22 NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS IN ALASKA. 



of life. One speedily comes to disregard tbe discomforts of such a life, and the cbangiug episodes 

 attending each day, together with the strange and often beautiful scenes, are all that linger in his 

 memory. The mysterious beauty thrown over land and sea by the twilight that covers the earth 

 during tlie short time the sun remains below the horizon in midsummer cannot be described, and 

 at such times the distant note of some restless gull or loon breaks the stillness with an uncanny 

 effect. When camped on the coast in summer I frequently went out during these twilight nights, 

 gun in hand, and wandered about in the deep silence, tindiiig tlie water-fowl at rest in the hidden 

 pools or on their nests. 



The winters are long and severe at Saint Michaels, as they are elsewhere in this region. 

 Spring opens late, and most of the cranes, snipe, geese, and ducks arrive while the ground is still 

 mostly covered with snow and the muddy pools are covered with ice. At this time tbe birds feed 

 upon the heath-berries, which the frost has preserved since the previous fall. 



In 1880 we had cold, wintry wea tlier at Saint Michaels, witli scarcely a sign of spring, up to May 

 18, and only a few stray water-fowl bad been seen; on tbe 18tb and IDth, however, the temi)erature 

 arose to 39° and 43°, and tbe loud cries of geese and tbe rolling notes of Sandhill Cranes were 

 heard all about as though the birds bad sprung from the ground. This was an unusually late 

 season, since, in 1878, the flight of water-fowl was well uiuler way by May 12, and was nearly over 

 by^the 29tb. Indeed, by tbe latter date, many birds bad already deposited eggs. Tbe dates for the 

 opening of spring on tbe coast do not correspond with those of the interior, where, along the Upper 

 Yukon, in 1877, tbe snow bad nearly disappeared by April 20, and ducks and gulls had already 

 arrived. Although tbe Alaskan coast climate of Bering Sea is so much colder in spring than tbe 

 climate of tbe interior, it is much milder than the Siberian coast climate of Bering Sea at that 

 time. 



On June 5, 1881, tbe vegetation about Saint Michaels was well advanced, scarcely a patch 

 of snow was visible, the sea was free of ice, and the water along shore registered 55°. The birds 

 bad already nested and many had young. 



Two days later, at Plover Bay, on the Siberian shore, and only a few miles further north than 

 Saint Michaels, we found tbe season nearly a month later. Tbe bills about Plover Bay were still 

 nearly covered with snow banks, the water of the sea stood at 38°, and the inner bays along shore 

 were still covered with ice. Only the hardiest plants had api)eared and the birds were just nesting. 



A similar difference in climate on tbe two shores of Bering Sea holds good throughout the 

 summer, and is due, mainly, to tbe following causes: 



Upon the Alaskan coast the sea is very shallow, and enormous quantities of warm, fresh water 

 are discharged into the sea by the Yukon and Kuskoquim Rivers. Tbe warm currents thus pro- 

 duced rot and carry offshore the winter ice, and consequently have a very marked effect on tbe 

 coast climate. On tbe other band, upon tbe Siberian coast, a deep, cold sea is in direct communi- 

 cation with the Arctic basin, along which the heavy Arctic ice gathers each winter. In addi- 

 tion there arc no streams of any size flowing into the sea. These conditions result in a much 

 more limited floi'a and a smaller number of birds on the Siberian coast of Bering Sea than is 

 found on the opposite Aiiu'iican shore. The cold Siberian coast compares fiivorably, however, in 

 this respect with nthi r Anlic lands. After coasting along all the northern shores of Eurojie and 

 Siberia, NordenskjoUl writes that he found the birds fewer in number but with a greater variety of 

 species on tbe Chukchi peuiusula than upon Nova Zembla, Spitzbergen, or Greenland. 



We must not lose sight of the fact, in this connection, that these last-named lands are Arctic 

 islands, frequented by vast numbers of characteristic Arctic water-fowl, whereas the Chukchi 

 peninsula is a barren portion of a continental mass with only jiarts of its shores sufficiently rugged 

 to attract tbe cliff'-loving sea-fowl. 



From bis winter quarters at Tapkan, on tbe North Siberian coast, about' 100 miles north- 

 west of Bering Straits, NordenskjoUl noted Pliyllopseustes borealis, Plectrophenax nivalis, Eury- 

 norhynehus pygmccus, Tringa couesi (called T. maratima), Grymophilus fulicarius, Chen hyperborea, 

 Phllncle canagica, Glmigula hyemaUs, Somateria spectabilis, Somateria v-nigra, Eniconetta stelleri, 

 Lartts glaucus, Oavia alba, Rissa tridactyla jjollicaris, and Bhodostethia rosea, besides several species 

 not named. Tbe Snowy Owl, Raven, and a Ptarmigan were the only birds found wintering there, 

 although the natives told him that the Mune and Black Guillemot winter in tbe open water off- 

 shore. 



