230 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



well as the dilliculty of jnoouriiig trail sportatioii along that uiifre- 

 quented coast, and, wliile I was under no direct obligation to deviate 

 from my course on liis account, I <lid not hesitate a moment in extend- 

 ing the hospitalities of the ship to him and his people and assuring 

 him of every practicable assistance in prosecuting his work. 



Nnsliagal: Hirer to the KusJcol-icim River. — We left the Nushagak on 

 the morning of .June 7 and ran aline of dredgings and fishing stations 

 across the bay and back to the Walrus Islands. Fairly good cod banks 

 were found outside of the extensive shoals surrounding Cape Constan- 

 tiiie, but only scattering specimens of cod were taken between there 

 and the head of the bay, and these were in poor condition. Reaching 

 Round Island, the southernmost of the group, at 9:25 a. ni. on the 8th, 

 we came to for several hours to allow the naturalists to examine its 

 shores. A dense fog prevailed during the night, but finally passed off, 

 and we aA^ailed ourselves of the opjiortunity to locate the island astro- 

 nomically. Getting under way at 2:25 p. m., we carried our investi- 

 gations to the northward between the islands and the mainland, where 

 the bottom proved exceedingly barren, with no signs of codfish. A 

 black mud, which we frequently encountered, probably had something 

 to do with their absence. A running survey was made in passing, 

 whi(;h resulted in expunging two or three islands from the group and 

 correcting the relative positions of others. 



Having cleared the Walrus Islands we steamed to Hagemeister Chan- 

 nel, Mhich lies between the island of that name and the mainland, 

 anchoring at 7 :3() p. m. to the westward of Tongue Point, a long gravel 

 spit which makes out from the mainland. The tides were very strong, 

 but our anchorage under the point was out of the strength of the 

 current. Half a dozen Eskimos came oft" in their kaiaks ready to 

 barter anything they had and drove quite a lively trade with the otficers 

 and m(Mi for a coujile of hours. 



We were delayed by fog next morning and lost several hours more 

 by persistently attempting to follow the chart, which was very inac- 

 curate and <'onstantly leading us into shoal water; in fact, the day was 

 nearly spent before we cleared the channel and off-lying banks. The 

 bottom was still barren, with no sign of codfish. Work was carried on 

 in a westerly direction until dark, when we lay to, intending to resume 

 it at daylight, but a gale from SE. sprung up during the night and 

 forced us to seek shelter under the lee of Ca])e Neweuham, where we 

 anchored at 3:45 a. m. June 10, in 7 fathoms, the extreme of the cape 

 bearing SIO. by S. magnetic. Furious S(]ualls came down from the 

 mountains and heavy tide rips surrounded us at times, but we rode 

 them out safely and with litth^ discomfort. 



The disposal of our ])assengers became a serious problem. Two of 

 the three Eskimos were (piite ill, totally unable to handle a paddle or 

 even lieli> themselves. This not only rendered Mr. Petroft' entirely 

 helpless, as far as the management of his kaiaks was concerned, but 



