushed or shoved 
 
 [ 192 1 
 
"Tragedies of the Whaling Fleet 
 
 ashore. One of them is said to have been "crushed 
 to atoms," the officers and crew escaping over the 
 ice, saving scarcely anything but their lives. In a 
 few days after the sixth of August most of the fleet 
 was north of Blossom Shoals, and worked to the 
 northeast as far as Wainwright Inlet. Here the 
 ships either anchored or made fast to the ice, which 
 was very heavy and densely packed. On the elev- 
 enth of August a sudden change of wind drove the 
 ice inshore, catching a large number of boats that 
 were out in pursuit of whales, and forcing the ships 
 to work inshore in the lee of the ground ice. 
 
 On the thirteenth of August the incoming pack 
 grounded, leaving only a narrow strip of water, in 
 which the fleet was imprisoned more and more 
 narrowly until the twenty-fifth, when a strong 
 northeast gale drove the ice a few miles off'shore, 
 and whale-catching went on briskly without fear 
 of another imprisonment. But on the twenty-ninth 
 a southwest wind again drove the ice inshore, and 
 once more shut-in the doomed fleet. The thirty- 
 three vessels were scattered along the coast for 
 twenty miles, more and more rigidly beset until 
 the fourteenth of September, when they were aban- 
 doned — that is, those not already crushed. 
 
 The following protest, throwing a vivid light 
 upon the subject, was written on the twelfth of 
 September, and signed by all the captains before 
 abandoning their vessels: — 
 
 [ 193 ] 
 
'The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 Point Belcher, Arctic Ocean, 
 September 12, 1871, 
 
 Know all men by these presents, that we, the 
 undersigned, masters of whale-ships now lying at 
 Point Belcher, after holding a meeting concerning our 
 dreadful situation, have all come to the conclusion 
 that our ships cannot be got out this year, and there 
 being no harbors that we can get our vessels into, and 
 not having provisions enough to feed our crews to 
 exceed three months, and being in a barren country, 
 where there is neither food nor fuel to be obtained, 
 we feel ourselves under the painful necessity of aban- 
 doning our vessels, and trying to work our way south 
 with our boats, and, if possible, get on board of ships 
 that are south of the ice. We do not think it would 
 be prudent to leave a single soul to look after our ves- 
 sels, as the first westerly gale will crowd the ice ashore, 
 and either crush the ships or drive them high upon 
 the beach. Three of the fleet have already been 
 crushed, and two are now lying hove out, which have 
 been crushed by the ice and are leaking badly. We 
 have now five wrecked crews distributed among us, 
 we have barely room to swing at anchor between the 
 ice-pack and the beach, and we are lying in three 
 fathoms of water. Should we be cast on the beach it 
 would be at least eleven months before we could look 
 for assistance, and in all probability nine out of ten 
 would die of starvation or scurvy before the opening 
 of spring. 
 
 AH the officers and crews — twelve hundred and 
 nineteen souls — reached the seven relief vessels 
 that lay waiting their arrival outside the ice, and 
 were distributed among them, these seven being 
 
 [ 194 1 
 
tragedies of the Whaling Fleet 
 
 the remnant of the fleet that passed through Bering 
 Strait in the spring. The next summer only five of 
 the thirty-three were seen, one of them compara- 
 tively uninjured. All the rest had been smashed, 
 sunk, burned, or carried away in the pack. 
 
 Five years later, in 1876, the fleet consisted of 
 twenty ships and barks, and of this number thir- 
 teen were embayed in the pack, twenty or thirty 
 miles ofi" Point Barrow. After waiting and hoping 
 for the coming of a liberating gale as long as they 
 dared, the masters decided that it was necessary to 
 abandon their vessels. Out of three hundred and 
 fifty-three persons, fifty-three remained with the 
 ships, hoping to get them free in the spring; but 
 not one of the ships, or of those who stayed on 
 them, was ever seen again. The three hundred who 
 left their vessels, after enduring great hardships, 
 succeeded in making good their escape to the rest 
 of the fleet waiting outside the pack — all save 
 three or four who perished by the way. 
 
 There are now twelve whale-ships about Point 
 Barrow in sight from the Corwin, and all that would 
 be necessary to shut them in is a gale from the 
 southwest. Still the great love of action, and the 
 great love of money, compel the risk here and else- 
 where over and over again. The Corwin is now 
 about to go southward to coal, at the mine twenty 
 miles east of Cape Lisburne; or, in case the weather 
 should be too rough to land at the mine, which is 
 
 [ 19s 1 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 on a bare, exposed portion of the coast, to Plover 
 Bay. Then we will return to the Arctic prepared 
 to make other efforts to get on the south and east 
 shores of Wrangell Land, 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 MEETING THE POINT BARROW EXPEDITION 
 
 Steamer Corwin, 
 Plover Bay, Siberia, August 2$, i88i, 
 
 WE left Icy, gloomy Point Barrow on the after- 
 noon of the eighteenth, with fine Arctic 
 weather, which held out good hopes that we would 
 be able to lie two days at the mine twenty miles 
 east of Cape Lisburne, in order to take out and get 
 on board a sufficient quantity of coal to last the 
 Corwin the remainder of the season in the Arctic. 
 But by the time we got down the coast near the 
 mine the weather was rough, with a heavy sea send- 
 ing stormy breakers against the exposed coal blufiF, 
 rendering it impossible to land and work. And as 
 there is no shelter whatever for a vessel an)rwhere 
 In the vicinity, and no likelihood from any indica- 
 tions that the weather would improve. It was 
 decided that we should proceed at once to Plover 
 Bay, our next nearest coaling point. 
 
 This Arctic mine, the nearest to the North Pole, 
 as far as I know, of any yet discovered on the 
 American continent, produces coal of excellent 
 quality In great abundance and easily worked. 
 There are five principal veins, from two to ten feet 
 thick, fully exposed on the face of a bluif about two 
 hundred feet high, excepting some of the lower 
 
 [ 197 ] 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 sections that are covered with icy snowbanks. The 
 latter are derived from drift that comes from the 
 wind-swept hills, and does not melt till late in the 
 summer, or not at all. The lower exposed portions 
 of all the veins are beaten and worn by the sea 
 waves. There can scarcely be any doubt, from what 
 I have seen of the formation in which it occurs, that 
 this is a true carboniferous coal, and superior to 
 the great bulk of the tertiary and cretaceous coal 
 found on this side the continent farther south. The 
 Corwin coaled here twice last summer, and again 
 this summer, July 27 and 28. So also did the steam 
 whale-ship Belvedere. During calm weather the 
 crew of the Corwin can dig out and put in sacks, 
 and bring off in boats, about thirty tons per day. 
 On the twenty-first we passed through Bering 
 Strait in a dense fog without sighting either of the 
 Diomede Islands, which even in weather clear else- 
 where are almost constantly enveloped in fog, caus- 
 ing no little anxiety to the navigator, inasmuch as 
 they stand directly in the middle of the narrow part 
 of the strait. A third islet called Fairway Rock, 
 together with the uncertain flow of the currents 
 hereabouts, renders the danger all the greater. 
 The larger Diomede is about six miles long, the 
 other half as large, and Fairway Rock still smaller. 
 All three are simply residual masses of granite 
 brought into relief by glacial action before the 
 strait was in existence. These rocks rise above the 
 
 [ 198 ] 
 
"The Point Barrow Expedition 
 
 general level because of their superior strength con- 
 sidered with reference to the resistance they offered 
 to glacial degradation. 
 
 Approaching the islands in thick weather, the 
 first intimation the navigator has of his being near 
 them, and of the direction in which they bear, is 
 either from the winds which gurgle and reverberate 
 in passing over them, or from the birds — auks, 
 murres and gulls — which dwell on the rocks in 
 myriads, and come and go several miles into the 
 adjacent waters to feed. To persons acquainted 
 with their habits it is not difficult to determine 
 whether their flight is directed homewards or away 
 from home. Thus the natives who dwell on these 
 gloomy, dripping rocks and visit the shores of the 
 adjacent continents in their frail skin-covered 
 canoes, are directed. But how the birds themselves 
 find their way, flying in arrowlike courses to their 
 nests, when every direction seems to us the same, is 
 truly marvelous. 
 
 On cloudy nights it is dark now at midnight. The 
 sun sets before eight o'clock, but because it sinks 
 only a few degrees below the horizon, the twilight 
 lasts nearly all night. In a week or two, however, 
 we shall have seven or eight hours of real night, 
 for, of course, the transition from constant day to 
 day and night is very rapid in these high latitudes. 
 This new order of things will be delightful. A few 
 days ago we saw two stars in the twilight, which to 
 
 I 199 ] 
 
T'he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 us was an exceedingly Interesting event after two 
 months of starless day. The glories of the midnight 
 sun in this mysterious polar world are truly en- 
 chanting, but not nearly so much so as the glories 
 of the midday sun in lower latitudes, succeeded by 
 the glories of the night, the deep sky of stars and 
 the grateful change and repose they bring. 
 
 After passing through the Strait we had two 
 gray, howling days, with head winds and rain, and 
 thick fog, through which the Corwin beat her way, 
 or was held lying to, heaving and rolling somewhere 
 between St. Lawrence Island and Indian Point, as 
 near as could be made out at the time by dead 
 reckoning, and guessing the speed of the northerly 
 current. Lying to in a gale, enveloped in old fogs,^ 
 and with little sea-room, and variable currents, is 
 anything but pleasant, to say nothing of the te- 
 dious discomforts caused by the movements of the 
 vessel, the unceasing see-saw, creaking, pitching 
 and complaining. At such times only the gulls, 
 those light-winged rovers of the sea, appear to be 
 patient and comfortable as they gracefully drift 
 and glide over the wild-tossing waves, or circle on 
 easy wing about the ship, veering deftly from side 
 to side, and wavering up and down through the 
 gray, sleety gloom. 
 
 On the morning of the twenty-fourth, when the 
 
 * Fogs that have lasted a long time and prevented the taking 
 of observations for the position of the ship. 
 
 [ 200 ] 
 
"The Point Barrow Expedition 
 
 fog lifted, we found ourselves far north of our sup- 
 posed position; the flow of the current to the north- 
 ward during the two preceding days having been 
 nearly eighty miles. We arrived here at five in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 Entering the harbor, we discovered the schooner 
 Golden Fleece lying at anchor, and shortly after- 
 ward a party from her came aboard the Corwin, 
 which proved to be Lieutenant Ray ^ and his com- 
 pany of Signal Service ofiicers on their way to 
 establish a station at Point Barrow — ten persons 
 in all.2 Mr. Ray seems to be the right man for the 
 place. He hopes to be able to get his buildings up 
 and everything put in order before the coming on 
 of winter, making a home In that stern wilderness 
 for three years. 
 
 Point Barrow is a low, barren spit putting out 
 into the icy ocean, and, before the discovery of 
 Wrangell Land, the northernmost point of the 
 territory of the United States. For many years it 
 was believed to be the northern extremity of the 
 American continent. But the extreme point of 
 the peninsula of Boothia proves to be a few miles 
 farther north than this. At first sight it would 
 
 1 P. H. Ray. 
 
 2 This was the International Polar Expedition to Point Bar- 
 row, Alaska. The report of the valuable series of scientific obser- 
 vations and explorations made from 1881 to 1883 at the Point 
 Barrow Station was published as House Executive Document, 
 No. 44, of the Forty-eighth Congress. Among the members of 
 the party were John Murdoch and Middleton Smith. 
 
 [ 201 ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 seem a gloomy time to look forward to — three 
 years in so remote and so severely desolate and 
 forbidding a region, generally regarded as the top- 
 most frost-killed end of creation! 
 
 But, amid all the disadvantages of position, these 
 men have much in their lot for which they might 
 well be envied by people dwelling in softer climates. 
 There is the freshness of their field of research in 
 natural history, the immense number of summer 
 birds that visit this region to molt and rear their 
 young; the fine opportunities they will have to 
 study the habits of the reindeer 6n the tundras, 
 and the magnificent polar bear among the ice — 
 the master animal of the north. Then there is the 
 chance to study the little-known western Eskimos, 
 who have a village ^ on the point, numbering about 
 two hundred persons.^ 
 
 Advantage, too, I am told, will be taken of the 
 opportunity offered to explore the Colville and 
 Inland Rivers, both of them large streams, the one 
 flowing into the [Arctic] Ocean about one hundred 
 and thirty miles to the east of Point Barrow, the 
 other into Bering Sea through Hotham Inlet and 
 Kotzebue Sound. They are almost entirely unex- 
 plored. Some of their upper branches must ap- 
 
 ^ Nuwuk. 
 
 2 An admirable study of these Eskimos was, indeed, made by 
 John Murdoch, a member of the party, and published in House 
 Executive Document, No. 44 (1885), and in the Ninth Annual 
 Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (1892). 
 
 [ 202 J 
 
T^he Point Barrow Expedition 
 
 proach each other, as the Eskimos ascend the Col- 
 viUe and, making a portage, descend the Inland 
 River to Hotham Inlet every year to trade, or at 
 the portage meet natives from the other river and 
 trade there. The exploration of these rivers is a 
 very interesting piece of work, and Mr. Ray tells 
 me that he intends to make an effort to accom- 
 plish it at the earliest opportunity. Furthermore, 
 he is ambitious to achieve something in the way 
 of new discoveries out in the Polar Ocean to the 
 northward of his station. 
 
 From the fact that a current sets northward past 
 Herald Island, and keeps a long lane reaching far 
 beyond Herald Island open every summer, while 
 the ice remains jammed only a few miles off Point 
 Barrow and Cape Yakan, Siberia, and some years 
 does not leave the shores at all, it would seem that 
 there is a land lying to the east of Wrangell Land, 
 making a strait up which the northerly current 
 flows, while the unknown land prevents any great 
 movement in the ice immediately to the north 
 of the American continent, as Wrangell Land 
 [stays] the ice opposite Cape Yakan and the coast 
 in its vicinity. Again, migratory birds in large 
 flocks have been seen flying north from Point Bar- 
 row in the spring, and returning in the fall. Besides, 
 certain vague reports, which may have their foun- 
 dation in fact, have been in circulation to the effect 
 that land in this direction has been actually seen 
 
 [ 203 1 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 by a whaler, who was well offshore to the northeast- 
 ward from Point Barrow, in an exceptionally open 
 season. 
 
 With the experience that he will gain among the 
 ice at Point Barrow, and the resources at command 
 in the way of good assistants, skilled native travel- 
 ers, with good dogs and sleds, etc., Mr. Ray may 
 possibly be able to cross over the ice to this land, 
 if land there be. In any case, whatever journeys 
 may be made, over the ice or over the land, in 
 summer or in winter, some new facts will surely be 
 gained well worth the pains, for no portion of the 
 world is so barren as not to yield a rich and precious 
 harvest of divine truth. 
 
 Nor will these men be likely to suffer greatly. 
 The winter cold, when skillfully met in soft hair 
 and fur, is not hard to bear, while in summer it is 
 so warm that the Eskimo children run about naked. 
 The piling up of the ice on the shore in winter and 
 spring must make a magnificent border for a home; 
 and the auroral curtains and the deep starry nights, 
 lasting for weeks, must be glorious. 
 
 The Corwin towed the Golden Fleece to sea this 
 morning, and we hope to finish coaling, etc., in a 
 day or two, and set out once more to the shores 
 of Wrangell Land. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A SIBERIAN REINDEER HERD 
 
 Steamer Convtn, 
 Plover Bay, Siberia, August 26, 188 1, 
 
 THIS morning a party from the ship went to 
 the head of the bay under the guidance of a 
 pair of Chukchis to see a herd of reindeer that they 
 told us was there. The distance, we found, is about 
 eighteen miles from the lower harbor, where the 
 Corwin is at anchor. The day was fine and we 
 enjoyed the sail very much, skimming rapidly along 
 in the steam launch over smooth water, past the 
 huge ice-sculptured headlands and mountains that 
 formed the walls, and the deep canons and valleys 
 between them that swept back to clusters of glacial 
 fountains. The naturalist made desperate efforts 
 now and then to obtain specimens of rare auks, 
 petrels, ducks, etc., which were flying and swim- 
 ming about us In great abundance, making lively 
 pictures of happy, exuberant life. 
 
 The rocks bounding the bay, though beautiful in 
 their combinations and collocations of curves and 
 peaks, inflowing and touching delicately, and rising 
 in bold, picturesque groups, are, nevertheless, in- 
 tensely desolate-looking for want of trees, shrubs, 
 or vegetation dense enough to give color in telling 
 quantities visible at a distance. Even the valleys 
 
 [ 205 1 
 
l^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 opening back from the water here and there are 
 mostly bare as seen at the distance of a mile or two, 
 and have only faint tinges of green derived from 
 dwarf willows, sedges, and heathworts that creep 
 low among the stones. Yet here, or in the larger 
 valleys adjacent, where the main tributary gla- 
 ciers came into the Plover Bay trunk, and in other 
 valleys to the northeastward, large herds of rein- 
 deer, wild as well as tame, find sustenance, together 
 with a few wild sheep and bears. 
 
 On the terminal moraine of the ancient glacier 
 that formed the first main tributary of the Plover 
 Bay glacier, some four miles from the extreme head 
 of the bay, we noticed two small skin-covered huts, 
 which our guides informed us belonged to the rein- 
 deer people we were seeking, and that we should 
 certainly find them at home, because their herd 
 was only a little one and found plenty of weeds 
 and moss to eat in the valleys behind their huts 
 without going far away, as the people had to do who 
 owned big herds. At two days' distance, they said, 
 where the valleys are wide and green, with plenty 
 to eat, there is a big herd belonging to one of their 
 friends, so big that they cover all the ground 
 thereabouts; but the herd we were to see was only 
 a little one, and the owner was not a rich man. 
 
 As we approached the shore, a hundred yards or 
 so from the huts, a young man came running to 
 meet us, bounding over the moraine boulders, with 
 
 [ 206 ] 
 
A Siberian Reindeer Herd 
 
 easy strength as if his limbs had been trained on 
 the mountains for many a year, until running had. 
 become a pleasant indulgence. He was presently 
 joined by three others, who gazed and smiled curi- 
 ously at the steam launch and at our party, won- 
 dering suspiciously, when the interpreter had told 
 our object, why we should come so far and seem so 
 eager to see their deer. Our guides, who, of course, 
 understood their prejudices and superstitions, told 
 them that we wanted a big, fat deer to eat, and 
 that we would pay them well for it — tobacco, 
 lead, powder, caps, shot, calico, knives, etc., told 
 off in tempting order. But they said they had none 
 to sell, and it required half an hour of cautious 
 negotiation to get them over their suspicious 
 alarms, and [to induce them to] consent to sell the 
 carcass of one, provided we would leave the skin, 
 which they said they wanted to keep for winter 
 garments. 
 
 Then two young men, fine, strapping, elastic fel- 
 lows, threw off their upper parkas, tied their hand- 
 somely embroidered moccasins firmly across the 
 instep and around the ankle, poised their long 
 Russian spears, which they said they always car- 
 ried In case they should meet a bear or wolf, and 
 away they sped after the herd up a long, wide 
 glacier valley along the bank of a stream, bounding 
 lightly from rock to rock in easy poise, and across 
 soft bits of tundra and rough sedgy meadows with 
 
 [ 207 ] 
 
^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 long, heaving, undulating strides. Their gait, as 
 far as we could see, was steadily maintained and 
 was admirably lithe and strong and graceful. Their 
 small feet and ankles and round tapered shanks 
 showed to fine advantage in their tight-fitting leg- 
 gings and moccasins as they went speeding over 
 the ground like trained racers glorying in their 
 strength. We watched them through field-glasses 
 until they were about three miles away, during 
 which time they did not appear to slacken their 
 pace a single moment. They were gone about three 
 hours, so that the herd must have been at least six 
 or seven miles from the huts. 
 
 In the meantime we ate luncheon and strolled 
 about the neighborhood looking at the plants, at 
 the views down the bay, and at the interior of the 
 huts, etc. We chatted with the Chukchis about 
 their herd, about the wild sheep on the mountains, 
 the wild reindeer, bears, and wolves. We found 
 that the family consisted of father, mother, a grown 
 daughter, and the boys that were after the deer. 
 The old folks were evidently contented and happy 
 in their safe retreat among the hills, with a sure 
 support from their precious herd. And they were 
 proud of their red-cheeked girl and two strapping 
 boys, as well they might be; for they seemed as 
 healthy and rosy and robust a group of children 
 as ever gladdened the heart of Chukchi parents. 
 The boys appeared to be part owners of everything 
 
 [ 208 ] 
 
A Siberian Reindeer Herd 
 
 about the house, as well as of the deer, for in look- 
 ing through the huts we saw a few curious odds 
 and ends that we offered to purchase, but were 
 told, in most cases, that they could not sell them 
 until the boys came back. 
 
 Their huts are like all we have seen belonging to 
 the Chukchis as far north and west as we have 
 been — a balloon frame of long poles hewn on two 
 sides so that they might be bent outward, the 
 points coming together not in the middle, but a 
 little to one side away from the direction of the 
 prevailing wind, which gives them a curious hump- 
 backed appearance. This frame is covered with 
 skin of the walrus, if it can be had ; if not, then with 
 sealskin or deerskin. No great pains are taken to 
 keep them rain-proof, so that in wet weather they 
 are oftentimes damp or muddy. But there is not 
 much rain in the Arctic regions, and the deerskin 
 pologs, or drawing rooms inside, are kept perfectly 
 dry and snug, whatever the state of the main outer 
 tent may chance to be. 
 
 The two huts at this place are smaller and more 
 leaky and dilapidated than is common. The cover- 
 ing is composed of different kinds of skin, perhaps 
 a thousand pieces sewed together, some of them 
 with the hair on, the whole appearing as one colos- 
 sal patchwork, as if made up of small scraps. The 
 head of the family seemed to be a little ashamed of 
 them, for he explained with the air of a man making 
 
 [ 209 ] 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 an apology, that he did not construct them; they 
 formerly belonged to some one else, and that soon 
 after he came to take possession one of them was 
 torn open by a hungry bear that went in and 
 frightened his wife and daughter and stole some 
 grease. 
 
 The Chukchis seem to be a good-natured, lively, 
 chatty, brave and polite people, fond of a joke, and, 
 as far as I have seen, fair in their dealings as any 
 people, savage or civilized. They are not savage 
 by any means, however, but steady, industrious 
 workers, looking well ahead, providing for the 
 future, and consequently seldom in want, save 
 when at long intervals disease or other calamities 
 overtake their herds, or exceptionally severe sea- 
 sons prevent their obtaining the ordinary supplies 
 of seals, fish, whales, walruses, bears, etc., on which 
 the sedentary Chukchis chiefly depend. The sed- 
 entary and reindeer Chukchis are the same peo- 
 ple, and are said to difi'er in a marked degree, both 
 in physical characteristics and in language, from 
 the neighboring tribes, as they certainly do from 
 the Eskimos. Many of them have light complex- 
 ions, hooked or aquiline noses, tall, sinewy, well- 
 knit frames, small feet and hands, and are not, 
 especially the men, so thick-set, short-necked or 
 flat-faced as the Eskimos. 
 
 After we had watched impatiently for some time, 
 the reindeer came in sight, about a hundred and 
 
 [ 2IO ] 
 
A Siberian Reindeer Herd 
 
 fifty of them, driven gently without any of that 
 noisy shouting and worrying that are heard in 
 driving the domestic animals in civilized countries. 
 We left the huts and went up the stream bank 
 about three quarters of a mile to meet them, led by 
 the owner and his wife and daughter, who carried a 
 knife and tin cup and vessels to save the blood and 
 the entrails — which stirred a train of grim asso- 
 ciations that greatly marred the beauty of the 
 picture. 
 
 I was afraid from what I knew of the habits of 
 sheep, cattle, and horses that a sight of strangers 
 would stampede the herd when we met. But of this, 
 as it proved, there was not the slightest danger; for 
 of all the familiar, tame animals man has gathered 
 about him, the reindeer is the tamest. They can 
 hardly be said to be domesticated^ since they are not 
 shut in around the huts, or put under shelter either 
 winter or summer. On they came, while we gazed 
 eagerly at the novel sight — a thicket of antlers, 
 big and little, old and young, led by the strongest, 
 holding their heads low most of the time, as if con- 
 scious of the fact that they were carrying very big, 
 branching horns. A straggler fell behind now and 
 then to cull a choice mouthful of willow or dainty, 
 gray lichen, then made haste to join the herd again. 
 
 They waded across the creek and came straight 
 toward us, up the sloping bank where we were 
 waiting, nearer, nearer, until we could see their 
 
 [211 ] 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 eyes, their smooth, round limbs, the velvet on their 
 horns, until within five or six yards of us, the driv- 
 ers saying scarce a word, and the owner in front 
 looking at them as they came up without making 
 any call or movement to attract them. After giv- 
 ing us the benefit of their magnificent eyes and 
 sweet breath they began to feed off, back up the 
 valley. Thereupon the boys, who had been loiter- 
 ing on the stream-side to catch a salmon trout or 
 two, went round them and drove them back to us. 
 Then the deer stopped feeding and began to chew 
 the cud and to lie down, with eyes partly closed and 
 dreamy-looking, as if profoundly comfortable, we 
 strangers causing them not the slightest alarm 
 though standing nearly within touching distance of 
 them. Cows in a barnyard, milked and petted every 
 day, are not so gentle. Yet these beautiful animals 
 are allowed to feed at will, without herding to any 
 great extent. They seem as smooth and clean and 
 glossy as if they were wild. Taming does not seem 
 to have injured them in any way. I saw no mark 
 of man upon them. 
 
 They are not so large as I had been led to sup- 
 pose, nor so rough and bony and angular. The 
 largest would not much exceed three or four hun- 
 dred pounds in weight. They are, at this time 
 of year, smooth, trim, delicately molded animals, 
 very fat, and apparently short-winded, for they 
 were breathing hard when they came up, like oxen 
 
 [ 212 ] 
 
A Siberian Reindeer Herd 
 
 that had been working on a hot day. The horns of 
 the largest males are about four feet long, rising 
 with a backward curve, and then forward, and 
 dividing into three or four points, and with a num- 
 ber of short palmated branches putting forward 
 and downward from the base over the animal's 
 forehead. Those of the female are very slender and 
 elegant in curve, more so than any horns I have 
 seen. This species of deer is said to be the only one 
 in which the female has horns. The fawns, also, 
 have horns already, six inches to a foot long, with 
 a few blunt, knobby branches beginning to sprout. 
 All are now in the velvet, some of which is begin- 
 ning to peel off and hang in loose shreds about the 
 heads of some of them, producing a very singular 
 appearance, as if they had been fighting a rag-bag. 
 The so-called velvet is a close, soft, downy fur, 
 black in color, and very fine and silky, about three 
 eighths or half an inch long, with a few hairs nearly 
 an inch in length rising stiflfly here and there over 
 the general plushy surface. All the branches of 
 their horns are covered, giving an exceedingly rich 
 and beautiful effect. The eyes are large, and in 
 expression confiding and gentle. The head, con- 
 trary to my preconceived notions derived from 
 engravings, is, on the whole, delicately formed, the 
 muzzle long and straight, blunt and cowlike. The 
 neck is thin, tapering but little, rather deep, and 
 held, while standing at ease, sloping down a little, 
 
 [ 213 ] 
 
T'he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 and the large males have long hair on the under 
 side. The body is round, almost cylindrical — the 
 belly not at all bloated or bent out like that of a 
 cow. The legs are stout, but not clumsy, and 
 taper finely into the muscles of the shoulders and 
 hips. The feet are very broad and spreading, mak- 
 ing a track about as large as a cow's. This enables 
 the animal to walk over boggy tundras in summer 
 and over snow in winter. 
 
 In color they vary almost as much in some speci- 
 mens as do cattle and horses, showing white, brown, 
 black and gray at the same time. The prevailing 
 color is nearly black in summer, brownish-white in 
 winter. The colors of the tame animals are not so 
 constant as those of the wild. The hair is, when full 
 grown, very heavy, with fine wool at the bottom, 
 thus making a warm covering sufficient to enable 
 the animal to resist the keenest frosts of the Arctic 
 winter without any shelter beyond the lee side of a 
 rock or hill. 
 
 After walking through the midst of the herd, the 
 boys selected a rather small specimen to be killed. 
 One caught it by the hind leg, just as sheep are 
 caught, and dragged it backward out of the herd; 
 then the other boy took it by the horns and led it 
 away a few yards from the herd, no notice being 
 taken of its struggles by its companions, nor was 
 any tendency to take fright observed, such as 
 would, under the circumstances, have been shown 
 
 [ 214 1 
 
A Siberian Reindeer Herd 
 
 by any of the common domestic animals. The 
 mother alone looked after it eagerly, and further 
 manifested her concern and affection by uttering 
 a low, grunting sound, and by trying to follow it. 
 
 After it was slain they laid it on its side. One of 
 the women brought forward a branch of willow 
 about a foot long, with the green leaves on it, and 
 put it under the animal's head. Then she threw 
 four or five handfuls of the blood, from the knife- 
 wound back of the shoulder, out over the ground 
 to the southward, making me get out of the way, 
 as if this direction were the only proper one. Next 
 she took a cupful of water and poured a little on its 
 mouth and tail and on the wound. While this cere- 
 mony was being performed all the family looked 
 serious, but as soon as it was over they began to 
 laugh and chat as before. The herd, during the 
 time of the killing and dressing, were tranquilly 
 chewing their cud, not noticing even the smell of 
 the blood, which makes cattle so frantic. 
 
 One of our party was anxious to procure a 
 young one alive to take home with him, but they 
 would not sell one alive at any price. When we in- 
 quired the reason they said that if they should part 
 with one, all the rest of the herd would die, and the 
 same thing would happen if they were to part with 
 the head of one. This they excitedly declared was 
 true, for they had seen it proved many times 
 though white men did not understand it and al- 
 
 [215 ] 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 ways laughed about it. When we indicated a very 
 large buck and inquired why they did not kill that 
 big one, and let the little ones grow, they replied 
 that that big fellow was strong, and knew how to 
 pull a sled, and could run fast over the snow that 
 would come by-and-by, and they needed him too 
 much to kill him. 
 
 I have never before seen half so interesting a 
 company of tame animals. In some parts of Siberia 
 reindeer herds numbering many thousands may be 
 seen together. In these frozen regions they supply 
 every want of their owners as no other animal could 
 possibly do — food, warm clothing, coverings for 
 their tents, bedding, rapid transportation and, to 
 some extent, fuel. They are not nearly so numerous 
 in the immediate vicinity of the bay as they once 
 were, a fact attributed to the sale of several live 
 specimens to whalers. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 TURNED BACK BY STORMS AND ICE 
 
 Steamer Corzvin, Arctic Ocean, 
 
 Between Herald Shoals and Point Hope, 
 
 September 5, 188 1. 
 
 ON the morning of August 27, having taken on 
 board a full supply of coal and water, and 
 put the ship in as good condition as possible, we 
 left Plover Bay and turned once more toward 
 Wrangell Land. 
 
 In passing Marcus Bay, a short distance up the 
 coast from Plover Bay, the Captain wished to make 
 a landing to give some instructions to our Chukchi 
 interpreter and dog-driver, who lives here, con- 
 cerning the dogs and sleds that were left at Tapkan. 
 The weather was too thick, however, to allow this, 
 and the ship was put on her course for the western 
 Diomede Island, where we arrived, against a stiff 
 head wind and through thick fog, shortly after 
 noon on the twenty-eighth. We lay at anchor for a 
 few hours, while the wind from the Arctic came dash- 
 ing and swirling over the island in squally gusts. 
 
 In the meantime, while waiting to see whether 
 the wind would moderate before we proceeded 
 through the strait, we went ashore and greatly 
 enjoyed a stroll through the streets and houses of 
 the curious village here. It is built on the bald, 
 
 [ 217 ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 rugged side of the island, where the slope is almost 
 cliff-like in steepness and rockiness. The winter 
 houses are wood-lined burrows underground, en- 
 tered by a tunnel, and warm and snug like the 
 nest of a fieldmouse beneath a sod, though terribly 
 thick and rancid as to the air contained in them. 
 The summer houses are square skin boxes above 
 ground, and set on long stilt poles. Neither the one 
 nor the other look in the least like houses or huts 
 of any sort. But those made of skin are the queer- 
 est human nests conceivable. They are simply 
 light, square frames made of drift poles gathered 
 on the beach, and covered with walrus hide that 
 has been carefully dressed and stretched tightly on 
 the frame like the head of a drum. The skin is of a 
 yellow color, and quite translucent, so that when in 
 one feels as if one were inside a huge blown bladder, 
 the light sifting in through the skin at the top and all 
 around, yellow as a sunset. The entire establishment 
 is window, one pane for the roof, which is also the 
 ceiling, and one for each of the four sides, without 
 cross sash-bars to mar the brave simplicity of it all. 
 Most of the inhabitants, of whom there are per- 
 haps a hundred, had just returned from a long 
 voyage in their canoes to Cape Prince of Wales, 
 Kotzebue Sound, and other points on the Ameri- 
 can coast, for purposes of trade, bringing back 
 ivory and furs to sell to the Chukchis of Siberia, 
 who in turn will carry these articles by a round- 
 
 [ 218 ] 
 
turned Back by Storms and Ice 
 
 about way nearly a thousand miles to the Russian 
 trading post, and return with goods to trade back 
 to the Diomede merchants, through whose hands 
 they will pass to the Cape Prince of Wales natives, 
 and from these to several others up the Inland 
 River, down the Colville, to Point Barrow and east- 
 ward as far as the mouth of the Mackenzie River. 
 The Diomede merchants are true middlemen, 
 and their village a half-way house of commerce 
 between northeastern Asia and America. The 
 extent of the dealings of these people, usually 
 regarded as savages, is truly surprising. And that 
 they can keep warm and make a living on this 
 bleak, fog-smothered, storm-beaten rock, and have 
 time to beget, feed, and train children, and give 
 them a good Eskimo education; that they teach 
 them to shoot the bow, to make and throw the 
 bird spears, to make and use those marvelous 
 kayaks, to kill seals, bears, and walrus, to hunt the 
 whale, capture the different kinds of fishes, manu- 
 facture different sorts of leather, dress skins and 
 make them into clothing, besides teaching them to 
 carry on trade, to make fire by rubbing two pieces 
 of wood together, and to build the strange houses 
 — that they can do all this, and still have time 
 to be sociable, to dance, sing, gossip, and discuss 
 ghosts, spirits, and all the nerve-racking marvels of 
 the shaman world, shows how truly wild, and brave, 
 and capable a people these island Eskimos are. 
 
 [ 219 ] 
 
T^he Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 The wind having moderated, we got away from 
 the box-and-burrow village and through the Strait 
 before dark; then we steered for the south end of 
 Wrangell Land, and after a speedy and uneventful 
 voyage came in sight of the highest of the coast 
 mountains, on the thirtieth at noon. Thus far we 
 had not seen the ice, and, inasmuch as nineteen 
 summer days had passed over it since our last visit, 
 we hoped that it might have been melted consid- 
 erably and broken up by the winds, so as to admit 
 of a way being forced through it at some point up 
 to the land, or so near it that we might get ashore 
 by crossing over the coast ice, dragging our light 
 skin boat after us in case we should come to lanes 
 of open water. 
 
 In this, however, we were disappointed ; for when 
 three and a half hours later we came up to the edge 
 of the pack it was found to all appearances un- 
 changed. It still extended about twenty miles off- 
 shore; it trended as far as we could see in the same 
 direction as was observed before, and it seemed as 
 heavy and unbroken as ever, offering no encourage- 
 ment for efforts in this direction. We therefore 
 sailed along the edge of the pack to the eastward 
 to see what might be accomplished towards our 
 first landing place. We gazed at the long stretch 
 of wilderness which spread invitingly before us, 
 and which we were so eager to explore — the 
 rounded, glaciated bosses and foothills, the moun- 
 
 [ 220 ] 
 
H^urned Back by Storms and Ice 
 
 tains, with their ice-sculptured features of hollows 
 and ridges and long withdrawing valleys, which in 
 former visits we had sketched, and scanned so 
 attentively through field-glasses, and which now 
 began to wear a familiar look. The sky was over- 
 cast, the land seemed almost black in the gloomy 
 light, and a heavy swell began to be felt coming in 
 from the northeast. Towards night, when we were 
 not far from our old landing near the easternmost 
 extremity of the land, the Corwin was hove to, wait- 
 ing for the morning before attempting to seek a way 
 in. But the next day, August 31, was stormy. The 
 wind from the northeast blew hard inshore, there- 
 fore it was not considered safe to approach too near. 
 
 At eight o'clock we were in sight of the ice oppo- 
 site the northeast cape, and it seemed to be farther 
 oif the land than at our first visit, and no opening 
 appeared, though the weather was so dim and 
 rough that nothing could be definitely determined. 
 Generally, however, the ice was now drifting 
 against the east side of Wrangell Land, and coming 
 southward to so great an extent that our chances of 
 efi*ecting another landing began to be less promising. 
 
 When we were within twenty miles of Herald 
 Island we hove to, waiting better weather before 
 entering narrow lanes and bays in the pack when 
 so heavy a sea was running. The sky was dismal 
 all the afternoon — toward night, dull, lurid pur- 
 ple — and the. wind was blowing a gale. The ice- 
 
 [ 221 ] 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 breaker, made of heavy boiler iron, was broken by 
 the pounding of the waves, and had to be cut away, 
 which is unfortunate at this particular time. 
 
 September i was a howling storm-day, through 
 which we lay to, swashing and rolling wildly among 
 white waves, and drifting southeastward twenty 
 or thirty miles a day. The next day there was 
 no abatement in the force of the gale up to two 
 o'clock in the afternoon. A heavy sea, streaked 
 with foam, was running parallel to the direction of 
 the wind, while the air was filled with snow, adding 
 to the wintry aspect of the day. While we were still 
 holding on, hoping the storm would subside from 
 hour to hour, one of the rudder chains parted. 
 
 This made Captain Hooper decide that in view 
 of the condition of the ship, and the ice, and the 
 weather, the risk attending further efforts this year 
 to search the shores of Wrangell Land should not 
 be incurred, more especially since the position and 
 drift of the ice held out but little promise of allow- 
 ing another landing to be made, or of a sufficiently 
 near approach to enable us to add appreciably to 
 the knowledge already acquired. Accordingly, after 
 the rudder was mended as securely as possible, the 
 good Corwin, excused from further ice duty, was 
 turned away from the war and headed for the 
 American coast at Point Hope. 
 
 Had the ship been in good condition, the battle 
 would probably have been waged a few more weeks 
 
 [ 222 ] 
 
Turned Back by Storms and Ice 
 
 along the edge of the ice barrier, watching the 
 appearance of any vulnerable point of attack, 
 whatever the result might have been. Now it 
 seems we are homeward bound. We intend to stop 
 at Kotzebue Sound, St. Michael, St. Paul, and 
 Unalaska to make necessary repairs, take on coal, 
 etc., and we may reach San Francisco by the 
 middle of October. 
 
 We have not met the Rodgers. We learned from 
 the natives at Plover Bay that she had called there 
 and left seven days before our arrival. That was 
 August 17. We suppose she went to St. Michael 
 from there to coal and take on provisions, which 
 would probably require a week. If so, we may have 
 passed the Strait ahead of her. But in case she had 
 already been at St. Michael, then, in following out 
 her instructions, she could trace the Siberian coast 
 for some distance, making inquiries among the 
 Chukchis, where she may possibly be at present. 
 Or, if this part of the work of the expedition had 
 been completed before the coming on of the gale, 
 she may be sheltering about Herald Island or some 
 point on the coast of Wrangell Land.^ 
 
 * Mr. Muir's supposition proved to be correct. The U.S.S. 
 Rodgers, Lieutenant R. M. Berry commanding, reached Wrangell 
 Land, August 25, and found shelter the next day in a snug little 
 harbor on the southeastern coast of'the island. There the Rodgers 
 remained until September 13, while two search parties explored 
 the shores of the island for traces of the Jeannette expedition. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 HOMEWARD-BOUND 
 
 Steamer Corwin, Unalasha, October 4, 1881. 
 
 ON the home voyage, all the hard Arctic work 
 done, the Corwin stopped a week at the head 
 of Kotzebue Sound, near Chamisso Island, to seek 
 a fresh supply of water and make some needful 
 repairs and observations, during which time I had 
 a capital opportunity to examine the curious and 
 interesting ice formations of the shores of Esch- 
 scholtz Bay. I found ice in some form or other, 
 exposed at intervals of from a mile to a few yards, 
 on the tide-washed front of the shore bluffs on 
 both sides of the bay, a distance of about fifty'miles. 
 But it is only the most conspicuous mass, forming 
 a bluif, at Elephant Point, on the south side of the 
 bay, that seems to have been observed hitherto, or 
 attracted much attention. 
 
 This Elephant Point, so called from the fossil 
 elephant tusks found here, is a bluif of solid ice, 
 one hundred and forty feet high, covered on the 
 top with a foot or two of ordinary tundra vegeta- 
 tion, and with tall grass on the terraces and shelv- 
 ing portions of the front, wherever the slope is 
 sufficiently gentle for soil to find rest. It is a rigid 
 fossil fragment of a glacier leaning back against 
 
 [ 224 ] 
 
Homeward-Bound 
 
 the north side of a hill, mostly in shadow, and cov- 
 ered lightly with glacial detritus from the hill slope 
 above it, over which the tundra vegetation has 
 gradually been extended, and which eventually 
 formed a thick feltlike protection against waste 
 during the summer. Thus it has lasted until now, 
 wasting only on the exposed face fronting the bay, 
 which is being constantly undermined, the soil and 
 vegetation on top being precipitated over the raw, 
 melting ice front and washed away by the tide. 
 Were it not that its base is swept by tide currents, 
 the accumulation of tundra moss and peat would 
 finally re-bury the front and check further waste. 
 As it is, the formation will not last much longer — 
 probably not more than a thousand or fifteen hun- 
 dred years. Its present age is perhaps more than 
 this. 
 
 When one walks along the base of the formation 
 — which is about a mile or so in length — making 
 one's way over piles of rotten humus and through 
 sloppy bog mud of the consistence of watery por- 
 ridge, mixed with bones of elephants, buffaloes, 
 musk oxen, etc., the ice so closely resembles the 
 wasting snout of a glacier, with its jagged project- 
 ing ridges, ledges, and small, dripping, tinkling rills, 
 that it is not easy to realize that it is not one in 
 ordinary action. 
 
 Mingled with the true glacier ice we notice 
 masses of dirty stratified ice, made up of clean 
 
 [ 225 ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 layers alternating with layers of mud and sand, 
 and mingled with bits of humus and sphagnum, 
 and of leaves and stems of the various plants that 
 grow on the tundra above. This dirty ice of pecu- 
 liar stratification never blends into the glacier ice, 
 but is simply frozen upon it, filling cavities or 
 spreading over slopes here and there. It is formed 
 by the freezing of films of clear and dirty water 
 from the broken edge of the tundra, a process going 
 on every spring and autumn, when frosts and thaws 
 succeed each other night and morning, cloudy days 
 and sunny days. This, of course, is of compara- 
 tively recent age, even the oldest of it. 
 
 A striking result of the shaking up and airing 
 and draining of the tundra soil is seen on the face 
 of the ice slopes and terraces. When the under- 
 mined tundra material rolls down upon those por- 
 tions of the ice front where it can come to rest, it is 
 well buffeted and shaken, and frequently lies up- 
 side down as if turned with a plow. Here it is well 
 drained through resting on melting ice, and though 
 not more than a foot or two in thickness, it pro- 
 duces a remarkably close and tall growth of grass, 
 four to six feet high, and as lush and broad-leaved 
 as may be found in any farmer's field. Cut for hay 
 it would make about four or five tons per acre. 
 
 Only a few other plants that would be called 
 weeds are found growing among the grass, mostly 
 senecio and artemisia, both tall and exuberant, 
 
 [ 226 ] 
 
Homeward-Bound 
 
 showing the effects of this curious system of culti- 
 vation on this strange soil. The vegetation on top 
 of the bluff is the most beautiful that I have yet 
 seen, not rank and cultivated looking, like that on 
 the face slopes, but showing the finest and most 
 delicate beauty of wildness, in forms, combinations, 
 and colors of leaf, stalk, and fruit. There were red 
 and yellow dwarf birch, arbutus, willow, and pur- 
 ple huckleberry, with lovely grays of sedges and 
 lichens. ' The neutral tints of the lichens are in- 
 tensely beautiful. 
 
 I found the shore-bluff towards the mouth of the 
 Buckland River from forty to sixty feet high, with 
 a regular slope of about thirty degrees. It was cov- 
 ered with willows and alders, some of them five or 
 six feet high, and long grass; also patches of ice 
 here and there, but no large masses. The soil is a 
 fine blue clay at bottom, with water-worn quartz, 
 pebbles and sand above it, like that of the opposite 
 side of the estuary, and evidently brought down 
 by the river floods when the ice of the glaciers that 
 occupied this river basin and that of the Kuuk ^ 
 was melting. 
 
 The ice that I found here and on the opposite 
 side of the bay, especially where the tundra is low 
 and flat, let us say forty or fifty feet above the sea, 
 
 ^ A river tributary to Eschscholtz Bay from the east. It was 
 called Kuuk on British Admiralty charts of the early eighties, 
 but is now known as the Mungoark River. 
 
 [ 227 I 
 
The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 and covered with pools and strips of water, is not 
 glacier ice, but ice derived from water freezing 
 in pools and veins and hollows, overgrown with 
 mosses, lichens, etc., and afterwards exposed as 
 fossil ice on the shore face of the tundra where it is 
 being wasted by the action of the sea. The tundra 
 has been cracked in every direction, and in looking 
 over its surface, slight depressions, or some differ- 
 ence in the vegetation, indicate the location and 
 extent of the fissures. When these are traced for- 
 ward to the edge of the shore-bluff, a cross-section 
 of ice is seen from two to four or five feet wide. 
 The larger sections are simply the exposed sides of 
 those ice veins that chance to trend in a direction 
 parallel to the face of the bluff. Besides these I found 
 several other kinds of ice, differing in origin from 
 the foregoing, but which can hardly be described in 
 a mere letter, however interesting to the geologist. 
 At St. Michael we found a party of wrecked 
 prospectors from Golofnin Bay, who were anxiously 
 awaiting the arrival of the Corwin, as she would be 
 the last vessel leaving for California this year. This 
 proved to be the Oakland party mentioned in a 
 previous letter. With genuine Yankee enterprise 
 [these men] had pushed their way into the far wil- 
 derness beyond the Yukon to seek for silver. Speci- 
 mens of bright, exciting ore, assaying a hundred 
 and fifty dollars to the ton, had been exhibited in 
 Oakland, brought from a mine said to be located 
 
 [ 228 ] 
 
Homeward^Bound 
 
 near tide water at Golofnin Bay, Alaska, and so 
 easily worked that large ships could be loaded with 
 the precious ore about as readily as with common 
 ballast. Thereupon a company, called the Alaska 
 Mining Company, was organized, the schooner 
 W. F. March chartered, and with the necessary 
 supplies a party of ten sailed from San Francisco 
 May 5, 1881, for Golofnin Bay, to explore this mine 
 in particular, and the region in general, and then 
 to return, this fall, with a cargo of ore. 
 
 They arrived in Golofnin Bay June 18, lost their 
 vessel in a gale on the north side of the bay August 
 15, and arrived in twenty-one days at St. Michael 
 in canoes and a boat that was saved from the 
 wreck. They found the mine as rich as represented, 
 but far less accessible. It is said to be about thirty 
 miles from tide water. All feel confident that they 
 have a valuable mine. Two or three of the party 
 were away at the time of the disaster, prospecting 
 for cinnabar on the Kuskoquim, and are left behind 
 to pass the winter as best they may at some of the 
 trading stations. 
 
 Our two weeks' stay at Unalaska has been pleas- 
 ant and restful after the long cruise — about four- 
 teen thousand miles altogether up to this point. 
 The hill slopes and mountains look richly green 
 and foodful, and the views about the harbor, at 
 the close and beginning of storms, when clouds are 
 wreathing the alpine summits, are very beautiful. 
 
 [ 229 ] 
 
"The Cruise of the Corwin 
 
 The huts of the Aleuts here are very picturesque 
 at this time of the year. The grass grows tall over 
 the sides and the roof, waving in the wind, and 
 making a fine fringe about the windows and the 
 door. When the church bell rings on Sunday 
 and the good calico-covered people plod sedately 
 forth to worship, and the cows on the hillside moo 
 blandly, and the sun shines over the green slopes, 
 then the scene is like a bit of New England or old 
 Scotland. But later in the day, when the fiery 
 kvass is drunk, and the accordions and concertinas 
 and cheap music boxes are in full blast, then the 
 noise and unseemly clang attending drunkenness 
 is not at all like a Scotch sabbath. 
 
 Most of the Aleuts have an admixture of Rus- 
 sian blood. Many of them dance well. Three balls 
 were given during our stay here, that is to say, 
 American balls with native women. The Aleuts 
 have their own dances in their small huts. 
 
 A few days ago I made an excursion to the top of 
 a well-formed volcanic cone at the mouth of a pic- 
 turesque glacial fiord, about eight miles from here. 
 This mountain, about two thousand feet high, 
 commands a magnificent view of the mountains of 
 Unalaska, Akutan, and adjacent islands. Akutan ^ 
 still emits black smoke and cinders at times, and 
 thunders loud enough to be heard at Unalaska. 
 
 ^ The highest mountain of Akutan Island. The United States 
 Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart No. 8860 gives its altitude as 
 forty-one hundred feet. 
 
 [ 230 ] 
 
Homeward-Bound 
 
 The noblest of them all was Makushin,^ about 
 nine thousand feet high and laden with glaciers, a 
 grand sight, far surpassing what I had been led to 
 expect. There is a spot on its summit which is said 
 to smoke, probably mostly steam and vapor from 
 the infiltration of water into the heated cavities of 
 the old volcano. The extreme summit of Makushin 
 was wrapped in white clouds, and from beneath 
 these the glaciers were seen descending impressively 
 into the sunshine to within a thousand or fifteen 
 hundred feet of sea-level. This fine mountain, 
 glittering in its showy mail of snow and ice, to- 
 gether with a hundred other peaks dipping into 
 the blue sky, and every one of them telling the 
 work of ice or fire in their forms and sculpture — 
 these, and the sparkling sea, and long inreaching 
 fiords, are a noble picture to add to the thousand 
 others which have enriched our lives this summer 
 in the great Northland. 
 
 * See footnote p. 242. 
 
 THE END 
 
Appendix 
 
Appendix 
 
 THE GLACIATION OF THE ARCTIC AND SUB- 
 ARCTIC REGIONS VISITED DURING 
 THE CRUISE 
 
 THE monuments of the glaciatlon of the regions 
 about Bering Sea and the northern shores of 
 Siberia and Alaska are in general much broken and 
 obscured on account of the intensity of the action of 
 the agents of destruction in these low, moist regions, 
 together with the perishable character of the rocks of 
 which most of the monuments consist. Lofty head- 
 lands, once covered with clear glacial inscriptions, 
 have been undermined and cast down in loose, drag- 
 gled taluses, while others, in a dim, ruinous condition, 
 with most of their surface records effaced, are rapidly 
 giving way to the weather. The moraines, also, and 
 the grooved, scratched, and polished surfaces are 
 much blurred and wasted, while glaciated areas of 
 great extent are not open to observation at all, being 
 covered by the shallow waters of Bering Sea and the 
 Arctic Ocean, and buried beneath sediments and 
 coarse detritus which has been weathered from the 
 higher grounds, or deposited by the ice itself when it 
 was being melted and withdrawn towards the close 
 of the main glacial period. But amid this general 
 waste and obscurity a few legible fragments, favor- 
 ably situated here and there, have escaped destruc- 
 tion — patches of polished and striated surfaces in aj 
 
 [ 23s ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 fair state of preservation, with moraines of local gla- 
 ciers that have not been exposed to the heavier forms 
 of water or avalanche action. And had these fading 
 vestiges perished altogether, yet would not the ob- 
 server be left without a sure guide, for there are other 
 monuments of ice action in all glaciated regions that 
 are almost indestructible, enduring for tens of thou- 
 sands of years after those simpler traces that we have 
 been considering have vanished. These are the ma- 
 terial of moraines, though scattered, washed, crum- 
 bled, and reformed over and over again; and the 
 sculpture and configuration of the landscape in gen- 
 eral, canons, valleys, mountains, ridges, roches mou- 
 tonnees with forms and correlations specifically gla- 
 cial. These, also, it is true, suffer incessant waste, 
 being constantly written upon by other agents; yet, 
 because the glacial characters are formed on so colos- 
 sal a scale of magnitude, they continue to stand out 
 free and clear through every after inscription whether 
 of the torrent, the avalanche, or universal eroding 
 atmosphere; opening grand and comprehensive views 
 of the vanished ice, and the geographical and topo- 
 graphical changes effected by its action in the form of 
 local and distinct glaciers. River-like, they flowed 
 from the mountains to the sea, and, as a broad, undu- 
 lating, mantle, crawled over all the landscape through 
 unnumbered centuries; crushed and ground and 
 spread soil-beds; fashioned the features of mountain 
 and plain; extended the domain of the sea; separated 
 continents; dotted new coasts with islands, fringed 
 them with deep inreaching fiords, and impressed their 
 peculiar style of sculpture on all the regions over 
 which they passed. 
 
 A general exploration of the mountain ranges of the 
 Pacific Coast shows that there are about sixty-five 
 small residual glaciers on the Sierra Nevada of Call- 
 
 [ 236 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 fornia, between latitude 36^ 30' and 39®, distributed 
 singly or in small groups on the north sides of the 
 highest peaks at an elevation of about eleven to 
 twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea, rep- 
 resentatives of the grand glaciers that once covered 
 all the range. More than two thirds of these lie 
 between latitude 37® and 38°, and form the highest 
 sources of the San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Merced, and 
 Owens Rivers. 
 
 Mount Shasta, near the northern boundary of Cali- 
 fornia, has a few shrinking glacier remnants, the 
 largest about three miles in length. We find that, to 
 the north of California, groups of active glaciers still 
 exist on all the highest mountains — Mounts Jeifer- 
 son, Adams, Saint Helens, Hood, Rainier, Baker, and 
 others. Of these Mount Rainier is the highest and 
 iciest. Its summit is fairly capped with ice, and eight 
 glaciers, from seven to fifteen miles long, radiate from 
 it as a center and form the sources of the principal 
 streams. The lowest descends to about thirty-five 
 hundred feet above sea level, pouring a stream opaque 
 with glacial mud into the head of Puget Sound. 
 
 On through British Columbia and southeastern 
 Alaska the broad sustained mountain chain extend- 
 ing along the coast is generally glacier-bearing. The 
 upper branches of nearly every one of the main 
 canons are occupied by glaciers, which gradually in- 
 crease in size and descend lower until the lofty region 
 between Mount Fair weather and Mount St. Elias is 
 reached, where a considerable number discharge into 
 the waters of the ocean. 
 
 This is the region of greatest glacial abundance on 
 the continent. To the northward from here the gla- 
 ciers gradually diminish in size and depth and melt 
 at higher levels until the latitude of about 62° is 
 reached, beyond which few, if any, glaciers remain in 
 
 [ 237 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 existence, the ground being comparatively low and 
 the annual snowfall light. 
 
 Between latitude 56*^ and 60*^ there are probably 
 more than five thousand glaciers, great and small, 
 hundreds of the largest size, descending through the 
 forests nearly to the level of the sea, though, as far 
 as I know after a pretty thorough exploration of the 
 region, not more than twenty-five discharge into 
 the sea. 
 
 All the long, high-walled fiords into which these 
 great glaciers of the first class flow are of course 
 crowded with icebergs of every conceivable form, 
 which are detached at intervals of a few minutes. But 
 these are small as compared with those of Greenland, 
 and only a few escape from the intricate labyrinth of 
 channels, with which this portion of the coast is 
 fringed, into the open sea. Nearly all of them are 
 washed and drifted back and forth in the fiords by 
 wind and tide until finally melted by sunshine and 
 the copious warm rains of summer. 
 
 The southmost of the glaciers that reach the sea 
 occupies a narrow fiord about twenty miles to the 
 northwest of the mouth of the Stikine River, in lati- 
 tude 56^ 50'. It is called '*Hutli"i by the natives, 
 from the noise made by the icebergs in rising and 
 falling from the inflowing glacier. About one degree 
 farther north there are four of these complete glaciers 
 at the heads of branches of Holkham Bay, at the head 
 of Taku Inlet one, and at the head and around the 
 sides of a bay ^ trending in a general northerly direc- 
 
 * Now known as Le Conte Glacier; also the Bay into which it dis- 
 charges. Both were so named in 1887 by Lieutenant-Commander Charles 
 M. Thomas, U.S.N. , presumably in honor of Joseph Le Conte, the well- 
 known California geologist. "Hutli" is the Tlingit Indian name for the 
 mythical bird which produces thunder by the flapping of its wings. The 
 word, therefore, means "The Thunderer." 
 
 * Now known as Glacier Bay. 
 
 ( 238 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 tion from Cross Sound, first explored by myself in 
 1879, there are no less than five of these complete 
 glaciers reaching tide-water, the largest of which, the 
 Muir, is of colossal size, having upwards of two hun- 
 dred tributaries and a width of trunk below the con- 
 fluence of the main tributaries of three to twenty-five 
 miles. Between the west side of this icy bay and the 
 ocean all the ground, high and low, with the exception 
 of the summits of the mountain peaks, is covered 
 by a mantle of ice from one to three thousand feet 
 thick, which discharges to the eastward and west- 
 ward through many distinct mouths. 
 
 This ice-sheet, together with the multitude of dis- 
 tinct glaciers that load the lofty mountains of the 
 coast, evidently once formed part of one grand, con- 
 tinuous ice-sheet that flowed over all the region here- 
 abouts, extending southward as far as the Straits of 
 Juan de Fuca, for all the islands of the Alexander 
 Archipelago, great and small, as well as the headlands 
 and promontories of the mainland, are seen to have 
 forms of greatest strength with reference to the ac- 
 tion of a vast press of oversweeping ice, and their 
 surfaces have a smooth, rounded, over-rubbed ap- 
 pearance, generally free from angles. The canals, 
 channels, straits, passages, sounds, etc., between the 
 islands — a marvelous labyrinth — manifest in their 
 forms and trends and general characteristics the same 
 subordination to the grinding action of a continuous 
 ice-sheet, and they differ from the islands, as to their 
 origin, only in being portions of the general pre- 
 glacial margin of the continent, more deeply eroded, 
 and, therefore, covered with the ocean waters, which 
 flowed into them as the ice was melted out of them. 
 
 That the dominion of the sea is being extended over 
 the land by the wearing away of its shores is well 
 known. But in these northern regions the coast rocks 
 
 I 239 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 have been so short a time exposed to wave-action 
 that they are but little wasted as yet, the extension of 
 the sea affected by its own action in post-glacial time 
 in this region being probably less than the millionth 
 part of that affected by glacial action during the last 
 glacial period. 
 
 Traces of the ancient glaciers made during the 
 period of greater extension abound on the California 
 Sierra as far south as latitude 36^. Even the most 
 evanescent of them, the polished surfaces, are still 
 found, in a marvelously perfect state of preservation, 
 on the upper half of the middle portion of the range. 
 They occur in irregular patches, some of which are 
 several acres in extent, and, though they have been 
 subjected to the weather with all its storms for thou- 
 sands of years, their mechanical excellence is such 
 that they reflect the sunbeams like glass, and attract 
 the attention of every observer. 
 
 The most perfect of these shining pavements lie at 
 an elevation of about seven to eight thousand feet 
 above the level of the sea, where the rock is close- 
 grained, siliceous granite. Small fading patches may 
 be found at from three to five thousand feet elevation 
 on the driest and most enduring portions of vertical 
 walls, where there is protection from the drip and 
 friction of water; also, on compact swelling bosses 
 partially protected by a covering of boulders. 
 
 On the north half of the Sierra the striated and pol- 
 ished surfaces are rarely found, not only because this 
 portion of the chain is lower, but on account of the 
 surface rocks being chiefly porous lavas subject to 
 rapid waste. The moraines, also, though well pre- 
 served on the south half of the range, seem to be 
 nearly wanting over a considerable portion of the 
 north half, but the material of which they were com- 
 posed is found in abundance, scattered and disin- 
 
 [ 240 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 tegrated, until its glacial origin is not obvious to the 
 unskilled observer. 
 
 A similar blurred condition of the superficial rec- 
 ords obtains throughout most of Oregon, Washing- 
 ton, British Columbia, and Alaska, due in great part 
 to the action of excessive moisture. Even in south- 
 eastern Alaska, where the most extensive glaciers still 
 exist, the more evanescent of the traces of their for- 
 mer greater extension, though comparatively recent, 
 are more obscure than those of the ancient glaciers of 
 California, where the climate is drier and the rocks 
 more resisting. We are prepared, therefore, to find 
 the finer lines of the glacial record dim or obliterated 
 altogether in the Arctic regions, where the ground is 
 mostly low and the action of frost and moisture 
 specially destructive. 
 
 The Aleutian chain of islands sweeps westward in a 
 regular curve, about a thousand miles long, from the 
 Alaska Peninsula toward Kamchatka, nearly uniting 
 the American and Asiatic continents. A very short 
 geological time ago, just before the coming on of the 
 glacial winter, the union of the two continents was 
 probably complete. The entire chain appears to be 
 simply a degraded portion of the North Pacific pre- 
 glacial coast mountains, with its foot-hills and lowest 
 portions of the connecting ridges between the peaks 
 a few feet under water, the submerged ridges forming 
 the passes between the islands as they exist today, 
 while the broad plain to the north of the chain is now 
 covered by the shallow waters of Bering Sea. 
 
 Now the evidence seems everywhere complete that 
 this segregating degradation has been effected almost 
 wholly by glacial action. Yet, strange to say, it is 
 held by most observers who have made brief visits to 
 different portions of the chain that each island is a 
 distinct volcanic upheaval, but little changed since 
 
 [ 241 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 the period of emergence from the sea, an impression 
 made no doubt by the volcanic character of most of 
 the rocks, ancient and recent, of which they are com- 
 posed, and by the many extinct or feebly active vol- 
 canoes occurring here and there along the summits 
 of the highest masses. But, on the contrary, all the 
 evidence we have seen goes to show that the amount 
 of glacial denudation these rocks have undergone is 
 very great, so great that, with the exception of the 
 recent craters, almost every existing feature is dis- 
 tinctly glacial. The comparatively featureless pre- 
 glacial rocks have been heavily sculptured and fash- 
 ioned into the endless variety they now present of 
 Deak and ridge, valley and fiord and clustering islets, 
 larmoniously correlated in accordance with glacial 
 aw. 
 
 On Mount Makushin,^ whose summit reaches an 
 elevation of about nine thousand feet above the sea, 
 several small glaciers still exist, while others yet 
 smaller may be hidden in the basins of other moun- 
 tains not yet explored. The summit of Makushin, at 
 the time my observations were made, was capped 
 with heavy clouds, and from beneath these the gla- 
 ciers were seen descending imposingly into the open 
 sunshine to within a thousand or fifteen hundred feet 
 of the sea level, the largest perhaps about six miles in 
 length. After the clouds cleared away the summit was 
 seen to be heavily capped with ice, leaving only the 
 crumbling edges of the dividing ridges and subor- 
 dinate peaks free. The lower slopes of the mountain 
 and the wide valleys proceeding from the glaciers 
 present testimony of every kind to show that these 
 
 * Muir probably adopted current estimates of the altitude of this 
 volcano. Gannett's Altitudes in Alaska (1900) gives the elevation as 5474 
 feet, and the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Map, No. 8860 
 (1916), as 5691 feet. 
 
 [ 242 ] 
 

 wmmr ? 
 
 
 KING ISLAND 
 
 GRANITE ROCKS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF SAINT LAWRENCE 
 
 ISLAND, SHOWING EFFECTS OF OVERSWEEPING ACTION 
 
 OF ICE-SHEET 
 
Appendix 
 
 glaciers now lingering on the summit once flowed 
 directly into the sea. The adjacent mountains, 
 though now mostly free from ice, are covered with 
 glacial markings, extending over all the low grounds 
 about their bases and the shores of the fiords, and 
 over many of the rocks now under water. But be- 
 sides this evidence of recent local glacial abundance, 
 we find traces of far grander glacial conditions on the 
 heavily abraded rocks along the shores of the passes 
 separating the islands, and also in the low wide val- 
 leys extending in a direction parallel with the passes 
 across the islands, indicating the movement of a vast 
 ice-sheet from the north over the ground now covered 
 by Bering Sea. 
 
 The amount of degradation this island region has 
 undergone is only partially manifested by the crum- 
 bling, sharpened condition of the ridges and peaks, 
 the abraded surfaces that have been overswept, and 
 by the extent of the valleys and fiords, and the gaps 
 between the mountains and islands. 
 
 That these valleys, fiords, forges, and gaps, great 
 and small, like those of the Sierra, are not a result of 
 local subsidences and upheavals, but of the removal 
 of the material that once filled them, is shown by the 
 broken condition and the similarity of the physical 
 structure and composition of their contiguous sides, 
 just as the correspondence between the tiers of mas- 
 onry on either side of a broken gap in a wall shows 
 that the missing blocks required to fill it up have been 
 removed. 
 
 The chief agents of erosion and transportation are 
 water and ice, each being regarded as the more influ- 
 ential by different observers, though the phenomena 
 to which they give rise are widely diff'erent. All geol- 
 ogists recognize the fact that glaciers wear away the 
 rocks over which they move, but great vagueness 
 
 [ 243 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 prevails as to the size of the fragments of erosion, and 
 the way they are detached and removed ; and if pos- 
 sible still greater vagueness prevails as to the forms 
 and characteristics in general of the mountains, hills, 
 rocks, valleys, etc., resulting from this erosion. 
 
 Towards the end of summer, when the snow is 
 melted from the lower portions of the glaciers, par- 
 ticles of dust and sand may be seen scattered over 
 their surfaces, together with angular masses of rocks, 
 derived from the shattered storm-beaten cliffs above 
 their fountains. The separation of these masses, 
 which vary greatly in size, is due only in part to the 
 action of the glacier, though they are all transported 
 on Jts surface like floating drift on a river, and de- 
 posited together in moraines. The winds supply a 
 portionjof the sand and dust, some of the larger frag- 
 ments are set free by the action of frost, rains, and 
 general weathering agents, considerable quantities 
 are swept -down in avalanches of snow where the in- 
 clination of the slopes is favorable to their action, 
 and shaken down by earthquake shocks, while the 
 glacier^itself plays an important part in the produc- 
 tion of these superficial effects by undermining the 
 cliffs from whence the fragments fall. 
 
 But in all moraines boulders and small dust par- 
 ticles may be recognized that have not been thus 
 derived from the weathered cliffs and dividing ridges 
 projecting above the glaciers, but from the rocks past 
 which and over which the glaciers flow. The streams 
 which drain glaciers are always turbid with finely 
 ground mud particles worn off the bed-rocks by a 
 sliding motion, accompanied by great pressure, giving 
 rise to polished surfaces, and keeping up a waste that 
 never for a moment ceases while the glacier exists; 
 and besides these small particles boulders are found 
 that^may be traced to their origin in the bottoms or 
 
 I 244 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 sides of the'channels. Accordingly, an abrupt transi- 
 tion is 'discovered" f rom the polished and plain por- 
 tions of the channels to the more or less angular and 
 fractured portions, showing that glaciers degrade the 
 rocks over which they pass in at least two different 
 ways, by grinding them into mud, and by crushing, 
 breaking, and splitting them into a coarse detritus of 
 chips and boulders, the forms and sizes of which are 
 in great part determined by the divisional planes the 
 rocks possess, and the intensity and direction of ap- 
 plication of the force brought to bear on them. The 
 quantity of this coarser material remaining in the 
 channels along the lines of dispersal, and the probable 
 rate of movement of the glaciers that quarried and 
 transported it, form data from which some approxi- 
 mation to the rate of this method !of degradation 
 may be reached. 
 
 The amount of influence exerted on the Aleutian 
 region by running water in its various forms, and by 
 the winds, avalanches, and the atmosphere in de- 
 grading and fashioning the surface subsequent to 
 the melting of the ice, is as yet scarcely more appre- 
 ciable than it is in the upper middle portion of the 
 Sierra; for, besides being much feebler in their action, 
 the time during which the region has been exposed to 
 their influence is comparatively short. 
 
 On the other hand, the quantity of material quar- 
 ried and carried away by the force of ice, in the pro- 
 cess of bringing the region into its present condition, 
 can hardly be overestimated; for, with the exception 
 of the recent volcanic cones, almost every noticeable 
 feature, great and small, has evidently been ground 
 down into the form of greatest strength in relation 
 to the stress of oversweeping floods of ice. And that 
 these present features are not the pre-glacial features 
 merely smoothed and polished and otherwise super- 
 
 [ 245 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 ficially altered, but an entirely new set sculptured 
 from'a surface comparatively featureless, is manifested 
 by the relationship existing between the spaces that 
 separate them and the glacier fountains. The greater 
 the valley or hollow of any sort, the greater the snow- 
 collecting basin above it whence flowed the ice that 
 created it, not a fiord or valley being found here or on 
 any portion of the Pacific coast that does not conduct 
 to fountains of vanished or residual glaciers corre- 
 sponding with it in size and position as cause and 
 effect. 
 
 And, furthermore, that the courses of the present 
 valleys were not determined by the streams of water 
 now occupying them, nor by pre-glacial streams, but 
 by the glaciers of the last or of some former glacial 
 period, is shown by the fact that the directions of the 
 trends of all these valleys, however variable, are re- 
 sultants of the forces of the main trunk glaciers that 
 filled them and their inflowing tributary glaciers, the 
 wriggling fortuitous trends of valleys formed by the 
 action of water being essentially different from those 
 formed by ice; and therefore not liable to be con- 
 founded with them. Neither can we suppose pre-ex- 
 isting fissures or local subsidences to have exercised 
 any primary determining influence, there being no 
 conceivable coincidence between the trends of fissures 
 and subsidences and the specific trends of ice-created 
 valleys and basins in general, nor between the posi- 
 tion and direction of extension of these hypothetical 
 fissures, subsidences, and foldings and the positions 
 of ice-fountains. 
 
 The Pribilof Islands, St. Paul, St. George, Walrus, 
 and Otter, appear in general views from the sea as 
 mere storm-beaten remnants of a once continuous 
 land, wasted into bluffs around their shores by the 
 action of the waves, all their upper surfaces being 
 
 [246) 
 
VOLCANIC CONES ON SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND 
 
 BED OF SMALL RESIDUAL GLACIER ON SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND 
 
 HERALD ISLAND 
 
Appendix 
 
 planed down by a heavy oversweeping ice-sheet, 
 slightly roughened here and there with low ridges and 
 hillocks that alternate with shallow valleys. None 
 of their features, as far as I could discover without 
 opportunity for close observation, showed any trace 
 of local glaciation or of volcanic action subsequent to 
 the period of universal glaciation. 
 
 St. Lawrence Island, the largest in Bering Sea, is 
 situated at a distance of about one hundred and 
 twenty miles off the mouths of the Yukon, and forty 
 miles from the nearest point on the coast of Siberia. 
 It is about a hundred miles long from east to west, 
 fifteen miles in average width, and is chiefly com- 
 posed of various kinds of granite, slate, and lava. 
 
 The highest portion along the middle is diversified 
 with groups of volcanic cones, some of which are 
 of considerable size and clearly post-glacial in age, 
 presenting well-defined craters and regular slopes 
 down to the base, though I saw no evidence of their 
 having poured forth extensive streams of molten lava 
 over the adjacent rocks since the close of the glacial 
 period ; for, with the exception of the ground occupied 
 by the cones, all the surface is marked with glacial 
 inscriptions of the most telling kind — moraines, 
 erratic boulders, roches moutonnees, in great abund- 
 ance and variety as to size, and alternating ridges and 
 valleys with wide U-shaped cross-sections, and with 
 nearly parallel trends across the island in a general 
 north to south direction, some of them extending 
 from shore to shore, and all showing subordination 
 to the grinding, furrowing action of a broad over- 
 sweeping ice-sheet. 
 
 Some of the widest gap-like valleys have been 
 eroded nearly to the level of the sea, indicating that if 
 the ice action had gone on much longer the present 
 single island would have been eroded into a group of 
 
 I H7 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 small ones; or the entire mass of the island would 
 have been degraded beneath the sea level, obliterating 
 it from the landscape to be in part restored perhaps 
 by. the antagonistic elevating volcanic action. The 
 action of local glaciers has been comparatively light 
 hereabouts, not enough greatly to obscure or in- 
 terrupt the overmastering effects of the ice-sheet, 
 though they have given marked character to the 
 sculpture of some of the higher portions of the island. 
 
 The two Diomede Islands and Fairway Rock are 
 mostly residual masses of granite brought into relief 
 and separated from one another and from the gen- 
 eral mass of the continent, by the action of ice in 
 removing the missing material, while the islands 
 remain because of superior resistance offered to the 
 universal degrading force. That they are remnants 
 of a once continuous land now separated by Bering 
 Strait is indicated by the relative condition of the 
 sides of the islands and of the contiguous shoulders of 
 the continents, East Cape and Cape Prince of Wales, 
 while the general configuration of the islands shows 
 that they have been subjected to a glaciation of the 
 most comprehensive kind, leaving them as rockes 
 moutonnees on a grand scale. 
 
 I discovered traces of local glaciation on the largest 
 of the three, but the effects produced by this cause are 
 comparatively slight, while the action of excessive 
 moisture in the form of almost constant fogs and 
 rains throughout the summer months, combined with 
 frost and thaw, has effected a considerable amount of 
 denudation, manifested by groups of crumbling pin- 
 nacles occurring here and there on the summits. 
 
 Sledge, King, and Herald Islands are evidently of 
 similar origin, displaying the same glacial traces, and 
 varying chiefly in the amount of post-glacial waste 
 they have suffered, and in the consequent degree of 
 
 [ 248 ] 
 
|||i!iiiiii'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii[miiiii| 
 
 IlliiiUM 
 
Appendix 
 
 clearness of the testimony they present. During our 
 visit to Herald Island an exceptionally favorable 
 opportunity offered as to the time of year, state of the 
 weather, etc., for observation. 
 
 Kellett, who first discovered this island and landed 
 on it under adverse circumstances, describes it as an 
 inaccessible rock. The sides are indeed precipitous in 
 the main, but mountaineers would find many slopes 
 and gullies by which the summit could be easily 
 attained. We landed on the southwest side, opposite 
 the mouth of a small valley, the bed of a vanished 
 glacier. A short gully which conducts from the water's 
 edge to the mouth of the valley proper is very steep, 
 and at the time of our visit was blocked with com- 
 pacted snow, in which steps had to be cut, but beyond 
 this no difiiculty was encountered, the ice having 
 graded a fine broad way to the summit. Thence fol- 
 lowing the highest ground nearly to the northwestern 
 extremity, we obtained views of most of the surface. 
 The highest point is about twelve hundred feet above 
 the sea, about a mile and a half from the northwest 
 end of the island, and four and a half miles from the 
 southeast. This makes the island about six miles 
 long, the average width being about two miles. 
 
 Near the middle of the island there is a low gap, 
 where the width is only about half a mile, and the 
 height of the summit of this portion of the water-shed 
 between the two sides is only about two hundred and 
 fifty feet. The entire island as far as seen is a mass of 
 granite, with the exception of a patch of metamorphic 
 slates near the middle, which no doubt owes its exist- 
 ence, with so considerable a height, to the superior 
 resistance it offered to the degrading action of ice, 
 traces of which are presented in the general moutonnee 
 form of the island, and in the smooth parallel ridges 
 and valleys trending north and south. These evi- 
 
 [ 249 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 dently have not been determined as to size, form, 
 position, or the direction of their trends by subsid- 
 ences, upheavals, foldings, or any structural pecu- 
 liarity of the rocks in which they have been eroded, 
 but simply by the mechanical force of an oversweep- 
 ing ice-sheet. 
 
 The effects of local glaciers are seen in short valleys 
 of considerable depth as compared with the area from 
 which their fountain snows were derived. We noticed 
 four of these valleys that had been occupied by resid- 
 ual glaciers; and on the hardest and most enduring 
 of the upswelling rock bosses several patches of the 
 ancient scored and polished surface were discovered, 
 still in a good state of preservation. That these local 
 glaciers have but recently vanished is indicated by the 
 raw appearance of the surface of their beds, while 
 one small glacier remnant occupying a sheltered hol- 
 low and possessing a well-characterized terminal mo- 
 raine seems to be still feebly active in the last stage of 
 decadence. This small granite island, standing soli- 
 tary in the Polar Ocean, we regard as one of the most 
 interesting and significant of the monuments of geo- 
 graphical change effected by general glaciation. 
 
 Our stay on Wrangell Land was too short to admit 
 of more than a hasty examination of a few square 
 miles of surface near the eastern extremity. The 
 rock here is a close-grained clay slate, cleaving freely 
 into thin flakes, with occasional compact meta- 
 morphic masses rising above the general surface or 
 forming cliffs along the shore. The soil about the 
 banks of a river of considerable size, that enters the 
 ocean here, has evidently been derived in the main 
 from the underlying slates, indicating a rapid weather- 
 ing of the surface. A few small deposits of moraine 
 material were discovered containing traveled bould- 
 ers of quartz and granite, no doubt from the moun- 
 
 [ 250 ] 
 
OVERSWEPT GLACIAL VALLEYS AND RIDGES ON SAINT 
 LAWRENCE ISLAND 
 
 BED OF LOCAL GLACIER, SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND 
 
Appendix 
 
 tains in which the river takes its rise, while the valley 
 now occupied by the river manifests its glacial origin 
 in its form and trends, the small portion in the middle 
 eroded by the river itself being clearly distinguished 
 by its abrupt angular sides, which contrast sharply 
 with the glacial outlines. 
 
 In general views obtained in sailing along its 
 southern coast the phenomena presented seemed 
 essentially the same as have been described elsewhere. 
 — hills, valleys, and sculptured peaks, testifying in 
 all their main trends and contours to the action of ice. 
 A range of mountains of moderate height extends 
 from one extremity of the island to the other, a dis- 
 tance of about sixty-five miles, the highest point as 
 measured by Lieutenant Berry being twenty-five 
 hundred feet above the sea. 
 
 All the coast region of Siberia that came under our 
 observation, from the Gulf of Anadir to North Cape, 
 presents traces in great abundance and variety of uni- 
 versal as well as local glaciation. Between Plover and 
 St. Lawrence Bays, where the mountains attain their 
 greatest elevation and where local glaciation has been 
 heaviest, the coast is lacerated with deep fiords, on 
 the lofty granite walls of which the glacial records are 
 in many places well preserved, and offer evidence that 
 could hardly be overlooked by the most careless 
 observer. 
 
 Our first general views of this region were obtained 
 on June 7, when it was yet winter, and the landscape 
 was covered with snow down to the water's edge. 
 After several days of storm the clouds lifted, exposing 
 the heavily abraded fronts of outstanding cliffs ; then 
 the smooth overswept ridges and slopes at the base of 
 the mountains came in sight, and one angular peak 
 after another, until a continuous range forty to fifty 
 miles long could be seen from one standpoint. Many 
 
 [251 1 
 
Appendix 
 
 of the peaks are fluted with the narrow channels of 
 avalanches, and hollowed with nhe amphitheaters of 
 great beauty of form, while long withdrawing fiords 
 and valleys may be traced back into the recesses of 
 the highest groups, once the beds of glaciers that 
 flowed in imposing ranks to the sea. 
 
 Plover Bay, which I examined in detail, may be 
 taken as a good representative of the fiords of this 
 portion of the coast. The walls rise to an average 
 height of about two thousand feet, and present a 
 severely desolate and bedraggled appearance, owing 
 to the crumbling condition of the rocks, which in most 
 places are being rapidly disintegrated, loading the 
 slopes with loose, shifting detritus whenever the an- 
 gle is low enough to allow it to come to rest. When 
 examined closely, however, this loose material is 
 found to be of no great depth. The solid rock comes 
 to the surface in many places, and 'on the most en- 
 during portions rounded glaciated surfaces are still 
 found grooved, scratched, and polished in small 
 patches from the sea-level up to a height of a thousand 
 feet or more. 
 
 Large taluses with their bases under the water 
 occur on both sides of the fiord in front of the side 
 canons that partially separate the main mountain 
 masses that form the walls. These taluses are com- 
 posed in great part of moraine material, brought down 
 by avalanches of snow from the terminal moraines of 
 small vanished glaciers that lay at a height of from 
 one to five thousand feet, in recesses where the snow 
 accumulated from the surrounding slopes, and where 
 sheltered from the direct action of the sun the glaciers 
 lingered longest. These recent moraines are formed 
 of several concentric masses shoved together, showing 
 that the glaciers to which they belonged melted and 
 receded gradually with slight fluctuations of level 
 
 [ 252 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 and rate of decadence, in accordance with conditions 
 of snow-fall, temperature, etc., like those of lower 
 latitudes. 
 
 When the main central glacier that filled this fiord 
 was in its prime as a distinct glacier it measured 
 about thirty miles in length and from five to six miles 
 in width, and was from two to three thousand feet in 
 depth. It then had at least five main tributaries, 
 which, as the trunk melted, became independent 
 glaciers ; and, again, as the trunks of these main trib- 
 utaries melted, their smaller tributaries, numbering 
 about seventy-five, and from less than a mile to 
 several miles in length, became separate glaciers 
 and lingered probably for centuries in the high, cool 
 fountains. These also, as far as we have seen, have 
 vanished, though possibly some wasting remnant 
 may still exist in the highest and best-protected 
 recesses about the head of the fiord. 
 
 Along the coast, a distance of fifteen or twenty 
 miles to the eastward and southward of the mouth of 
 Metchigme Bay, interesting deposits occur of roughly 
 stratified glacial detritus in the form of sand, gravel 
 and boulders. They rise from the shore in raw, wave- 
 washed bluffs about forty feet high and extend to the 
 base of the mountains as a gently inclined plain, with 
 a width in some places of two or three miles. Similar 
 morainal deposits were also observed on the American 
 coast at Golofnin Bay, Kotzebue Sound, Cape Prince 
 of Wales, and elsewhere. At Cape Prince of Wales 
 the formation rises in successive well-defined terraces. 
 
 The peninsula, the extremity of which forms East 
 Cape, trends nearly in an easterly direction from the 
 mainland, and consequently occupies a telling posi- 
 tion with reference to ice moving from the northward. 
 I was therefore eager to examine it to see what tes- 
 timony it might have to offer. We landed during 
 
 I 253 1 
 
Appendix 
 
 favorable weather on the south side at a small 
 Eskimo village built on a rough moraine, and pushed 
 on direct to the summit of the watershed, from which 
 good general views of nearly all the surface of the 
 peninsula were obtained. 
 
 The dividing ridge along the high eastern portion 
 is traversed by a telling series of parallel grooves and 
 small valleys trending north and south approximately, 
 the curves on the north commencing nearly at the 
 water's edge, while the south side is more or less 
 precipitous. The culminating point of the elevated 
 eastern portion of the peninsula is about twenty-five 
 hundred feet high, and has been cut from the main- 
 land and added as another island to the Diomede 
 group, the wide gap of low ground connecting it 
 with the adjacent mountainous portion of the main- 
 land being only a few feet above tide-water. Out in 
 the midst of this low, flat region smooth upswelling 
 roches moutonnees were discovered here and there like 
 groups of small islands, with trends and contours em- 
 phatically glacial, all telling the action of a universal 
 abrading ice-sheet moving southward. 
 
 Hence along the coast to Cape North, which Is the 
 limit of our observations in this direction, the same 
 class of ice phenomena was discovered — moraine 
 material, washed and re-formed, moutonnee masses of 
 the harder rocks standing like islands in the low, 
 mossy tundra, and traveled boulders and pebbles 
 lying stranded on the summits of rocky headlands. 
 
 These enduring monuments are particularly abun- 
 dant and significant in the neighborhood pi Cape 
 Wankarem, where the granite is more compact and 
 resisting than is commonly found in the Arctic regions 
 we have visited, and consequently has longer retained 
 the more evanescent of the glacial markings. Cape 
 Wankarem is a narrow, flat-topped, residual mass of 
 
 [ 254 I 
 
^ O 
 
Appendix 
 
 this enduring granite, on the summit of which two 
 patches of the original polished surface were dis- 
 covered that still retains the fine striae and many 
 erratic boulders of slate, quartz, and various kinds of 
 lava, which, from the configuration and geographical 
 position of the cape with reference to the surrounding 
 region, could not have been brought to their present 
 resting-places by any local glacier. 
 
 Cape Serdzekamen is another of these residual 
 island masses, brought into relief by general glacial 
 denudation, manifesting its origin in every feature, 
 and corroborating the testimony given at Cape 
 Wankarem and elsewhere in the most emphatic 
 manner. 
 
 All the sections of the tundra seen either on the 
 Siberian or Alaskan coast lead towards the conclusion 
 that the ground is glacial, re-formed under the action 
 of running water derived in broad, shallow currents 
 from the melting, receding edge of the ice-sheet, and 
 also in some measure from ice left on the high lands 
 after the main ice-sheet had been withdrawn; for these 
 low, flat deposits difl'er in no particular of form or 
 composition that we have been able to detect from 
 those still in process of formation in front of the large 
 receding glaciers of southeastern Alaska. On many of 
 the so-called "mud-flats" extending from the snouts 
 of glaciers that have receded a few miles from the 
 shore, mosses and lichens and other kinds of tundra 
 vegetation are being gradually acquired, and when 
 thus clothed these patches of tundra are not to be 
 distinguished from the extensive deposits about the 
 shores of the Arctic regions. 
 
 The phenomena observed on the American coast 
 from St. Michael to Point Barrow difl'er in no essential 
 particular from those which have been described on 
 the opposite shores of Siberia. Moraines more or less 
 
 [ 255 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 wasted, and re-formations of moraine material, smooth 
 overswept ridges with glacial trends and the corre- 
 sponding valleys, roches moutonnees, and the fountain 
 amphitheaters of local glaciers were observed almost 
 everywhere on the mountainous portions of the coast, 
 though in general more deeply weathered, owing 
 mainly to the occurrence of less resisting rocks, lime- 
 stones, sandstones, porous lavas, etc. 
 
 A number of well-characterized moraines so sit- 
 uated with reference to topographical conditions as to 
 have escaped destructive washing were noticed near 
 Cape Lisburne, and moraine deposits of great extent 
 at Kotzebue Sound and Golofnin Bay, of which many 
 fine sections were exposed. At the latter locality, 
 judging from the comparatively fresh appearance of 
 the rock surfaces and deposits around the head of the 
 bay, and the height and extent of the ice-fountains, 
 the glacier that discharged here was probably the last 
 to vanish from the American shore of Bering Sea. 
 
 As to the thickness attained by the ice-sheet over 
 the regions that we have been examining during the 
 period of greatest glacial development, we have seen 
 that it passed heavily over the islands of Bering Sea 
 and the adjacent mountains on either side, especially 
 at East Cape and Cape Prince of Wales, at a height 
 of twenty-five hundred feet or more above the bottom 
 of Bering Sea and Strait, the average depth of water 
 here being about a hundred and fifty feet. And 
 though the lowest portion of the land beneath the ice 
 may have been degraded to a considerable depth sub- 
 sequent to the time when these highest portions were 
 left bare, on the other hand the level of the ice must 
 have been considerably higher than the summits over 
 which it passed, inasmuch as they give evidence of 
 having been heavily abraded. It appears, there- 
 fore, that the thickness of the general northern ice- 
 
 [ 256 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 sheet throughout a considerable portion of its history- 
 was not less than twenty-five hundred feet, and 
 probably more, over the northern portion of the 
 region now covered by Bering Sea and part of the 
 Arctic Ocean. 
 
 In view of this colossal ice-flood grinding on 
 throughout the hundreds of thousands of years of the 
 glacial period, the excavation of the shallow basins 
 of Bering Sea and Strait and the Arctic Ocean must 
 be taken as only a small part of the erosion eff'ected ; 
 for so shallow are these waters, were the tallest 
 sequoias planted on the bottom where soundings 
 have been made, their tops would rise in most places 
 a hundred feet or more above the surface. The Plover 
 Bay glacier, as we have shown, eroded the granite in 
 the formation of its channel to a depth of not less 
 than two thousand feet, and the amount of erosion 
 efl"ected by the ice-sheet was probably much greater. 
 
 It appears, therefore, in summing up the results of 
 our observations along the North Pacific and Arctic 
 coasts : — 
 
 (i) That the southernmost glacier lies on the 
 Sierra near latitude 36^; the northernmost, 
 with perhaps a few exceptions, near 62°. 
 
 (2) That the region of greatest glaciation lies be- 
 tween 56^ and 61^, where the mountains are 
 highest and the snowfall greatest. 
 
 (3) That an ice-sheet flowed from the Arctic re- 
 gions, from beyond the end of the continent, 
 pursuing a general southerly direction, and dis- 
 charged into the Pacific Ocean south of the 
 Aleutian Islands. 
 
 (4) That of this continuous ice-sheet, extending 
 from the Arctic Ocean beyond the northern 
 extremity of the continent, the glaciers, great 
 and small, now existing are the remnants. 
 
 [ 257 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 (5) That the basins of Bering Sea and Strait and of 
 
 the adjacent portion of the Arctic Ocean are 
 
 simply those portions of the bed of the ice-sheet 
 
 which were eroded to a moderate depth beneath 
 
 the level of the sea, and over which the ocean 
 
 waters were gradually extended as the ice-sheet 
 
 was withdrawn, thus separating the continents 
 
 of Asia and America, at the close of the glacial 
 
 period. 
 
 We are now better prepared to read the changes 
 
 that have taken place on the Sierra, and fortunately, 
 
 as we have already seen, nowhere is the glacial record 
 
 clearer. 
 
^* 
 
 II 
 
 BOTANICAL NOTES 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 THE plants named in the following notes were 
 collected at many localities on the coasts of 
 Alaska and Siberia, and on St. Lawrence, Wrangell, 
 and Herald Islands, between about latitude 54° and 
 71^ N., longitude 161° and 178^ W., in the course of 
 short excursions, some of them less than an hour in 
 length. Inasmuch as the flora of the arctic and sub- 
 arctic regions is nearly the same everywhere, the dis- 
 covery of many species new to science was not to be 
 expected. The collection, however, will no doubt be 
 valuable for comparison with the plants of other 
 regions. In general the physiognomy of the vegeta- 
 tion of the polar regions resembles that of the alpine 
 valleys of the temperate zones; so much so that the 
 botanist on the coast of Arctic Siberia or America 
 might readily fancy himself on the Sierra Nevada at 
 a height of ten to twelve thousand feet above the sea. 
 There is no line of perpetual snow on any portion of 
 the Arctic regions known to explorers. The snow dis- 
 appears every summer, not only from the low, sandy 
 shores and boggy tundras, but also from the tops of 
 the mountains, and all the upper slopes and valleys 
 with the exception of small patches of drifts and 
 avalanche-heaps hardly noticeable in general views. 
 But though nowhere excessively deep or permanent, 
 the snow-mantle is universal during winter, and the 
 plants are solidly frozen and buried for nearly three 
 fourths of the year. In this condition they enjoy a 
 sleep and rest about as profound as death, from 
 
 I 259 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 which they awake in the months of June and July in 
 vigorous health, and speedily reach a far higher de- 
 velopment of leaf and flower and fruit than is generally 
 supposed. On the drier banks and hills about Kotze- 
 bue Sound, Cape Thompson, and Cape Lisburne, 
 many species show but little climatic repression, and 
 during the long summer days grow tall enough to 
 wave in the wind, and unfold flowers in as rich pro- 
 fusion and as highly colored as may be found in 
 regions lying a thousand miles farther south. 
 
 UNALASKA 
 
 To the botanist approaching any portion of the 
 Aleutian chain of islands from the southward during 
 the winter or spring months, the view is severely 
 desolate and forbidding. The snow comes down to 
 the water's edge in solid white, interrupted only by 
 dark, outstanding bluffs with faces too steep for snow 
 to lie on, and by the backs of rounded rocks and long, 
 rugged reefs beaten and overswept by heavy breakers 
 rolling in from the Pacific, while throughout nearly 
 every month of the year the higher mountains are 
 wrapped in gloomy, dripping storm-clouds. 
 
 Nevertheless, vegetation here is remarkably close 
 and luxuriant, and crowded with showy bloom, cover- 
 ing almost every foot of the ground up to a height 
 of about a thousand feet above the sea — the harsh 
 trachytic rocks, and even the cindery bases of the 
 craters, as well as the moraines and rough soil-beds 
 outspread on the low portions of the short, narrow 
 valleys. 
 
 On the twentieth of May we found the showy 
 Geum glaciale already in flower, also an arctostaphylos 
 and draba, on a slope facing the south, near the 
 harbor of Unalaska. The willows, too, were then be- 
 ginning to put forth their catkins, while a multitude 
 
 [ 260 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 of green points were springing up in sheltered spots 
 wherever the snow had vanished. At a height of four 
 or five hundred feet, however, winter was still un- 
 broken, with scarce a memory of the rich bloom of 
 summer. 
 
 During a few short excursions along the shores of 
 Unalaska Harbor, and on two of the adjacent moun- 
 tains, towards the end of May and the beginning of 
 October, we saw about fifty species of flowering 
 plants — empetrum, vaccinium, bryanthus, pyrola, 
 arctostaphylos, ledum, cassiope, lupinus, geranium, 
 epilobium, silene, draba, and saxifraga, being the 
 most telling and characteristic of the genera repre- 
 sented. Empetrum nigrum^ a bryanthus, and three 
 species of vaccinium make a grand display when in 
 flower, and show their massed colors at a considerable 
 distance. 
 
 Almost the entire surface of the valleys and hills 
 and lower slopes of the mountains is covered with a 
 dense, spoQgy plush of lichens and mosses similar to 
 that which covers the tundras of the Arctic regions, 
 making a rich green mantle on which the showy, 
 flowering plants are strikingly relieved, though these 
 grow far more luxuriantly on the banks of the streams 
 where the drainage is less interrupted. Here also the 
 ferns, of which I saw three species, are taller and more 
 abundant, some of them arching their broad, delicate 
 fronds over one's shoulders, while in similar situations 
 the tallest of the five grasses that were seen reaches 
 a height of nearly six feet, and forms a growth close 
 enough for the farmer's scythe. 
 
 Not a single tree has been seen on any of the islands 
 of the chain west of Kodiak, excepting a few spruces 
 brought from Sitka and planted at Unalaska by the 
 Russians about fifty years ago. They are still alive in 
 a dwarfed condition, having made scarce any appreci- 
 
 [ 261 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 able growth since they were planted. These facts are 
 the more remarkable, since in southeastern Alaska, 
 lying both to the north and south of here, and on the 
 many islands of the Alexander Archipelago, as well as 
 on the mainland, forests of beautiful conifers flourish 
 exuberantly and attain noble dimensions, while the 
 climatic conditions generally do not appear to differ 
 greatly from those that obtain on these treeless 
 islands. 
 
 Wherever cattle have been introduced they have 
 prospered and grown fat on the abundance of rich 
 nutritious pasturage to be found almost everywhere 
 in the deep, withdrawing valleys and on the green 
 slopes of the hills and mountains, but the wetness of 
 the summer months will always prevent the making 
 of hay in any considerable quantities. 
 
 The agricultural possibilities of these islands seem 
 also to be very limited. The hardier of the cereals — 
 rye, barley, and oats — make a good, vigorous growth, 
 and head out, but seldom or never mature, on account 
 of insufficient sunshine and overabundance of moist- 
 ure in the form of long-continued, drizzling fogs and 
 rains. Green crops, however, as potatoes, turnips, 
 cabbages, beets, and most other common garden 
 vegetables, thrive wherever the ground^is thoroughly 
 drained and has a southerly exposure. 
 
 ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND 
 St. Lawrence Island, as far as our observations ex- 
 tended, is mostly a dreary mass of granite and lava of 
 various forms and colors, roughened with volcanic 
 cones, covered with snow, and rigidly bound in 
 ocean ice for half the year. Inasmuch as it lies broad- 
 sidewise to the direction pursued by the great ice- 
 sheet that recently filled Bering Sea, and its rocks 
 offered unequal resistance to the denuding action of 
 
 [ 262 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 the ice, the island is traversed by numerous ridges and 
 low, gap-like valleys all trending in the same general 
 direction. Some of the lowest of these transverse 
 valleys have been degraded nearly to the level of the 
 sea, showing that if the glaciation to which the island 
 has been subjected had been slightly greater, we 
 should have found several islands here instead of one. 
 At the time of our first visit, May 28, winter still 
 had full possession, but eleven days later we found 
 the dwarf willows, drabas, erigerons, and saxifrages 
 pushing up their buds and leaves, on spots bare of 
 snow, with wonderful rapidity. This was the begin- 
 ning of spring at the northwest end of the island. On 
 July 4 the flora seemed to have reached its highest 
 development. The bottoms of the glacial valleys were 
 in many places covered with tall grasses and carices 
 evenly planted and forming meadows of considerable 
 size, while the drier portions and the sloping grounds 
 about them were enlivened with gay, highly colored 
 flowers from an inch to nearly two feet in height, such 
 as Aconitum Napellus^ L., var. delphinifolium^ Ser., 
 Polemonium cxruleum^ L., Papaver nudicaule, L., 
 Draba alpina, L., and Silene acaulis, L., in large, 
 closely flowered tufts, as well as andromeda, ledum, 
 linnsea, cassiope, and several species of vaccinium 
 and saxifraga. 
 
 ST. MICHAEL 
 
 The region about St. Michael is a magnificent 
 tundra, crowded with Arctic lichens and mosses, 
 which here develop under most favorable conditions. 
 In the spongy plush formed by the lower plants, in 
 which one sinks almost knee-deep at every step, 
 there is a sparse growth of grasses, carices, and rushes, 
 tall enough to wave in the wind, while empetrum, the 
 dwarf birch, and the various heathworts flourish here 
 
 1 263 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 in all their beauty of bright leaves and flowers. The 
 moss mantle for the most part rests on a stratum of 
 ice that never melts to any great extent, and the ice on 
 a bed rock of black vesicular lava. Ridges of the lava 
 rise here and there above the general level in rough 
 masses, affording ground for plants that like a drier 
 soil. Numerous hollows and watercourses also occur 
 on the general tundra, whose well-drained banks are 
 decked with gay flowers in lavish abundance, and 
 meadow patches of grasses shoulder-high, suggestive 
 of regions much farther south. 
 
 The following plants and a few doubtful species not 
 yet determined were collected here : — 
 
 As-pidium fragransy Sw. 
 Woodsia ilvensis, (L.), R. Br. 
 Eriophorum capitatuvty Hos. 
 Carex vulgaris y (Fries), Willd., var. 
 
 alpina. 
 Lloydia serotina, (Sweet), Reichenb. 
 Tofieldia coccinea, Richards. 
 Betula nana, L. 
 Alnus viridis, DC. 
 Polygonum alpinum. All. 
 Arenaria lateriflora, L. 
 Stellaria longipes, Goldie. 
 Silene acaulis, L. 
 Anemone narcissiflora, L. 
 
 " parviflora, Michx. 
 Caltha palustris, L., var. asarifolia, 
 
 Rothr. 
 Corydalis pauciflora. 
 Draha alpina, L. 
 " incana, L. 
 Eutrema arenicola, Richards. 
 Saxifraga nivalis, L. 
 
 " hieracifolia, Waldst. ^ 
 
 Kit. 
 Rubus Chamamorus, L. 
 
 " arcticus, L. 
 PoUntilla nivea, L. 
 Dryas octopetala, L. 
 Oxytropis podocarpa. Gray. 
 
 Astragalus alpinus, L. 
 
 " frigidus. Gray, var, lit^ 
 
 toralis. 
 Lathyrus maritimus, Bigel. 
 Epilobium latifolium, L. 
 Cassiope tetragone, (D. Don.), Desv. 
 Andromeda polifolia, L. 
 Loiseleuria procumbens, Desv. 
 Vaccinium Vitis-Idcea, L. 
 Arctostaphylos alpina, Sprang, 
 Ledum palustre, L. 
 Diapensia lapponica, L. 
 Arrneria vulgaris, Willd. 
 Primula borealis, Duby. 
 Polemonium cceruleum, L. 
 Mertensia paniculata, Desv. 
 Pedicularis sudetica, Willd. 
 
 " iuphrasioides, Stev. 
 " Langsdorfli, Fisch., var. 
 
 lanata. Gray. 
 Pinguicula villosa, L. 
 Linncea borealis, Gronov. 
 Valeriana capitata, (Pall.), Willd. 
 Saussurea alpina, DC. 
 Nardosmia frigida. Hook. 
 Senecio frigidus, Less. 
 
 " palustris. Hook. 
 Arnica angustifolia, Vahl. 
 Artemisia arctica, Bess. 
 Matricaria inodora, L, 
 
 [264] 
 
Appendix 
 
 GOLOFNIN BAY 
 
 The tundra flora on the west side of Golofnin Bay 
 is remarkably close and luxuriant, covering almost 
 every foot of the ground, the hills as well as the 
 valleys, while the sandy beach and a bank of coarsely 
 stratified moraine material a few yards back from the 
 beach were blooming like a garden with Lathyrus 
 maritimuSy Iris sibirica, Polemonium cceruleum, etc., 
 diversified with clumps and patches of Elymus arena-- 
 rius, Alnus viridis, and Abies alba. 
 
 This is one of the few points on the east side of 
 Bering Sea where trees closely approach the shore. 
 The white spruce occurs here in small groves or 
 thickets of well-developed, erect trees fifteen or 
 twenty feet high, near the level of the sea, at a dis- 
 tance of about six or eight miles from the mouth 
 of the bay, and gradually becomes irregular and 
 dwarfed as it approaches the shore. Here a number of 
 dead andfdying specimens were observed, indicating 
 that conditions of soil, climate, and relations to other 
 plants were becoming more unfavorable, and causing 
 the tree-line to recede from the coast. 
 
 The following collection was made here July lo: — 
 
 Aspidium spinulosum, Sw. Ruhus arcticusy L. 
 
 Elymus arenarius, L. Epilobium latifolium^ L. 
 
 Poa trivialisy L. Vaccinium Vitis-Idaa^ L. 
 
 Carex vesicaria, L., var. alpigena, Trientalis europcsa, L., var. arctica^ 
 
 Fries. Ledeb. 
 
 Lloydia serotinaj (Sweet), Reichenb. Gentiana glauca, Pall. 
 
 Iris sihiricay L. Polemonium cceruleum, L. 
 
 Arenaria peploides^ L. Pinguicula villosa, L. 
 
 Eutrema arenicola, Hook. Chrysanthemum arcticum, L. 
 
 Spiraa betulifoliat Pall. Artemisia Tilesiiy Ledeb. 
 
 KOTZEBUE SOUND 
 The flora of the region about the head of Kotzebue 
 Sound is hardly less luxuriant and rich in species 
 
 [ 265 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 than that of other points, visited by the Corwin, 
 lying several degrees farther south. Fine nutritious 
 grasses suitable for the fattening of cattle, and from 
 two to six feet high, are not of rare occurrence on 
 meadows of considerable extent, and along stream- 
 banks wherever the stagnant waters of the tundra 
 have been drained off, while in similar localities the 
 most showy of the arctic plants bloom in all their 
 freshness and beauty, manifesting no sign of frost, or 
 unfavorable conditions of any kind whatever. 
 
 A striking result of the airing and draining of the 
 boggy tundra soil is shown on the ice-bluffs around 
 Eschscholtz Bay, where it has been undermined by 
 the melting of the ice on which it rests. In falling 
 down the face of the ice-wall it is well shaken and 
 rolled before it again comes to rest on terraced or 
 gently sloping portions of the wall. The original 
 vegetation of the tundra is thus destroyed, and tall 
 grasses spring up on the fresh, mellow ground as it 
 accumulates from time to time, growing lush and 
 rank, though in many places that we noted these new 
 soil-beds are not more than a foot in depth, and lie 
 on the solid ice. 
 
 At the time of our last visit to this interesting re- 
 gion, about the middle of September, the weather was 
 still fine, suggesting the Indian summer of the Western 
 States. The tundra glowed in the mellow sunshine 
 with the colors of the ripe foliage of vaccinium, em- 
 petrum, arctostaphylos, and dwarf birch; red, purple, 
 and yellow, in pure bright tones, while the berries, 
 hardly less beautiful, were scattered everywhere as if 
 they had been sown broadcast with a lavish hand, the 
 whole blending harmoniously with the neutral tints of 
 the furred bed of lichens and mosses on which the 
 bright leaves and berries were painted. 
 
 On several points about the sound the white spruce 
 
 [ 266 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 occurs in small, compact groves within a few miles of 
 the shore; and pyrola, which belongs to wooded 
 regions, is abundant where no trees are now in sight, 
 tending to show that areas of considerable extent, 
 now treeless, were once forested. 
 The plants collected are : — 
 
 Luzula hyperborea^ R. Br. Arctostaphylos alpina, Sprang. 
 
 Allium schcenoprasunif L. Cassiope tetragone, (D. Don), Desv. 
 
 Salix Polaris J Wahlenb. Ledum palustre, L. 
 
 Polygonum viviparum^ L. Faccinium Fitis-Idaa, L. 
 
 Stellaria longipesy Goldie. Faccinium uliginosum^ L., var. muC' 
 Cerastium alpinum, L., var. Behrin- ronata. Herder. 
 
 gianum, Kegel. Armeria vulgaris^ Willd., var. arctica, 
 
 Papaver nudicauU, L. Cham. i 
 
 Saxifraga tricuspidata^ Retz. Trientalis europaaj'X'.y var. arctica, 
 
 Potentilla anserina, L., var. Ledeb. 
 
 ** biflora, Willd. Mertensia maritimay L. (S. F. Gray), 
 
 ** fruticosa, L. Desv. 
 
 Lupinus arcticuSy Watson. Castilleia pallida^ Kunth. 
 
 Hedysarum boreale, Nutt. Pedicularis sudetica, Willd. 
 
 Empetrum nigrum^ L. ^ _ " verticillata, L. 
 Pyrola roiundifolia, L., var. pumila, Galium boreale, L. 
 
 Hook. Senecio palustris. Hook. 
 
 CAPE THOMPSON 
 
 The Cape Thompson flora is richer In species and 
 individuals than that of any other point on the 
 Arctic shores we have seen, owing no doubt mainly to 
 the better drainage of the ground through the fissured 
 frost-cracked limestone, which herabouts is the 
 principal rock. . ' • i ^;^ i 
 
 Where;the hill-slopes are steepest the rock frequently 
 occurs in loose, angular masses, and is entirely bare of 
 soil. But between these barren slopes there are valleys 
 where the showiest of the arctic plants bloom in rich 
 profusion and variety, forming brilliant masses of 
 color — purple, yellow, and blue — where certain 
 species form beds of considerable size, almost to the 
 exclusion of others. 
 
 [267] 
 
Appendix 
 
 The following list was obtained here July 19: — 
 
 CystopUris fragilisy (L.), Bernh. 
 Trisetum subspicatum, Beauv., var. 
 
 molUy Gray. 
 Glyceria — 
 
 Festuca sativa (?) [F. ovina^ L.?] 
 Carex rarifiora, Wahlenb. 
 
 " vulgaris^ Fries, var. alpina, 
 
 (C. rigiddy Good.) 
 Salix polaris, Wahlenb.,^ and two 
 
 other species undetermined. 
 Polygonum Bistorta, L. 
 Rumex crispus^ L. 
 Cerastium alpinumy L., var. Behr- 
 
 ingtanum, Regel. 
 Silene acaulisy L. 
 Arenaria vernaj L., var. rubella. 
 
 Hook. f. 
 Arenaria arctica, Stev. ^ 
 Stellaria longipes, Goldie. 
 Anemone narcissiflora^ L. 
 " multifiday Poir. 
 " parvifioray Michx. 
 ** parvifioray Michx., vari- 
 ety. 
 Ranunculus afiinisy R. Br, 
 Caltha asarifolidy DC. 
 Papaver nudicauUy L. 
 Draba stellata, J acq., vslt. nivalis, 
 
 Regel. 
 Draba incanay L, 
 Cardamine pratensisy L. 
 Cheiranthus pygmauSy AdamSw 
 Pedicularis capitata, Adams 
 Geum glaciaUy Fisch. 
 Nardosmia corymbosa, Hook. 
 
 Erigeron Muirii, Gray, n. sp. 
 Parry a nudicaulis, (Boiss.), Regel, 
 
 var. aspera, Regel. 
 Boykinia Richardsoni, Gray. 
 Saxifraga tricuspidata, Retz. 
 cernua, L. 
 
 flagellarisy Willd. , 
 
 davuricay Willd. , 
 punctata, L. 
 nivalisy L. 
 Dryas octopetalay L. 
 Potentilla bifloray Willd. 
 
 " niveay L. 
 Hedysarum boreale, Nutt. 
 Oxytropis podocarpa. Gray. 
 Epilobium latifolium, L. 
 Cassiope tetragonCy (D. Don.), Desv. 
 Vaccinium uliginosum, L., var. 
 
 mucronata. Herder. 
 Vaccinium Fitis-Idaay L. 
 Dodecatheon Meadia, L.yy&T. frigid 
 
 dum, Gray. 
 Androsace chamcejasmey Willd. 
 Phlox sibirica, L. 
 Polemonium humile, Willd. 
 
 " ccsruleum, L. 
 Myosotis sylvaticoy var. alpestris, 
 
 Hoffm. 
 Eritrichium nanumy Schrad., var. 
 
 arctioides. 
 Taraxacum palusire, DC. 
 Senecio frigiduSy Less. 
 Artemisia glomerata, Ledeb. 
 
 " tomentosa [tomeniella, 
 
 Trautv.?] 
 
 CAPE PRINCE OF WALES 
 At Cape Prince of Wales we obtained 
 
 Tofieldia coccinea, Richards. 
 Loiseleuria procumbens, Desv. 
 Andromeda polifolia, h., forma arc- 
 tica. 
 Vaccinium Vitis-Idaa, L. 
 
 Armeria arctica, (Wallr.), Stev. 
 Androsace chamcejasme, Willd. 
 Taraxacum palustrey DC. 
 
 268 
 
Appendix 
 
 TWENTY MILES EAST OF CAPE LISBURNE 
 
 Lychnis apetala^ L. Primula borealisy Duby. 
 
 Anemone narcissiflora^ L., var. Androsace chamcejasmef Willd. 
 
 Draba hirta, L. Phlox sibirica, L. 
 
 Saxifraga Eschscholtzii, Sterab. Geum glaciale, Fisch. 
 
 " flagellarisy Willd. Erigeron uniflorus, L. 
 
 Chrysosplenium alternifolium, L. Artemisia glomerataf Ledeb. ' 
 Potentilla nivea, L. 
 
 *' biflora, Willd. 
 Oxytropis campestris, DC. 
 
 , CAPE WANKAREM, SIBERIA 
 Near Cape Wankarem, August 7 and 8, we col- 
 lected : — 
 
 Elymus arenarius^ L. Saxifraga cernua^ L. 
 
 Alopecurus alpinus, Sm. " stellaris^ L., var. comosa 
 
 Poa arctica, R. Br. " rivularisy L., var. hyper- 
 
 Calamagrostis deschampsioides^ Trin. borea, Hook. 
 
 Luzula hyperborea, R. Br. Polemonium coeruleum^ L. 
 
 " spicata, (DC), Desv. Pedicularis Langsdorfi, Fisch. 
 
 Lychnis apetala^ L. Nardosmia frigida, Hook. 
 
 Claytonia virginica^ L. Chrysanthemum arcticum^ L. 
 
 Ranunculus pygmceus, Wahlenb. Senecio frigidusy Less. 
 
 Chrysosplenium alternifolium^ L. Artemisia vulgaris, var. Tilesiif 
 
 Ledeb. 
 
 PLOVER BAY, SIBERIA 
 The mountains bounding the glacial fiord called 
 Plover Bay, though beautiful in their combinations 
 of curves and peaks as they are seen touching each 
 other delicately and rising in bold, picturesque groups, 
 are nevertheless severely desolate-looking from the 
 absence of trees and large shrubs, and indeed of vege- 
 tation of any kind dense enough to give color in telling 
 quantities, or to soften the harsh rockiness of the 
 steepest portions of the walls. Even the valleys open- 
 ing back from the water here and there on either side 
 are mostly bare as seen at a distance of a mile or two, 
 and show only a faint tinge of green, derived from 
 dwarf willows, heathworts, and sedges chiefly. 
 
 [269 1 
 
Appendix 
 
 The most interesting of the plants found here are 
 Rhododendron kamtschaticum. Pall., and the hand- 
 some blue-flowered Saxifraga oppositifolia, L., both of 
 which are abundant. 
 
 The following were collected July 12 and 
 August 26: — 
 
 Arenaria macrocarpa, Pursh. ^ Dryas octopetalay L. 
 AconitumNapgllus,L.,v3iT.delphini' Oxytropis podocarpa, Gray. 
 
 foliuniy Ser. Rhododendron kamtschaticum, Pall. 
 
 Anemone narcissiflora, L. Cassiope tetragona, (D. Don.), Desv. 
 
 Draba alpina, L. Diapensia lapponica^ L. 
 
 Parry a Ermanni, Ledeb. Gentiana glauca^VaXX. 
 
 Saxifraga oppositifolia, L. Geum glaciaU, Fisch. 
 
 " punctata, L. 
 
 " caspitostty L. 
 
 HERALD ISLAND 
 On Herald Island the common polar cryptogamous 
 vegetation is well represented and developed. So also 
 are the flowering plants, almost the entire surface of 
 the island, with the exception of the sheer, crumbling 
 bluffs along the shores, being quite tellingly dotted 
 and tufted with characteristic species. The follow- 
 ing list ^ was obtained : — 
 
 Gymnandra Stelleriy Cham. & Saxifraga silenifloray (Hook.), 
 
 Schlecht. ^ Sternb. 
 
 Alopecurus alpinus, Sm. Saxifraga bronchialis, L. 
 
 Luzula hyperborea, R. Br. " stellarisy L., var. comosa, 
 
 Salix polaris, Wahlenb. Polr. 
 Stellaria longipes, Goldie, var. Ed- Saxifraga rivularisy L., var. hyper- 
 
 wardsii, T. & G. borea Hook. 
 
 Papa'jer nudicauUy L. Saxifraga hieracifolia, Waldst. & 
 
 Draba alpina, L. Kit. 
 
 Saxifraga punctata, L. Potentilla frigida, Vill. ? 
 
 " serpyllifolia, Pursh. Senecio frigidus. Less. 
 
 ^ Berthold Seemann, botanist of H. M. S. Herald in 1849, reported the 
 finding of eight plants on a width of thirty feet of shore, which, he says, 
 "was the whole extent we had to walk over." The plants were the fol- 
 lowing; Artemisia borealis, Cochleria fene strata, Saxifraga lamentiniana, 
 Poa arctica, and another undetermined grass, Hepatica, a moss, and red 
 lichen covering the rocks. [Editor.) 
 
 I 270 ] 
 
Appendix 
 
 WRANGELL LAND 
 
 Our stay on the one point of Wrangell Land that we 
 touched was far too short to admit of making any- 
 thing like as full a collection of the plants of so inter- 
 esting a region as was desirable. We found the rock 
 formation where we landed and for some distance 
 along the coast to the eastward and westward to be 
 a close-grained clay slate, cleaving freely into thin 
 flakes, with here and there a few compact, meta- 
 morphic masses that rise above the general surface. 
 Where it is exposed along the shore bluffs and kept 
 bare of vegetation and soil by the action of the ocean, 
 ice, and heavy snow-drifts, the rock presents a surface 
 about as black as coal, without even a moss or lichen 
 to enliven its somber gloom. But when this dreary 
 barrier is passed the surface features of the country in 
 general are found to be finely moulded and collocated, 
 smooth valleys, wide as compared with their depth, 
 trending back from the shore to a range of mountains 
 that appear blue in the distance, and round-topped 
 hills, with their side curves finely drawn, touching and 
 blending in beautiful groups, while scarce a single 
 rock-pile is seen or sheer-walled bluff to break the 
 general smoothness. 
 
 The soil has evidently been derived mostly from the 
 underlying slates, though a few fragmentary wasting 
 moraines were observed, containing traveled boulders 
 of quartz and granite which doubtless were brought 
 from the mountains of the interior by glaciers that 
 have recently vanished — so recently that the outlines 
 and sculptured hollows and grooves of the mountains 
 have not as yet suffered sufficient post-glacial denu- 
 dation to mar appreciably their glacial characters. 
 
 The banks of the river at the mouth of which we 
 landed presented a striking contrast as to vegetation 
 
 [ 271 1 
 
Appendix 
 
 to that of any other stream we had seen in the Arctic 
 regions. The tundra vegetation was not wholly ab- 
 sent, but the mosses and lichens of which it is else- 
 where composed are about as feebly developed as 
 possible, and instead of forming a continuous covering 
 they occur in small separate tufts, leaving the ground 
 between them raw and bare as that of a newly 
 ploughed field. The phanerogamous plants, both on 
 the lowest grounds and on the slopes and hilltops as 
 far as seen, were in the same severely repressed condi- 
 tion, and as sparsely planted in tufts an inch or two 
 in diameter, with from one to three feet of naked soil 
 between them. Some portions of the coast, however, 
 farther south, presented a greenish hue as seen';^from 
 the ship at a distance of eight or ten miles, owing" no 
 doubt to vegetation growing under less unfavorable 
 conditions. 
 
 From an area of about half a square mile the follow- 
 ing plants were collected : — - 
 
 Gymnandra Stelleri, Cham. & Saxifraga sUllaris, L., var. comosa, 
 
 Schlecht. Poir. 
 
 Poa arctica, R. Br. Saxifraga silenifloray (Hook.), 
 
 Aira caspitosa, L., var. arctica. Sternb. 
 
 Alopecurus alpinuSy Sm. Saxifraga hieracifoliay Waldst. & 
 
 Luzula hyperboreoy R. Br. Kit. 
 
 Sullaria longipes, Goldie, var. Ed- Saxifraga rivularisy L., var. kypgr- 
 
 wardsiiy T. & G. boreay Hook. 
 
 Cerastium alpinum, L. Saxifraga bronchialisy L. 
 
 Anemone parviflora, Michx. " serpyllifolia, Pursh. 
 
 Papaver nudicauUy L. Potentilla nivea, L. 
 
 Draba alpina, L. " frtgida, VIll.? * 
 
 Cochlearia officinalis^ L. Armeria macrocarpa,^ Pursh. 
 
 Saxifraga JlagellariSf WiM, " vulgaris, WiM. 
 
 Artemisia bore alts y (Pall.), Willd. 
 
 Nardosmia frigida. Hook. 
 
 Saussurea monticola, Richards. 
 
 * " Potentilla emarginata, Pursh. A very dwarf form of this species from 
 Wrangell Land was inadvertently named Potentilla frigida in the list of 
 Muir's collection." (Note by Asa Gray in House Executive Document 
 No. 44 (1884-85), p. 191.) [Editor.] 
 
Index 
 
Index 
 
 Akutan, island and mountain, 230 
 and note. 
 
 Akutan Pass, 4, 5. 
 
 Alaska Commercial Company, 13, 
 18-21, 81, 113. 
 
 Alaska Mining Company, 229. 
 
 Aleutian Islands, 5; geology of, 7-9, 
 241-46; animal life, 9, 10; plant 
 life, 10, 11; trees, 11, 12; grazing 
 and agriculture, 12; population, 
 
 12, 13- 
 
 Aleuts, fuel, 12, 14; civilization, 
 12; hunting, 13, 18-21; death- 
 rate, 13; huts, 13, 14, 230; intoxi- 
 cating drink, 14, 15, 19; thriftless- 
 ness, 15; religion, 16, 17; drunk- 
 enness, 230; dancing, 230. 
 
 Alexey, 113 note. 
 
 Anadir Gulf, 24. 
 
 Aneguin, 113 note. 
 
 Asia, land communication with 
 America, 66, 67. 
 
 Barabaras, 13, 14. 
 
 Bear, polar, 156, 160-65, I70> ^77- 
 
 Beluga, 134-36. 
 
 Belvedere, the whaler, 143-45, 184, 
 198. 
 
 Bering Sea, cruise in, 18-37, 51-121, 
 198-220, 222-29; a glacial exca- 
 vation, 53, 257, 258. 
 
 Bering Strait, 37, 53, 257, 258. 
 
 Birds, of the Aleutian Islands, 9, 
 10; a small bird comes aboard, 
 79; on the Arctic Ocean, 80; at 
 East Cape, 103; of the Alaskan 
 tundra, 115, 116; at Kotzebue 
 Sound, 123, 124; of Herald Is- 
 land, 155; of Wrangell Land, 170 
 note; of the Diomede Islands, 
 199; sea-birds as guides to man, 
 199; at Plover Bay, 205. 
 
 Blossom Shoals, 141. 
 
 Buckland River, 112 and note, 227. 
 Butterflies, 124. 
 
 Canoes, skin, 61; at Golofnin Bay, 
 118. 
 
 Cape Blossom, 123, 126. 
 
 Cape Espenberg, 121 note. 
 
 Cape Krusenstern, 126. 
 
 Cape Lisbume, 134, 137, 139, 145, 
 149. 
 
 Cape North, 254. 
 
 Cape Onman, 94. 
 
 Cape Prince of Wales, 1 19-21, 134; 
 glaciation, 253, 256; flora, 268. 
 
 Cape Serdzekamen, 31, 37; glacia- 
 tion, 255. 
 
 Cape Thompson, 131-33; flora, 267, 
 268. 
 
 Cape Wankarem, 93, 94, 165; glaci- 
 ation, 254; flora, 269. 
 
 Cape Yakan, 97. 
 
 Caribou. See Reindeer. 
 
 Chamisso Island, 224. 
 
 Chukchi Joe, 31-34, 37-39, 43, 47, 
 56, 105, 106, 108. 
 
 Chukchis, smoking, 29; of Marcus 
 Bay, 30-34; story of the loss of 
 the Vigilant, 30, 31, 34; huts, 32, 
 33, 42, 100, loi, 209; touches of 
 nature, 33, 34; of St. Lawrence 
 Bay,.34, 35, 53-61; trading, 35, 54, 
 55, 218; dignity and fortitude in 
 hunger, 35; at Tapkan, 37-43; 
 manners and customs, 42, 43; 
 dog-driver aboard the Corwin, 
 46, 47, 99; temperance talk, 53, 
 54; dress and habits, 56; sensi- 
 tive to ridicule, 57; a reindeer- 
 owner, 57-60, 88; women and 
 children, 58; eating whale skin, 
 59; passenger on the Corwin, 60, 
 65, 69, 89, 90; of Plover Bay, 74, 
 205-16; a half-breed girl, 74; 
 
 [ vs ] 
 
Index 
 
 about Metchigme Bay, 88-91; a 
 case of insanity, 89, 90; pho- 
 tographed, 91; at Cape Wan- 
 karem, 94-98; story of finding a 
 wrecked whaler, 94-97; nine 
 settlements, 98; kindness, 98; at 
 East Cape, 99-103; cemeteries, 
 102, 103; at Cape Chaplin, 105; 
 traders from Cape Yakan, lai; 
 and Wrangell Land, 171, 172; 
 reindeer-herders at Plover Bay, 
 205-16; psychology and physical 
 characteristics, 210. 
 
 Church, Russian, 16, 17. 
 
 Coal, 138, 14s, 146, 149, 197, 198. 
 
 Cod, 5. 
 
 Colville River, 112 and note, 202, 
 203. 
 
 Cook's Harbor, 5. 
 
 Coral, the bark, 185, 191. 
 
 Corwin, Thomas, U.S.S., broken 
 rudder, 45, 46; in a gale, 55; loses 
 ice-breaker, 221, 222; rudder 
 chain parts, 222. 
 
 Daniel Webster, the whaler, 144, 
 
 149, 184-91. 
 De Long, Commander George W., 
 
 quoted, 177, 178. 
 Diomede Islands, 36, 49, 50, dS^ 91, 
 
 92, 105, 198, 199, 217-20; glacia- 
 
 tion, 248. 
 Dog-teams, 38-40; drawing canoes, 
 
 146, 147. 
 Dogs, of the Chukchis, 39, 40, 42, 
 
 45 48,49. 
 Duck, eider, 51, 123, 124. 
 Dutch Harbor, 6 and note. 
 
 East Cape, 50; glaciation at, 92, 
 253, 254; landing at, 97-104. 
 
 Elephant Point, 224-27. 
 
 Empetrum, 14. 
 
 Eschscholtz Bay, 224-28, 266. 
 
 Eskimos, on St. Lawrence Island, 
 24-29, 56, 68-71, 107, 108; trad- 
 ing, 25, 26, 36, 68-70, 218, 219; 
 and rum, 25, 26, 29; appearance 
 and manners, 26-28; clothing, 27, 
 28, 56; smoking, 28, 29; taken 
 
 aboard, 30; on Diomede Islands, 
 36, 217-19; villages and huts, 36, 
 217, 218; babies, 69-71; eating 
 walrus heads, 70; boys, 71; mor- 
 tality, 85, 86, 107-111; of King 
 Island, 119, 120; winter and sum- 
 mer huts on King Island, 119, 
 120; King Island canoes, 120; 
 at Cape Prince of Wales, 120, 
 121; contraband trade with, 121, 
 122; huts at Kotzebue Sound, 
 122, 123, 126, 127, 129-31; at 
 Point Hope, 131, 132; killing 
 beluga, 134-36; killing right 
 whales, 136; near Icy Cape, 139, 
 141, 143; near Cape Lisburne, 
 145-47; canoes drawn by dogs, 
 146, 147; hunting polar bears, 
 162; decoration of grave, 163;' 
 at Point Barrow, 186, 188-90, 
 202; as wreckers, 188-90; at 
 Point Belcher, 191. 
 
 Fairway Rock, 36 note, 119, 198; 
 glaciation, 248. 
 
 Fish, 5. 
 
 Flora, 259-72. 
 
 Flowers, of Unalaska, 10, 11, 260, 
 261; of Plover Bay, 88, 269, 270; 
 at East Cape, loi; of St. Law- 
 rence Island, 107, 263; of the 
 tundra at St. Michael, 116, 263, 
 264; at Golofnin Bay, 118, 265; 
 at Kotzebue Sound, 125, 265-67; 
 at Cape Thompson, 132, 133, 
 267, 268; at Icy Cape, 141; on 
 Herald Island, 154, 270; of Wran- 
 gell Land, 171, 272. See also 
 Flora. 
 
 Fossils, 125, 146, 224, 225. 
 
 Fowler, O. S., the schooner, 121 and 
 note, 126. 
 
 Fox, white, 155 and note, 170. 
 
 Francis Palmer, the whaler, 55. 
 
 Fur trade, Aleutian Islands, 13, 15; 
 Pribilof Islands, 18-21; Yukon 
 River, 82, 83, 113. 
 
 Geese, wild, 123, 124. 
 
 Gessler, Coxswain, 47 and note. 
 
 [276] 
 
Index 
 
 Glaciation, on Unalaska, 6-9; in 
 the Pribilofs, ai, 22, 246, 247; on 
 the Siberian coast, 24, 50, 62, 63, 
 78, 91, 251-55; on the Diomede 
 Islands, 49, 50, 248; at St. Law- 
 rence Bay, 53; in feering Sea and 
 Strait, 53; on St. Lawrence Is- 
 land, 74, 85, 107, 247, 2a8; at 
 Plover Bay, 76, 78, 87, 206, 252, 
 253; at Metchigme Bay, 91; 
 about East Cape, 92, 99-103, 253, 
 254; at Golofnin Bay, 118, 119, 
 253) 256; at Sledge Island, 119, 
 248; at Cape Thompson, 133; 
 near Cape Lisburne, 137; on 
 Herald Island, 152, 153, 248-50; 
 of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic re- 
 gions visited during the cruise, 
 
 235-58- 
 
 Glaciers, of the Aleutian Islands, 
 9, 231, 242-46; of Plover Bay, 
 87; fossil fragments, 224-27; of 
 the Sierra Nevada, 236, 237; of 
 British Columbia and south- 
 eastern Alaska, 237; reaching the 
 sea, 238, 239. 
 
 Gold, 114, 228, 229. 
 
 Golden Fleece, the schooner, 201, 
 204. 
 
 Golofnin Bay, 1 17-19, 228, 229; 
 glaciation, 253, 256; flora, 265. 
 
 Gull, burgomaster, 124. 
 
 Gulls, 200. 
 
 Handy, R. B., the schooner, 142. 
 Helen Mar, the whaler, 49. 
 Herald Island,^ 148-58, 177, 178, 
 
 221; glaciation, 248-50; flora, 
 
 270. 
 Herring, 84. 
 Herring, Lieut., 47; his report of 
 
 search for the Vigilant, 93-97. 
 Hidalgo, the whaler, 55, 131. 
 "Hole, the," 158. 
 Hooper, Capt. Calvin L., 26, 33, 37, 
 
 46, 47, 54, 56, 58, 69, 108, 126, 
 
 142, 154, 156, 173, 222; quoted, 
 
 76, 77, 151 note. 
 Hotham Inlet, 126. 
 Hutli, 238 and note. 
 
 Ice, crystals on rocks, 104; curious 
 
 formations, 224-28. 
 Ice, ocean, first view, 22. 
 Ice, pack, the Corwin in, 44-49, 72, 
 
 73, n. 139, 140, 148, 150, I59> 
 163-68; search party on, 93. 
 
 Ice, shore, rough travel over, 37, 38. 
 
 Ice-blink, 138. 
 
 Icy Cape, 138-41, 149, 184. 
 
 Iliuliuk, 6 and note, 13, 14. See 
 also Unalaska. 
 
 Indians, of the Yukon country, 83, 
 84; shamans at St. Michael, 113; 
 kayaks, 116; at Golofnin Bay, 
 117, 118; canoes, 118; trading at 
 Kotzebue Sound, 129, 130. 
 
 Inland River, 112, 202, 203. 
 
 International Polar Expedition, 
 201-04. 
 
 Ivory, fossil, 125. 
 
 Jaroochah, 34, 53-55, 57-59. 
 Jeannette, U. S. S., 97, 98, 113, 156, 
 
 170, 174. 
 Joe. See Chukchi Joe. 
 
 Kalekta Point, 6. 
 Kayaks, 116. 
 Kellett, Sir Henry, 249. 
 Kelly, Capt., 78. 
 King Island, 119, 120, 248. 
 Kittiwake, 148. 
 Kiwalik River, 122, 123. 
 Koliuchin, 98. 
 Koliuchin Island, 46. 
 Konkarpo, 94. 
 
 Kotzebue Sound, 122-25, 224-28; 
 glaciation, 253, 256; flora, 265-67. 
 Kuuk River, 227 and note. 
 Kvass, 14, 15, 19. 
 
 Le Conte Glacier, 238 note. 
 Lolita, the ship, 67, 68, 73. 
 
 Makushin, volcano, 231, 242 and 
 
 note. 
 Marcus Bay, 30, 105, 106, 108, 217. 
 Metchigme Bay, 8SP^i. 
 Millard, Capt. M. V. B., 76 note, 
 
 n. 78. 
 
 [ 277 ] 
 
Index 
 
 Mirage, 8l, 143, 145. 
 
 Mt. Akutan, 230 and note. 
 
 Mt. Makushin, 231, 242 and note. 
 
 Mt. Rainier, 237. 
 
 Mt. Shasta, 237. 
 
 Mount Wollaston, the whaler, 93. 
 
 Muir Glacier, 239. 
 
 Murdoch, John, 190 note, 201 note, 
 
 202 note. 
 Murres, 155. 
 
 Nelson, Edward W., 91, 117, 155, 
 173, 205; ethnological studies, 
 10CMD3, 108, no, 120, 122, 123, 
 140; his account of the foxes of 
 Herald Island, 155 note. 
 
 Nestor, Bishop, 16. 
 
 Noatak River, 112 note. 
 
 Northern Light, the bark, 141-43. 
 
 Norton Sound, 22; mirage in, 81. 
 
 Omniscot, Chukchi reindeer-owner, 
 
 57-60, 88-90. 
 Oncarima, 94. 
 Otter, sea, 9, 13, 20. 
 Otter Island, 21. 
 Owen, Capt., 144, 184. 
 Owl, an Arctic, 103. 
 
 Pittle Keg, 97 and note. 
 
 Plover Bay, 30, 74-78, 86-88, 201, 
 
 . 223; glaciation, 252, 253; flora, 
 
 269, 270. 
 Point Barrow, 186, 195-97, 201; 
 
 International Polar Expedition 
 
 to, 201-04. 
 Point Belcher, 144, 185, 191, 192- 
 
 95- 
 Point Hope, 131, 132, 147. 
 Pope, Thomas, the whaler, 76-78. 
 Post-Ofhce Point, 148, 158. 
 Pribilof Islands, 18-22, 246, 247. 
 Priest, a Russian, 16. 
 Prospectors, 114, 118, 119,228,229. 
 Providence Bay, 75 note. 
 Ptarmigan, 115. 
 
 Rainbow, the whaler, 30. 
 Ray, Lieut. P. H., 201 and note, 
 203, 204. 
 
 Reindeer, owned by Chukchis, 57, 
 58, 128, 129, 205-16; wild herds in 
 Alaska, 127, 128; wild herds in 
 Siberia, 206. 
 
 Reynolds, Lieut., 47, 121, 122. 
 
 Rodgers, U.S.S., 223 and note. 
 
 Rosse, Dr. Irving C, 75, 114. 
 
 St. George Island, 18-2Z. 
 
 St. Lawrence Bay, 34, 35 ; at anchor 
 
 in, 52-61. 
 St. Lawrence Island, 24-29, 31, 35, 
 
 65-74, 85, 86; descriptions, 106- 
 
 08; dead villages on, 108-I1; 
 
 glaciation, 247, 248; flora, 262, 
 
 263. 
 St. Matthew Island, 24. 
 St. Michael, 78, 81-84, 1 12-17, 228, 
 
 229; flora, 263, 264. 
 St. Paul, island and village of, 18- 
 
 22. 
 St. Paul, the steamer, no, Ii3. 
 Salmon, 84, 117. 
 
 Saw Francisco Bulletin^ jGy 78 note. 
 Sappho, the whaler, 143. 
 Sea Breeze, the whaling bark, 131, 
 
 143, 178. 
 Seal, a large, 51. 
 Seal, fur, industry, 15, 18, 19-21; 
 
 habits, 19, 20. 
 Seal, saddle-back, 23, 24. 
 Seal, white, 22, 23. 
 Shamanism, 17. 
 Sheshalek, 126. 
 Shumagin Islands, 21. 
 Siberia, first sight, 24; exploring 
 
 coast of, 30 et seq. 
 Sierra Nevada, glaciers, 236, 237. 
 Sinaru, 185 note. 
 Sledge Island, 119, 248. 
 Spermophile, 170 and note. 
 Spring, beginning of, 73 . 
 Starbuck, Alexander, 192. 
 Sun, atmospheric effects, 145, 147, 
 
 148; midnight, 199, 200. 
 Sunarnara, 185. 
 
 Tapkan, 39-43, 92, 93, 99- 
 Temperature, of air and water, 80, 
 81, 84. 
 
 [ 278 
 
Index 
 
 Thomas Pope, the whaler, 76-78. 
 Trees, 261, 262, 265-67. 
 Tundra, 115, 116. 
 
 Unalaska, arrival at, 3-6; animal 
 and plant life, 10, 11; trees, 11, 12; 
 grazing and agriculture, 12; pop- 
 ulation, 12, 13; the priest's house, 
 16; the Russian Church, 16; stay 
 at, on return trip, 229, 230; flora, 
 260-62. 
 
 Unga Island, 21. 
 
 Vega, the ship, 41, 97. 
 
 Vigilant, the whaler, 30, 31, 34; re- 
 port of party in search of, 93-98. 
 
 Volcanoes and volcanic remains, in 
 the Aleutian Islands, 7, 9, 230, 
 231; on St. Lawrence Island, 107; 
 near St. Michael, 114, 115; at 
 Kotzebue Sound, 125. 
 
 Walrus, 63, 64, 68, 70, 140, 142, 144. 
 
 Weather, 78, 79. 
 
 Western Fur and Trading Com- 
 
 pany, 13, 21; station near St. 
 Michael, 82, 83, 112, 113. 
 
 Whale, bowhead, 192. 
 
 Whale, white, 134-36. 
 
 Whalers, lost in the ice, 187-95. 
 
 Whales, eaten by Chukchis, 59; 
 hunted by the natives, 59, 64, 
 136; and the whalers, 144. 
 
 Whaling, 191, 192. 
 
 Wrangell, Baron Ferdinand Petro- 
 vitch von, 129 note, 171-73. 
 
 Wrangell Land, 98; first sight of, 
 154; approaching, 156-68; land- 
 ing on, 169; exploration, 169-71, 
 173-76; Baron Wrangell's search 
 for, 171-73; flag erected on, 174; 
 animal life, 176, 177; improb- 
 ability of De Long's having 
 landed upon, 177-80; reasons for 
 leaving, 180-83; failure to land on 
 
 ♦ second visit, 220-22; the Rod- 
 gers at, 223 and note; geology, 
 250, 251, 271; flora, 271, 272. 
 
 Yukon River, fur trade of, 82, 83. 
 
CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
 U . S . A