EEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 26 



and eggs, including some new species of the latter from west of Lake 

 Winnipeg", has been received froir Mr. Donald Gunn, and of insects 

 and birds from the vicinity of Hudson's bay from ]\lr. James Lockhart 

 and Mr. B. Iv.. lioss, to both of v.hom acknowledgments for valuable 

 ser\ices have been frequently rendered in previous re[>orts. 



Mr. W. n. Dall, who was mentioned in the last report as having suc- 

 ceeded JMr. Kennicott as chief of the natural history corps of the Eussiau 

 telegraph expedition, remained after the abandonmont of that enterprise 

 to continue his explorations among tlie Indians and Esquimaux along the 

 Yukon, and within the Arctic Circle, including the most northern part of 

 our new possessions. He has just returned and brought v.ith him a valua- 

 ^ble collection of the natural productions, as well as illustrations of the 

 ethnology of the regions he has visited. Mr. Dall visited Sitka with 

 the telegraph expedition, in 18G5, then went to the Aleutian islands, 

 and afterwards to Plover bay, in Eastern Siberia. He spent the winter 

 of 180G in the vicinity of St. Michael's, Norton's sound ; went the next 

 spring, Vv'ith a single companion, to Fort Yukon, near the headwaters of 

 the river of the same name, and continued his ex[)lorations on either side of 

 the iVrctic Circle until September, v.hen he retm^ned to Norton's sound to 

 report the result of his labors to tiie engineer-iu-chief of the telegraphic 

 expedition. But learning that the enterprise had been abandoned, he 

 concluded to remain in the country and continue the exploration on his 

 own account. In the prosecution of this purpose he left St. Michael's 

 in October, and spent the following winter among the Indians and 

 Esquimaux, in the region between the Yukon and Norton's sound. In 

 the spring he descended the Yukon, and in July commenced his home- 

 v.'ard journey. His collections are rich in birds, eggs, plants, smaller 

 animals, fish, fossils, and especially in ethnological illustrations. He 

 also made copious notes on the physical geography, geology, and meteor- 

 ology of the country. The first winter — 1800-'G7 — was very cold, the 

 thermometer descending, near Nulato, as low as GS° below zero. The 

 second was much warmer; rain fell almost every day, and, with the 

 exception of one occasion, the thermometer ranged from 10° below to 

 8° or 10° above the freezing point. As if, however, to compensate for 

 this, the spring was longer and cohler than had becii knov»n for IG i^re- 

 vious years. The short summers are quite warm, no snow remaining on 

 the ground. Ilai)id!y growing vegetables are cultivated by the Russian 

 traders, such as turnips, radishes, and lettuce. An attempt to grow 

 potatoes failed at St. Michael's, although a similar experiment is said to 

 have beeu successful at Fort Yukon. This part of the country is of no 

 value in an agricultural point of viev.', but affords an abundance of rich 

 furs. It is thickly wooded in the interior, principally with si)ruce, pop- 

 lar, and willov.'. Mr. Dall v;as kindly entertained by the inhabitants, 

 who, on all the coasts north of the Aleutian islands and on that of tiie 

 Arctic sea, consist of Esquimaux, while the inhabitants of the interior 

 are Indians. 



