Kuskokvim was found to be from seven hundred to twenty-one hundred feet wide above Fort Kolmakoff, with occasional sand-bars, some of them a mile and a half wide. For nearly a hundred miles it runs between rocky cliffs, from three hundred to five hundred feet in height, covered with a dense forest; the channel is clear, and the current not so strong as that of the Kvihpak. At this point the river Hulitnak enters from the south (lat. 61° 42' N., long. 156° 50′ W.); it is two hundred feet wide at its mouth, and guarded at its entrance on the left bank by rocky cliffs from two hundred to four hundred feet high. From this point, far in the interior, could be seen a conical mountain whose top was covered with snow. A few miles up the Hulitnak the hills on the left bank give way to a marshy plain, whilst on the right side runs a chain of hills five hundred feet high.

Twenty miles higher up the Kuskokvim, breaking through the hills that line the left bank of that river above the Hulitnak, comes in the Shulkak, which, the natives say, takes its rise in a lake among the Chigmit Mountains, some of the nearest peaks of which could be seen by the expedition about fifty miles to the southward. A short distance above the Shulkak comes in the Chigvanateel, also from the south. At this point were met six canoes filled with natives. To keep on good terms with the natives, and prevent misunderstanding,

for they could conceive of no reason for the presence of a white man in those regions except to trade, — a few pounds of tobacco and some old clothes were exchanged for a large heap of beaver, otter, reindeer, and black-bear skins. The natives coveted a certain coat without sleeves which struck their fancy, but the pile of nearly two hundred valuable furs which comprised their stock was not considered an equivalent, and they were obliged to content themselves with tobacco and less prized articles of clothing.

Above these streams the Kuskokvim narrowed to about seven hundred feet, the current was slower, and the

water of a dull yellowish white. The river wound around a cape two hundred or three hundred feet high on the right bank, the left bank being about eighteen feet high, and covered with a dense forest; beyond which, in the distance, rose a chain of mountains. Higher up, a spur of the mountain chain terminated on the left bank of the river in a rocky ridge, beyond which the forest gave place to a flat meadow, or marshy plain. At the mouth of the river Sochotno, in lat. 62° 58′ N., long. 155° 6′ W., the expedition stopped, having reached about one hundred and eighty miles above Fort Kolmakoff, and about three hundred and fifty miles above the mouth of the river. At this point the natives spoke of a beautiful inland sea in the interior, somewhere between the Kuskokvim and the Kvihpak. The same story was repeated by the natives at other points on the Kuskokvim and also on the Kvihpak. It was described as a large and beautiful lake, abounding in fish, and supporting a numerous people on its banks. It was the opinion of Lieutenant Zagoyskin that the location of this lake was somewhere between lat. 63' and 65° N. and long. 150° and 154° W., and that it probably found an outlet for its waters by the river Haggaya into the Kvihpak.

It was the intention of Lieutenant Zagoyskin to explore the Kuskokvim to its source; but the men he had taken with him from Fort Kolmakoff were obliged to return, that they might be ready to transport goods across to Fort Alexander, on Bristol Bay. He was, therefore, reluctantly compelled to turn back, reaching Fort Kolmakoff on the 5th of June. A few days later he crossed to the Kvihpak by a chain of lakes and rivers different from that he had traversed in the winter, and then descended the Lower Kvihpak to the divergence of its several channels to the sea. The hills and forests disappeared, and at one point a chain of lakes in a flat country stretched away to the right as far as the eye could reach. The soil at this part of the river contained a layer of organic matter

from the forest, about three feet deep, beneath which was wet clay. Lieutenant Zagoyskin records no observation of his own in regard to the depth of water in the lower branches of the Kvihpak, but says that in 1833 a servant of the Fur Company ascended the Aphuna, or northern mouth of the Kvihpak with ease, and descended about thirty miles of another channel, but found the water too shallow to enable him to reach the sea. On reaching the sea, Zagoyskin sailed up the coast in his canoe, keeping about half a mile from the shore, as sand-banks and rocks farther out made navigation dangerous, and reached Fort St. Michael on the 21st of June, after two years of difficult and perilous exploration.

In the winter of 1860, Robert Kennicott, a young American naturalist of fine promise and of undaunted resolution, though of delicate frame, entered the Russian American territory from the British line, above the Yukon. He had come, the last part of the route alone, from the head of Lake Superior, by the way of the chain of lakes and the Mackenzie River, through the vast wilds that lie between Lake Superior and the Arctic Sea. On his way he had collected specimens in every department of natural science, and these specimens, numbering thousands, and weighing tons in the aggregate, were taken at each trading-post by the Hudson's Bay Company, and transported free to Canada, where they were again taken, without pay, by the express companies, and delivered to the Smithsonian Institute, under whose auspices he was travelling. The Hudson's Bay Company had poached on the manor of the Russian Fur Company, and about sixty miles beyond the boundary, just at the fork of the Porcupine and Yukon Rivers, Kennicott found a trading-post, Fort Yukon, in charge of an old Scotchman, who, with his wife and a jovial Roman Catholic priest, together with some voyageurs and Esquimaux, formed the settlement. Here Kennicott remained all winter, gathering hundreds of specimens, and gaining all the information possible from the VOL. XIX. NO. 116.

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natives in regard to the course of the Yukon, about which uncertain reports existed at the fort. Among the important discoveries was that of the breeding-place of the canvas-back duck, the eggs of which, never before seen. by a naturalist, literally covered acres. Here, too, he found the nests and eggs of the beautiful Bohemian wax-wing, the only place where its eggs have ever been found. In the spring he set out on his homeward journey, still gathering specimens as he went; and on his return commenced reducing the results of his observations to writing, when he was interrupted by another call to the field of duty.

In pursuance of a design to connect the American and European continents by a telegraph line through Northern Asia, the wires of the Western Union Telegraph Company were extended northward through Oregon and Washington Territories to Vancouver's Island, and thence it was proposed to carry them northward through British and Russian territory to Behring's Strait. Carried by a cable through the Strait, or some part of the Kamchatka Sea, it was designed to then push the line through Siberia to meet the Russian government lines coming eastward from St. Petersburg. The route through the British possessions above British Columbia, and the whole interior of Russian America, was entirely unknown. It was determined to make the survey by two parties, one keeping northward from Vancouver's Island, and the other proceeding by sea to the vicinity of Behring's Strait, and then going eastward and southward, to meet the party coming north. The information obtained in regard to the " "great river of Russian America, led to the hope that the party could ascend it from Behring's Sea to Fort Yukon, and then follow its course southward through British territory, - the party coming north keeping the same route to the place of meeting. A small steamer, the "Lizzie Horner," was purchased in San Francisco, and put on board one of the vessels of the expedition, with

the design of ascending the Kvihpak in her as far as possible. The services of Major Kennicott had been secured for the command of the expedition by way of Behring's Sea, his previous visit to Russian America, and his profound scientific knowledge, peculiarly fitting him for the task.

On the 10th of July, 1865, the expedition left San Francisco in the barque "Golden Gate," accompanied by the engineer-in-chief of the Company, Colonel Bulkley, in the propeller "G. S. Wright." In a month they reached Sitka, the head-quarters of the Russian American Fur Company, where they remained about two weeks, completing their arrangements and receiving the lavish courtesies of the Russian officials. On the 22d of August the expedition sailed again, steering for the outer point of the Aliaska peninsula. The islands that line the southern front of this remarkable projection were reached about long. 160° W., and at one of them, Ounga, a short stop was made. The principal features of this island were similar to most of the others in the group. Originally of volcanic origin, it has a steep front about six hundred feet in height, beyond which the land is rolling. The elevations are covered with moss interspersed with flowers, and in the depressions is a little coarse grass with small bushes. A bed of coal (lignite) sixteen inches thick was found on this island, and the Russians worked it for a short time, but ultimately abandoned it as of little value. Here, as on several other islands, a few Russians supported themselves by fishing. In running along the coast, a volcano was seen, in full activity; and others, that had at no very distant period been in eruption, were seen on the peninsula and islands. Codfish were plentiful along the route through the islands. The entrance to Behring's Sea was made through the Ounimak passage, in long. 165° W., lat. 54 N., the depth of water at the entrance being two hundred and forty feet, and the current very strong. On the 13th of September, the expedi

tion entered Norton Sound and rounded to at St. Michael. Kennicott and his party were landed and the vessels left, with Colonel Bulkley, for Kanchatka.

The island of St. Michael lies on the south side of Norton Sound, and is divided by a narrow channel from the main-land, and by a wider channel from Stuart's Island. It is about twelve miles across in either direction, of vul canic origin, but of no great height, the greatest elevation being three hundred feet. A good harbor affords protectica against all but the northerly winds. At this point is a fort of logs and earth, mounting six four-pounders, and gar risoned by twenty Russians under Fator Stephanoff. Close to the fort is an Esquimau or Malimeet village, of ter huts, partly burrows in the side of the hill, and partly buildings of drit logs. A chain of similar villages ertends along the coast of Norton Sound The temperature at St. Michael is milder than at any other point on that part of the coast, a fact accounted for by its being surrounded by water, and by the current coming from the south In summer there is a healthy, though scanty vegetation.

It was the intention of Kennicott go down the coast in the small steamer "Lizzie Horner," to be commanded by Lieutenant Charles Pease, to the lower, and deepest, mouth of the Kvihpak, or Yukon, and in her to traverse the whole length of the river as far as navigation was possible, making surveys at the proper points. Unfortunately, that project had to be abandoned. The ergi neer engaged at San Francisco was grossly incompetent, and the machinery of the steamer was found to be radically defective. Fruitless attempts were made to remedy the deficiencies, and she was at length abandoned. This was a serious blow to the usefulness of the expedition. Major Kennicott changed his plan, and adopted the ordinary route of the Russian traders as high up as they went, being that taken by Zagoy skin twenty-three years before. From Nulato he proposed to travel in the

winter by dog teams up the river to Fort Yukon.

On the 27th of September the party, numbering twelve persons, crossed Norton Sound in an open barge to the village of Unalakleat, at the mouth of the river of that name, the voyage being rendered unpleasant by a violent snowstorm, the first of the season. At Unalakleat the Russians had built a log fort, occupied by six men, and defended by two four-pounder guns. weather set in rapidly, and the first work of the party was to build a fort of drift-logs, banked up with sods and gravel, and the logs chinked with moss. The luxury of a chimney was added, the mortar for which was made with mud and boiling water.

Cold

October 21st, Pease, Ketchum, and Adams, accompanied by five Esquimaux, each of whom carried eighty pounds of baggage strapped to his back, went up the Unalakleat. The thermometer marked two degrees below zero, but the river was not frozen hard enough to walk on. On the third day they reached Ulucook, a winter village of the Ingalik tribe, forty miles above Unalakleat. Here they stopped a month, buying fish and preparing it for the winter's provision of the party.

The Ingaliken are part of an Indian race occupying a middle position between the Esquimaux, or Malimeets, of the coast, and the Indians of the interior. They are the traders, roaming from the Yukon to the coast, and bartering the skins of the Indians for the traders' goods and the Esquimau supplies. At one time they were a powerful race; but a succession of wars with the Esquimaux and the interior Indians has thinned their numbers. In their habits and customs they have become more Esquimau than Indian, building their huts partly under ground, like the former, instead of on the surface as does the latter. The winter but of the Norton Sound Esquimau is built of spruce logs, split and set on edge, and is roofed in the same manner, with a square hole in the top, and the whole, except the opening in the roof, is covered with sods

and earth until it is like a low dome. About half the height of the interior is below the surface of the ground. The entrance is by a tunnel or covered gallery, about twenty feet long, communicating with a square stockade closed with a door. Inside the stockade is a circular opening to descend into the tunnel. The hut is about sixteen feet square, with logs at the sides for seats. The fire burns in the centre, directly under the hole in the roof. The furniture and kitchen utensils of the hut are composed of kettles bought of the whalers, earthen pots, like flower-pots, made by the natives, for various purposes, and a lamp, a saucer of dried mud, filled with blubber, and with dried moss for wicking, the root of a tree serving for a chandelier. When night comes, the occupants of the hut let the fire die down, stretch dried skins across the opening in the roof, the circular entrance in the stockade, and at the doorway leading from the hut to the tunnel, thus cutting off every current of air. Then, stretching themselves with their heads to the fire, resting on logs for pillows, they sleep in an atmosphere as hot and dense as that of a slow

oven.

In the centre of every village is the Kadgim, or great meeting-house. Here their work is carried on, feasts held, visitors received, and here the men sleep. Built on the same plan as the other huts, it is much larger and higher, and has a raised seat carried around its sides. It was at the Kadgim in Ulucook that Lieutenant Zagoyskin witnessed the performance of their traditionary custom of "drowning little bladders in the sea," performed in honor of the sea spirit Ugiak. When Zagoyskin entered the Kadgim he found it occupied by about fifty men, who had just been washing themselves in a reeking liquid which cannot be more particularly named. The stench was overpowering and the heat suffocating, but there was no help for it. The festival then began. On a strip of moose-skin stretched across one end of the apartment were suspended about a hundred