CRUISE OF THE STEAMBE COEWIN. 11 



ships. In fact, a majority of the whale ships lost in the Arctic have been crushed in the ice near 

 Point Barrow. Thirty-three vessels were lost in this vicinity iu 1871, thirteen in 1876, one in 1882, 

 and one in 1883. 



The whaling captains with whom I have conversed on the subject earnestly request that I 

 urge upon the Department in the strongest terms the utility and necessity of such an establish- 

 ment, and promise in case of favorable action to leave each year a portion of their outfits to assist 

 in forming a depot of supplies, providing only that the Government will furnish a responsible per- 

 son to take charge of the same. I have been assured that any of the whale ships will transport 

 to Point Barrow without charge such materials and supplies as may be necessary for the station. 

 The buildings left by Lieutenant Ray might be utilized, and with some small and inexpensive 

 repairs made suitable for the purposes of a relief station. 



The fact that two volunteer crews, composed in part of men of Arctic experience, have come 

 into this country to remain during the winter for commercial advantages should refute the gener- 

 ally conceived idea of unendurable hardships, and silence any opposition that may be made to this 

 most humane suggestion on that score. I desire to impress upon the Department the importance 

 such a post would soon acquire, not only with reference to its value as a place of refuge for wrecked 

 seamen, but as a means of checking illicit trade and collecting meteorological data and scientific 

 information. The person in charge and the keeper of the station, who would be ex officio inspector 

 of the customs, would soon be able to put a stop to the sale of liquor in the vicinity of the station, 

 an item of no small importance in Itself. I understand that Captain Herenden and the crew that 

 is now there might be willing to undertake the duty, in which case it would only be necessary to 

 endow it with the proper powers and incorporate it into the Life-Saving Service. 



In my estimation there is no more worthy object around which our Government can throw a 

 protecting arm than the whalemen frequenting the Arctic and encountering its perils, nor can I 

 conceive of a project that would reflect more credit on the LifeSaving Service, forming such an 

 important feature of it. 



Until July 23 time was employed in boarding and examining the vessels as they arrived. No 

 contraband goods were found, notwithstanding our thorough search, except on board the bark 

 Northern Light, Capt. James McKenney, where the searching officer found fifteen gallons of a vile 

 spirituous compound and ten gallons of fair quality American whisky. McKenney claimed that 

 all of it was intended for the use of his officers and crew, and not for trading purposes. Deeming 

 the whisky sufficient for the purpose claimed, I sealed the other up. Had not the quantity been 

 so small I should have seized the vessel and sent her to San Francisco. 



The necessity of constantly moving to avoid the drifting ice had now so reduced the quantity 

 of coal on board that I found it necessary to proceed to Port Clarence for fuel. About one-half 

 of the fleet had been boarded and examined. The natives had considerable bone stored at Point 

 Hope that they would trade only for whisky, and as whaling vessels were constantly passing and 

 repassing this place I did not deem it advisable to leave it unguarded. I therefore directed Lieu- 

 tenant Howison to take up his residence here with a detail of two men, and instructed him to use 

 all possible diligence in preventing traffic in contraband articles. 



I would respectfully state that some of the masters of the vessels boarded made no secret of 

 having brought large quantities of liquor into the Arctic for trading purposes, but had thrown it 

 overboard before reaching the United States boundary line on learning that a revenue-cutter was 

 in these waters. 



I received here from one of the whalers three men belonging to the schooner Caleb Eaton, 

 wrecked at Indian Point, Siberia, but was able to find a place for one on the steamer Beda. The 

 others, not desiring to ship on the whalers, I was obliged to I'etain on board. 

 On the 24th I proceeded to the southward, reaching Port Clarence July 30. 

 I found that the ship Syren, Captain Crocker, having on board five hundred tons of coal 

 destined for the use of vessels in this service during Arctic cruises, had arrived and was engaged 

 discharging the same. 



This coal has since been landed above high-water mark, and, as per contract, I selected Point 

 Spencer, at the entrance of the harbor, as the proper site of the coaling station, there being seven 

 fathoms of water within half a ship's length of the beach, thus facilitating the landing and taking 



