Alaska and its resources

Front matter

by

Patricia Procter

ALASKA

Introduction

HE purpose of this volume has been to comprise in a small compass the most valuable part of the present knowledge of Alaska. The writer has specially endeavored to convey as much information as his scope would allow, in regard to the native inhabitants, history, and resources of the country. This end has been kept steadily in view, perhaps at the risk of dulness.

The greatest care has been taken to verify such facts as have not come under the personal observation of the writer. Toward this end every accessible work containing information in regard to the country has been consulted in the original. Where authorities have differed, the statements thought most worthy of confidence, or such as best agreed with the experience of the author, have been adopted. Many discrepancies have been reconciled, and not a few errors have been corrected. Mistakes to a certain extent are inevitable, but it is hoped that, in all important points, the statements herein made will stand the test of time and future observation. Many of the conclusions in regard to the natives may seem, to the superficial observer, unwarranted ; indeed, the author found, during a second year's experience, that not a few of his earlier impressions were erroneous, and constant intercourse with the natives, during that year while isolated from other white men, enabled him to clear up many doubtful points which previous observations had left unsettled. The geographical information here recorded is, of necessity, partly approximate. With a base upon which to found future observations, it is to be hoped that accurate determination of many points will not long be delayed.

VI

INTRODUCTION.

Theories and opinions have been, as far as possible, kept in the background, or, when expressed, so separated from the statements of facts, that the reader is left free to adopt or reject them from the evidence presented.

Now that the native and Russian names of places and people in Alaska are to be introduced into American literature, it is very desirable that they should be spelled as simply and uniformly as their phonetic value will allow. Great care has been taken in this respect ; a slight knowledge of the Russian language having been of much assistance. It is earnestly recommended that other writers will join their efforts to promote the acceptance and use of the method of spelling adopted in this volume. It is evidently for the interest of all that simplicity and accuracy should be the only guides, and, above all, that uniformity should prevail.

It is but just that the first acknowledgment should be made to the Directors of the Western Union Telegraph Company. By the liberality and generosity of these gentlemen a grand opportunity was afforded of investigating the Natural History of this interesting region ; while the operations of the Expedition were not impeded, a large amount of information was collected, for which they should receive the thanks of scientific men of all countries. In the failure of the direct objects of the Expedition, it must be no small consolation to reflect that by such liberal conduct, at an insignificant expense, results of such importance and of lasting value have been obtained.

The writer has been under many obligations, during the progress of the explorations, to Captain Charles S. Bulkley, Engineer-in-Chief of the Expedition; Captain C. M. Scammon, U. S. R. S., Chief-of-Marine; Adjutant George M. Wright; Fredcrick Whymper, Esq., Artist of the Expedition ; and especially to Captain E. Everett Smith, of the schooner F. L. Steele, for many favors.

The writer also desires to express his sense, of the favors con-

INTRODUCTION.

Vll ferred and facilities offered, during the progress of this work, by the Smithsonian Institution, under the direction of Professor Joseph Henry. There is no other place where so much practical and valuable information can be found, in regard to the less known parts of North America, as in the archives of this establishment. To Professor S. F. Baird, of the Institution, the author is also under deep obligations for advice and assistance.

To the trustees and librarian of the Boston Athenaeum and the Boston Public Library ; to Professor Theodore Gill, and Mr. Spofford, of the Congressional Library; to Mr. S. H. Scudder, of the Boston Society of Natural History ; Mr. Kalusowski, Librarian of the United States Treasury ; Mr. Buynitsky, of the Treasury Department ; Mr. Chew, of the Department of State ; Mr. Young, of the Bureau of Statistics; Dr. C. A. Parry, of the Agricultural Bureau ; Captain Patterson, Mr. Hilgard, and other officers of the United States Coast Survey ; Mr. Bannister, of the Smithsonian Institution ; Dr. Torrey, of the United States Assay Office ; Dr. J. T. Rothrock, of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania; Dr. Packard, of the Peabody Academy of Science; Dr. Uhler, of the Peabody Institute in Baltimore ; Mr. George Gibbs ; Mr. F. B. Meek ; Mr. George Davidson ; Dr. A. Kellogg ; Professor Poesche ; R. D. Cotter ; Mr. Chas. Wright ; Mr. J. T. Dyer; W. H. Ennis ; Baron O. de Bendeleben; Mr. Michael Lebarge ; Captain Frank E. Ketchum ; Mr. George R. Adams ; F. H. Francis ; Captain Charles Riedell ; Miss S. K. Dall, and many others, he is indebted for information or assistance.

The illustrations are all from original sketches by the writer, or from the articles themselves, and owe whatever artistic merit they may possess to the pencil of Mr. H. W. Elliott. The illustrations of birds were engraved by Mr. H. H. Nichols, and the others are by Mr. John Andrew.

The map is a photo-lithograph from the original, drawn under the direction of the writer and now in the possession of the viii

INTRODUCTION.

United States Coast Survey, and was put on stone by Mr. Julius Bien, of New York.

The ethnological specimens figured are mostly from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.

Should further details be desired, reference may be made to the works of which a list is given in the Appendix. Additional information of any kind is requested, and will be used, and full credit given, should a future opportunity be offered.

Smithsonian Institution, November, I869.

Part I

TRAVELS ON THE YUKON AND IN THE YUKON TERRITORY. CHAPTER I.

Arrival in Norton Sound. — Circumstances of previous visit. — News of the death of Robert Kennicott. — Change of plans. — Receive my appointment as Director of the Scientific Corps, and determine to remain in the country.

— Landing, organization, and departure of the vessels. — Departure of the Wilder for Unalaklik. — Russian peechka. — St. Michael's Redoubt and Island. — Russian traders. — Stepanoff. — Natives and their houses. — Skin boats. — Departure from the Redoubt. — Journey to Unalaklik. — Detention at Kegiktowruk. — Seal-hunting. — Innuit graves. — Bath as enjoyed by the Innuit. — Character of the coast. — Departure from Kegiktowruk. — Topanika. — Arrival off the mouth of the river. — Ice-cakes. — Arrival at Unalaklik. — Cockroaches. — Native clothing. — Description of the post and village.

— Deficiency of medical supplies. — Departure for Nulato via Ulukuk. — Iktigalik and its inhabitants. — Telegraph stew. — Escape of dogs and return to Unalaklik. — Russian baths. — Disagreeable trip to Iktigalik. — All gone on my arrival. — Second return to Unalaklik. — Impromptu theatricals. — Departure for Ulukuk. — Deserted village. — Arrival at Ulukuk. — Springs.

— Transportation of goods. — Arrival of Mike with the brigade from Nulato.

— Departure for Nulato. — Parhelia. — Mysterious caterpillar. — First view of the Yukon. — Arrival at Nulato

Chapter II

Arrival at Nulato, and introduction to the Creole bidarshik. — Description of the post and its inhabitants. — Adjacent points. — History. — The Nulato massacre and its cause. — Barnard's grave. — Daily life at Nulato. — Larriown. — Koyukun Indians. — Ingaliks. — Kurilla. — Plans for the coming season. — Examination of a coal-seam. — Nuklukahyet chief. — Christmas festivities. — New Year's and erection of the first telegraph pole. — Aurora. — Return of Ketchum. — Collections in Natural History. — Indian rumor. — Cannibalism. — Russian ingenuity. — Founding of Fort Kennicott. — Departure of Ketchum and Mike on their winter journey to Fort Yukon. — Arrival of our bidarra. — Trip to Wolasatux' barrabora. — Scarcity of food. — First signs of spring. — Robbing a grave. — First goose. — Indian children. — Rescue of the bidarshik. — Anecdote of Major Kennicott and erection of a monument to his memory. — Formation of alluvium. — Preparations for our journey. — Breaking up of the ice on the Yukon

X

CONTENTS.

Chapter III

Our departure from Nulato. — Sukaree. — Crossing in the ice. — Peculation. — Camp. — Koyukuk Sopka. — Barter on the Yukon. — Indian grave. — Ooskon. — Indian pipes. — Tohonidola. — Koyukun dress. — Catching butterflies Melozikakat River. — Arrival at Nowikakat. — Trading for meat. — Shamanism. — Indian theology. — Treating the sick. — Departure from Nowikakat. — Birch canoes. — Runaway from Fort Yukon. — Tozikakat River. — Nuklukahyet and the Twin Mountains. — Nuklukahyet tyone and other Indians. — Departure from Nuklukahyet. — The Ramparts and Rapids. — Moose-killing.

— Pass the Ramparts. — Mosquitoes. — Plains north of the Yukon. — Kutcha Kutchin camp. — Sachniti. — Arrival at Fort Yukon. — History of the fort. — Five years without bread. — Degradation of the servants of the Hudson Bay Company. — Intense heat. — Arrival of the bateaux. — The annual trade. — Tenan Kutchin Indians. — Other tribes. — Drowning of Cowley. — Red Leggins. — Arrival of Ketchum and Mike. — Missionaries and their value. — Course of the Hudson Bay Company with the Indians. — Massacre at Fort Nelson. — Indians of the Western United States. — Furs in the storehouse.

— Departure from Fort Yukon. — Arrival at Nulato. — Unexpected orders.

— Start for the Yukon-mouth. — Seal and beluga in the river. — Arrival at St. Michael's . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter IV

Arrival of the vessel. — Arrange to remain in the country. — Departure of the Clara Bell. — Mushrooms. — Plans for the season. — Start for Unalaklik. — ■ The Major's Cove. — Voyage to Kegiktowruk. — Description of the casine. End of the old bidarra. — Leave Kegiktowruk. — Crossing the bar of the Unalaklik River. — Send back for the goods. — Trip to Ulukuk. — Death of Stareek. — Bears and bear-hunting. — Geological reconnoissance, and discovery of fossils. — Return to Unalaklik. — Purchasing winter supplies. — Innuit of Norton Sound. — Tribes, physique, games, kyaks. — Disposition, morality, marriages, and infanticide. — Treatment of the women, and work allotted to the sexes. — Dress, labrets of the different tribes. — Property, method of computation, and map-drawing. — Fire-drills. — Weapons of bone, flint, and ivory. — Guns and trading. — Intercourse with Indians, and boundary lines of their territory. — Shamanism. — Patron spirits. — Interment of the dead.

— Habits and means of gaining subsistence throughout the year. — Dances and festivals. — Arrival of my new bidarra. — Sudden illness, and departure for the Redoubt. — Storm and detention at Kegiktowruk. — Proceed to the Redoubt on foot. — Return to Unalaklik. — Kill a deer. — Cowardly abuse of the natives by the Russians. — Kamokin and his barbarity to the sick. — Deaths in the village. — Making dog-harness

Chapter V

Arrival of Kurilla and the dogs. — Departure from Unalaklik. — Various kinds of sledges. — Arrival at Iktigalik. — Series of detentions. — Indian avarice.

— At Ulukuk and across the portage. — Comparative merits of different sledges. — Wolasatux. — Arrival at Nulato. — Sham hysterics. — Fish-traps.

— Km ilia's return. — Journey to the Kaiyuh River. — Housekeeping. — Christmas and New-Year's. — Snaring grouse. — Yukon fish. — Continued

CONTENTS.

xi sickness. — Arrival of the mail. — Start for the Redoubt. — How the Russians travel vs. how the Americans travel. — Arrival at the Redoubt — Return to Iktigalik. — Break-down and repairs. — Dog-driving, and camp life iu the Yukon territory. — Snovvshoes. — Arrival at Nulato. — Expeditions among the Nulato hills. — Hostile Koyukuns. — Reasons for their hostility. — Character of the western Tinneh. — Endurance. — Prevalent diseases. — Snow-goggles. — Totems. — Dances and songs. — Arms. — I labits of life. — Additional notes on the Kutchin tribes. — Making shot. — Attack on Tekunka and the result. — Arrival of swallows and geese. — Break-up of the ice. — Narrow escape. — Non-arrival of Indians. — Pavloff's departure 164

Chapter VI

Departure from Nulato. — Lateness of the season. — Yeto. — Kwikhtana barrabora. — Lof ka's. — Habits of the beaver. — Swan-shooting. — Indian carvings. — First Indians. — Klantilinten. — A letter. — Meeting with the Mahlemuts. — Anvik. — The Stareek. — Pottery. — Sand-hill cranes. — Canoes. — Leather village on the Shageluk. — Great abundance of food. — Demand for liquor by the Mahlemuts. — Dances. — Attack and narrow escape. — Leave the village. — Manki. — Ekogmuts. — Loon-cap village. — Carvings, old houses and graves. — Great breadth of the Lower Yukon. — Arrive at the Mission. — Pass the Great Bend. — Fishing-village. — Myriads of wild fowl. — Energetic collection of specimens. — Rasbinik village. — Starry Kwikhpak village. — Obtain a guide. — Andreaffsky. — Tragedy in 1855. — Mistake of guide. — Arrive at the Uphoon. — Kutlik. — Emperor geese. — Arrival of Teleezhik. — Go on to Pastolik. — Beluga-hunting. — Innuit carvings. — Drawings on bone. — Rise of the water. — Elephant bones. — Start for the Redoubt. — News of the ships. — Arrival at the Redoubt, and meeting with old friends. — Traders. — Embarkation for California. — Abuses prevalent in the new territory. — Value of a territorial government. — Necessary legislation.— Disparagement of the territory. — Arrival in San Francisco . . 207

Chapter I

General geographical and topographical description of Alaska. — Adjacent seas. — Groups of islands. — Coasts and harbors. — River system. — Ocean currents. — Mountain chains and peaks. — Area. — Earlier maps. — Review of some recent maps. — The authorities for the present map. — Field for future explorations 245

Appendix

A. Glossary 529

B. Population of Alaska . . 537

C. Statistics of the Fur Trade of Alaska 538

D. Meteorology 539

E Latitude and Longitude of Important Points . . J . •545

F. Vocabularies ... . 547

G Natural History.

List of the Mammalia of Alaska . . 576

List of the Fishes of Alaska 579

List of the Birds of Alaska 580

List of the Lepidoptera of Alaska 5^7

List of the Hymenoptera of Alaska 5^7

List of the Neuroptera of Alaska 588

List of Useful Plants of Alaska 589

H. List of Works containing Information in regard to Alaska

and the Adjacent Territories 595

INDEX 610

PART I.

TRAVELS ON THE YUKON AND IN THE YUKON TERRITORY.

Chapter I

Arrival in Norton Sound. — Circumstances of previous visit. — News of the death of Robert Kennicott. — Change of plans. — Receive my appointment as Director of the Scientific Corps, and determine to remain in the country. — Landing, organization, and departure of the vessels. — Departure of the Wilder for Unalaklik. — Russian peechka. — St. Michael's Redoubt and Island. — Russian traders. — Stcpanoff. — Natives and their houses. — Skin boats. — Departure from the Redoubt.

— Journey to Unalaklik. Detention at Kegiktovvruk. — Seal-hunting. — Innuit graves. — Bath as enjoyed by the Innuit. — Character of the coast. — Departure from Kegiktovvruk. — Topanika. — Arrival off the mouth of the river. — Ice-cakes. — Arrival at Unalaklik. — Cockroaches. — Native clothing. — Description of the post and village. — Deficiency of medical supplies. — Departure for Nulato via Ulukuk. — Iktigalik and its inhabitants. — Telegraph stew. — Escape of dogs and return to Unalaklik. — Russian baths. — Disagreeable trip to Iktigalik.

— All gone on my arrival. — Second return to Unalaklik. — Impromptu theatricals.

— Departure for Ulukuk. — Deserted village. — Arrival at Ulukuk. — Springs. — Transportation of goods. — Arrival of Mike with the brigade from Nulato. — Departure for Nulato. — Parhelia. — Mysterious caterpillar. — First view of the Yukon. — Arrival at Nulato.

N the 24th of September, 1866, the clipper ship Nightin-

V_y gale came to anchor half a mile southeast of Egg Island, Norton Sound.

A driving storm from the north and northeast obscured the atmosphere, and covered the deck with an inch or two of halfmelted snow and hail. The waves were yellow with sediment, churned up by their own violence, and the very white-caps had a sullied look which spoke of shallow water. We were drawing nineteen feet, with a rise and fall of the waves of at least twelve feet more, and the breeze was freshening. This did not leave a very large margin under the keel, and the well-known rapidity with which a north wind will diminish the depth of water in the Sound, sometimes making a difference of a fathom in the course of a few hours, added to the anxiety of our ship's officers. Our indefatigable commander, Captain Scammon, was seriously ill. Altogether, the circumstances attending our arrival in the vicinity of Redoubt St. Michael's were not propitious.

THE YUKON TERRITORY.

A little more than a year before, we had visited this point in the bark Golden Gate. We left a party to make the preliminary explorations, previous to deciding on the line on which it was proposed to build the international telegraph. This party was under the command of the Director of the Scientific Corps, Robert Kennicott, whose previous experience in the Hudson Bay Territory to the westward had fitted him above all others to fill the arduous post of commander of the explorations in Russian America. Several members of the Scientific Corps were of his party, and to their combined labors we looked hopefully for a solution of the problem of the identity of the Yukon River with the so-called Kwikhpak of the Russians. This identity was stoutly upheld by Mr. Kennicott, though persistently denied by many, who looked upon the so-called Colvile River, flowing into the Arctic Ocean, as the true mouth of the Yukon, while they considered the Kwikhpak as a distinct river. The question was regarded as uncertain by all. Information received from the Russians, however, soon put the matter beyond a doubt, and we looked to Mr. Kennicott and his party as the favored few who were to pass the terra incognita between the limit of Russian explorations and the Hudson Bay Territory, and thus complete the exploration of the Lower Yukon.

Though their equipment was not such as we could have wished, and though grave doubts prevailed as to the value of a miniature steamer, of which much had been expected, still we left all of them in the highest spirits, and with the heartiest wishes for their success, as we sailed slowly away from Stuart Island, September 17, 1865.

During the year which had passed many changes had taken place in the organization of the Expedition. No word had been received from the party even through the Russian mail, which is carried overland from St. Michael's every winter to Nushergak and thence by sea to Sitka.

Various detentions kept the vessels of the fleet lying in San Francisco Bay long after they should have reached the shores of Bering Sea, and it was only in the month of July that the Expedition finally set sail. We had been lying in Plover Bay several weeks, during which time a rumor had reached us that an exploring party had been at Grantley Harbor during the winter, and that

THE YUKON TERRITORY.

one member of the party had been badly frost-bitten. All were supposed to be alive and well.

Now that we had again come within reach of our friends and companions, our anxiety may be imagined. The state of the weather and our distance from St. Michael's, almost twelve miles, prevented our landing in a body. A boat with two officers was despatched late in the afternoon, but the distance and the still increasing storm forbade us to expect their return that night.

My own impatience was so great that I soon abandoned the attempt to sleep, and accompanied the officer of the deck in his inclement night-watch, pacing up and down in the rain and sleet ; and I almost fancied that there was something derisive in the whistle of the wind through the rigging and insulting in the masses of slush which the swaying cordage occasionally threw in our faces.

The next morning the storm continued with little abatement. About noon we saw the steamer George S. Wright, which we knew had arrived with the commander of the expedjtion a day or two before, getting up steam behind the point of Stuart Island. About four o'clock in the afternoon she came out and anchored under the lee of Egg Island near us, and we soon saw a boat put off from her. Every glass was pointed at her, and every eye was strained for a glimpse of some familiar face ; but the long hair and beards, the unfamiliar deer-skin dresses and hoods defied recognition.

Pressing forward to the gangway, as the first man came over the side, my first question was, " Where is Kennicott ? " and the answer, " Dead, poor fellow, last May," stunned me with its sudden anguish. I stayed to hear no more, but went to my cabin as one walks in a dream.

So he was gone, that noble, impetuous, but tender-hearted man, who had been to me and many others as more than a brother ! During the past two years many had had bitter controversies with him, but all felt and expressed their grief at his untimely death. He was one who made enemies as well as friends, but even enemies could not but respect the purity of motive, the open-handed generosity, the consideration, almost too great, for his subordinates, and the untiring energy and lively spirits which were the prominent characteristics of the man.

THE YUKON TERRITORY.

The details of his explorations and death will be found elsewhere. His body had been tenderly cared for, brought down the Yukon from the point where he died, placed in a vault at the Redoubt, and was to be taken home in charge of Mr. Charles Pease, who had been his friend from boyhood, and Mr. H. M. Bannister, both members of the Scientific Corps. This would leave the Corps without a single representative in the whole of Russian America north of Sitka.

My own plan had been, to explain the operations of the Corps during the past year to Mr. Kennicott, and if approved by him to cross to the Siberian side and obtain such information and collections as opportunity might offer, and especially to determine by the barometer the height of the different volcanoes for which Kamchatka is renowned.

Under the circumstances, however, and considering the information in regard to North American natural history and geology more important than that relating to the other continent, I resolved to remain at St. Michael's or in the valley of the Yukon during the ensuing season. I determined to use my best energies to complete the scientific exploration of the northwest extremity of the continent, as it had been planned by Mr. Kennicott, and which comprised the exploration of, —

First, the region between Fort Yukon, at the junction of the Yukon and the Porcupine, and Nulato, the most eastern Russian post on the former river ;

Second, the region between Nulato and the sea, westward across the portage, and south by way of the Yukon to the sea ; and, —

Lastly, the whole region bordering on Norton Sound and the sea to the north and south of it.

Toward this considerable collections and many observations had been made at St. Michael's, but little had been done in other parts of the country.

Captain Charles S. Bulkley, U. S. A., Engineer-in-chief of the Expedition, having signified his desire that I should succeed Mr. Kennicott as Director of the Scientific Corps, and learning that I desired to remain in the country, ordered me to act as Surgeon in general charge of the district between Bering Strait and the Yukon. I submitted my plans for the scientific operations of the coming year to him, and they met with his entire approval.

THE YUKON TERRITORY.

Great expedition was necessary in making my preparations.

The continued north wind began to tell on the depth of water in the Sound, and on Saturday we grounded with every swell. Luckily the bottom here is an impalpable soft mud, without any stones, otherwise the old Nightingale would have left her bones there ; and as it was, every few moments she came thumping down, with a severity that shook everything, from truck to kelson.

The following morning it cleared off, and those who were to remain took their seats in a large scow loaded with coal, which was to be towed ashore by the steamer Wilder. The Wilder was one of two small stern-wheel steamers, built in San Francisco, and brought up on the deck of the Nightingale, designed for river navigation. They were shaped much like an old-fashioned flat-iron, and were just about as valuable for the purposes required ; being unable to tow anything, or to carry any freight, while in a breeze of any strength it was no easy matter to steer them.

Sitting pensively on the larger lumps of coal, we had ample opportunity of studying the defects of our tug, and it became an interesting matter as to what we should do if she should break down before reaching shore, as seemed likely. A cold and extremely penetrating rain gave us a foretaste of the concomitants of exploration, and rendered our departure anything but romantic. Indeed, I could not help thinking that we bore much more resemblance to a party of slaves en route for the galleys, as Victor Hugo describes them, than to a party of young and ardent explorers, defying the powers of winter, and only anxious for an opportunity to exhibit our prowess.

We finally arrived in safety at the landing, near the Russian trading-post of St. Michael. Having pocketed some biscuit, I was provisioned, and, picking out a soft plank in a back room. I rolled myself in a blanket, and after some difficulty got to sleep. The rain continued ; the Russians were holding an orgie, with liquor obtained from the vessels ; the dogs howled nearly all night ; the roof leaked, not water, but fine volcanic gravel, with which it was covered. If this is a sample of the country, I thought, it is not prepossessing !

On rising in the morning I found, as might be expected, that

THE YUKON TERRITORY.

I was likely to feel for some time the effect of my new style of bed in a way that was anything but agreeable.

On Monday, the ist of October, 1866, the Nightingale sailed for Plover Bay. All was activity on shore, preparing the Wilder and all available boats for a trip to Unalakh'k, the seaboard terminus of the portage to the Yukon, at the mouth of the Unalakh'k River. My friend, Mr. Whymper, the genial and excellent artist of the expedition, proposed to leave for Unalakh'k on the steamer.

The work of construction and exploration had been divided. The larger number of men, and the work to be done in the region west of the Yukon, had been placed in charge of Mr. W. H. Ennis and several assistants. Here the work of exploration had been mainly finished, and construction, exclusive of putting up the wires, was to be immediately commenced.

The work of exploration and future construction, to the north and east of Nulato on the Yukon, was intrusted to Mr. F. E. Ketchum, to whom, with Mr. Michael Lebarge, the honor of exploring the region between Nulato and Fort Yukon had fallen after Kennicott's death.

Mr. Ketchum, who bore the title of Captain in the service of the Expedition, was thoroughly qualified for the execution of the trust committed to him. He had been eminently faithful to Mr. Kennicott during his arduous explorations, and had successfully carried out his plans after his death.

I proposed to accompany him to Nulato, the place best suited for the prosecution of the scientific work, and as he had decided to remain for a while at St. Michael's, after consultation with him, we secured a room in the Russian quarters together.

On Tuesday the steamer, in charge of Captain E. E. Smith, with a Russian pilot, started for Unalakh'k. As we were waving our congratulations, to our dismay we saw her come to a stand-still, plump on a rock at the entrance of the cove. It seemed as if her career were about to come to an ignominious conclusion, but after a good deal of labor she worked off without damage, and proceeded on her way.

We returned to our quarters, where we built a fire in the Russian stove. These stoves are a "peculiar institution," in use throughout the territory, and worthy of description. Here they

THE YUKON TERRITORY.

are built of fragments of basalt, the prevalent rock, and smeared inside and out with a mortar made of clay. A damper in the chimney is so arranged as to shut off all draught, and is taken out when the fire is made. After the whole has been thoroughly heated by a wood fire the coals are removed. The damper is put in, thus preventing the escape of hot air by the chimney, and without further fire this stove will warm the room for twenty-four hours. It is admirably suited to the climate and country, and its only objectionable point is the amount of room it occupies. A good deal of cooking, baking, &c, can be accomplished in a large one, and the remainder is done in a building erected for the purpose, and called the povdrnia. The Russian name for this stove is peechka, but an iron stove, such as is used in the United States, is called a kaneela. The foundation of the peechka is of wood, filled in with volcanic gravel, and covered with brick or slabs of lava. In Russia they are generally built of brick entirely, and are often tiled over on the outside with painted tiles, such as are yet to be found in some of the older houses in New England.