INVESTIGATIONS OF THE ALBATROSS. 229 



and came to near the establishment of the Xushagak Canning Comi^any. 

 A reconnaissance of the lower river was commenced by the officers, and 

 the naturalists explored the surrounding regions. Taking Mr. Alexan- 

 der, the lishery expert, with me, I visited the four packing establish- 

 ments, all of which, seemed in good working order, waiting for the lirst 

 ^un of salmon. A detailed account of these works and their methods 

 will be found in the report of the fishery expert. 



I inspected the site of the proposed trap on Wood Eiver in company 

 with Messrs. V. TT. JoTmson and J. AV. Clark, the j)rojectors of the enter- 

 prise. It is located about 40 miles from the iSTusliagak cannery and 

 20 above the mouth of Wood River, at which point the latter is a 

 swift-running stream of clear cold water, between 700 and 800 feet in* 

 width and 10 to 14 feet deep. ISTothing had been done yet to indicate 

 the extent and character of tlie proposed work. Ten slender piles, 

 driven about 300 feet from shore, were all that could be seen, but the 

 contemplated plans were detailed by the projectors as follows: An 

 open channel in midstream 100 feet in width; two traps 40 feet square, 

 one on each side of the open channel, with wings extendiugto the shores. 

 This arrangement they considered to be clearly within the limits of 

 the law. 



The west bank of Wood River is covered with forests of spruce, the 

 larger trees having been cut for domestic purposes. It was from this 

 region that the Russians procured logs for house-building. There was 

 no wood on the east bank as far as we could see, the land on that side 

 being very low and marshy. The timber line is seen on the west side 

 of the Nushagak, 5 or G miles below the mouth of Wood River, and is 

 a notable feature in the landscape. The forest gradually thins out, 

 trees diminish in size until at the margin they are dwarfed to mere 

 shrubs, beyond which there is nothing but alder bushes, a few stunted 

 l)irches, willows, etc. There is no visible cause for this phenomenon, 

 but the line is distinctly drawn. Driftwood along the shores of Bris- 

 tol Bay, brought down the rivers by floods, indicates the existence of 

 great forests in the interior and constitutes the sole fuel supply of the 

 natives on the peninsula and at other places in Bering Sea. 



Mr. Ivan Petroff, United States census agent for the Territory of 

 Alaska, came on board on the morning of the 5th, having with him "2 

 kaiaks and 3 Eskimo boatm<m, and reported an unsuccessful attempt 

 to reach the Kuskokwim River via the inland route up the Nushagak 

 and over the portage. After workiug laboriously up the river sev- 

 eral days against strong currents, until in fact they were approaching 

 the i)()rtag(', liis crew mutinied, refusing positively to go any further, 

 thus forcing him to return. It was of vital importance, he said, that 

 he should reach the former river without delay, and, as there was no 

 other means of transi»ortation, he earnestly requested to be landed any- 

 where in the vicinity of Cape Newenham, from which point he c(mld 

 reach the native settlements. I knew the importance of his work, as 



