60 CRUISE OF THE STEAMER COKWIN. 



and at 11 p. tii. I tuniiMl in satisfied that tbey were at last in a fair way to make an early start 

 with us in tlic luoruiny. Temperature, 9'P. 



July 23, 1884. — The day began with a light rain, which toward noon increaseil to a perfect 

 torrent, and so continued until near 4 p. ui., wlien it ce.ised and the clouds rose from the forest- 

 covered hills and hung lilve a veil around the deeply-scarred summits of the adjacent mountains. 

 At 4 p. ni. 1 called all hands, and with the three Indians from tlio village and one boat to help us 

 we started for our place of meeting with Mr. McLenegan. We i)addled lustily along, and where 

 the steep, broken bank allowed a foothold, I put all hands on the bank with a long tow-line, and 

 away we bowled up the river a great deal faster than the launch could i)ossibly go. At 1 p. m. 

 we arrived at the place where we were to meet Jlr. McLenegan and Mr. Miller, and, seeing no 

 signs of them, pitched our tent and set fire to a dead tree to apprise them of our return. The 

 birch bark canoe which had been brought along was badly broken to day by being dragg< d over 

 a fallen tree, and it is probable we will have to dispense with it. The river rose steadily all 

 through the night, and this morning it is a foot higher than the day before. The Indians say it 

 is very high now, but that later, when dry weather comes on, it will rai)id]y fall, and tlie whole 

 bed of the river, with the exception of the channel, will become dry. We made thirteen miles 

 to-da^'. Temperature, 85°. 



Juli/ 2i, 1884 — The whole day was rainy with frecjuent squalls. At 7 a. ni. Mr. MctLenegan 

 and yiy. Miller returned from the mountains, and thty werein a terribly exhausted condition. 

 They had been drenched by the rain and tormented by the mosquitoes ever since leaving the 

 river, and their condition was now real'.y pitiable. Their boots had been worn out by hard walk- 

 ing, and they were compelled to cut i>ieces from their blankets to bind around their feet. Their 

 clothes were torn, and their faces, haggard and blood-stained, fully attested the hardshiji they 

 had undergone in the brief period since leaving the launch. They brought back sjiecimens of 

 green stone which Mr. JlcLentgan thinks is jade or nephrite. It was out of the (juestion to think 

 of their going on without rest, and as the biich-baik canoe could not be repaired suliicieiitly to 

 stand rough usage I determined to push on in the skin boat with Andre, Natorok, and the two 

 Indians, while Mr. McLenegan, Mr. Miller, and the remaining Indian would return to the launch. 

 Accordingly we put the most necessary articles in the skin boat, and leaving the rest i:i the care 

 of Mr. .McLenegan I started ahead. At noon we reached a pait of the river where it maUes a 

 sudden bend to the southeast, and the jade mountain could easily be distinguished from the 

 surrounding jteaks on account of its ]ieculiar greenish color. We made good time throughout the 

 day, passing tiirough a low, rolling country, backed by mountains on bolh sides. The current 

 remained strong and the depth of water showed no diminution. At 4..'>(> \<. m. we i)assed a 

 remarkable <-lay blutT, some l.")() feet high and three-cpnirters of a mile long, on the riglit side of 

 the river. Tlie constant wear of the ever rushing .stream had underuiini'd the base, and huge 

 masses of the blufif would become detached and fall into the water with a terrific roar, and the 

 oppressive silence of the wilderness would be broken by a thousand echoes from the neighboring 

 clififs. Maiiiinoth tusks abound in this blutt'. Some were seen which were eight inclies in diame- 

 ter, but were out of reach under the water. The course of the 8trean> in this locality is very 

 crooked, and although we made nearly thirty miles to-day our ])0.sition in relation to prominent 

 mountains in the vicinity had not materially changed. When the sun had set and the .shades of 

 night were coming on we reached a deserted village, and as I had sent the tent bai k with Mr. 

 McLenegan we turned in for the night in a vacant hut, where we were at least safe from the rain. 

 Despite tiie bad weather we made 2S.0 miles today. Average temperature, 85°. 



Juhi 2'), 1884.— The day was warm and |)leasant througliout, and we started to pacii our boat 

 at5a. m., when Andre discovered .several places worn through on the bottom which had to be 

 sewed up before we went any farther. This work delayed us somewhat, and it was not until 9 

 a. 111. that we got off. We made excellent time nj) the river, but the course of the stream is very 

 crooked, and there are a great many islands lying in tlie bends. The country on both sides was, as 

 usual, spongy tundra backed by rolling country to the mountains, sixteen to twenty miles distant. 

 The banks of the river are moderately high, and composed of a dark-colored soil of a clayey 

 nature, above which liesathick layer of black earth in whicii the tiher of decayed vegetable matter 

 can be seen iu great quantities. The banks seem to l>e uiuiergoing a continual change of form, as 



