Wrangell Island 



in temperature, mostly gentle in its fall, filling the 

 fountains of the rivers and keeping the whole land 

 fresh and fruitful, while anything more delightful 

 than the shining weather in the midst of the rain, the 

 great round sun-days of July and August, may hardly 

 be found anywhere, north or south. An Alaska sum- 

 mer day is a day without night. In the Far North, at 

 Point Barrow, the sun does not set for weeks, and 

 even here in southeastern Alaska it is only a few de- 

 grees below the horizon at its lowest point, and the 

 topmost colors of the sunset blend with those of the 

 sunrise, leaving no gap of darkness between. Mid- 

 night is only a low noon, the middle point of the 

 gloaming. The thin clouds that are almost always 

 present are then colored yellow and red, making a 

 striking advertisement of the sun's progress beneath 

 the horizon. The day opens slowly. The low arc of 

 light steals around to the northeastward with gradual 

 increase of height and span and intensity of tone; and 

 when at length the sun appears, it is without much of 

 that stirring, impressive pomp, of flashing, awak- 

 ening, triumphant energy, suggestive of the Bible 

 imagery, a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and 

 rejoicing like a strong man to run a race. The red 

 clouds with yellow edges dissolve in hazy dimness; the 

 islands, with grayish-white ruffs of mist about them, 

 cast ill-defined shadows on the glistening waters, 

 and the whole down-bending firmament becomes 

 pearl-gray. For three or four hours after sunrise 

 there is nothing especially impressive in the land- 

 scape. The sun, though seemingly unclouded, may 



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