OEUISE OF THE STEAMER COEWIN. 67 



bluff, and upon lauding to procure our prize we found the soil to be composed of an exceedingly 

 fine dust, which had been ftishioned into many curious designs by the percolation of water from 

 the melting ice above. The many fantastic shapes seen here reminded me of the Pictured Rocks 

 of Lake Superior. At midnight we reached our camp where we had left the coal, and as Mr. 

 McLenegan wished to overhaul the boiler before starting fires with coal I decided to remain here 

 until morning. 



August 7, 1884. — At 7 a. m. we resumed our journey, and at 10 o'clock reached the settlement 

 which Lieutenant Stoney named Gilderville. Here we commenced steaming, as there was very 

 little if any current to aid us. The banks of the river are low and covered with a dense growth 

 of swamp trees and rank grass, with very little timber, and this entirely disappears as we 

 approach the delta. Towards 7 o'clock we found ourselves ten or fifteen miles from the mouth of 

 the river, and, choosing a passage which we had not previously seen, passed on toward the inlet, 

 finding from two to three fathoms of water in the river ; but the mouth was closed by an extensive 

 shoal, and we could not find more than three feet over it. Our coal lasted to this point, and by 

 mixiug a little wood with it we managed to keep enough steam to cross the bay and reach the 

 opposite shore, where we camped. Observed the schooner Ounalaxka lying at anchor about eight 

 miles to the westward. 



August 8, 1884. — We were at work all day in numerous small jobs about the launch and skin 

 boat, preparatory to a trip to Selawik Lake, which I intend to visit after making a rough survey 

 of the mouths of the Kowak. Our camp was situated at the base of some bluffs, and from their 

 tops we had a good view of the delta opposite. The low, flat country extends as far as the eye 

 can reach to the northeast, and is covered with a thick growth of low willow trees and rank grass. 

 Many lakes and lagoons could be seen, and the different passages from the maiu river to the inlet 

 seemed almost countless. The bay is almost two and a half miles wide at this place, but it grows 

 wider to the westward, and in some places is eight miles across. 



August 9, 1884. — During the day we had a brisk wind from the westward, and I employed the 

 time in running along the western shore of the bay, sounding and exploring the many mouths of 

 the Kowak. The main stream empties into the bay just at the entrance of Selawik Lake, which is 

 nothing more than an extension of Hotham Inlet. In fact it is hard to determine where the inlet 

 ends and the lake begins on the north side, but on the opposite side the entrance to the lake is 

 well marked by a sand si)it, which projects far out from the land and divides the two bodies of 

 water very plainly. At night we ran across to this spit, and, seeking a sheltered spot, camped. 

 A convenient little harbor here determined me to leave the launch at this place and to make the 

 trip in the skin boat, as I was informed that much of the upper portion of Selawik Lake was shoal. 

 August 10, 1884. — At 6 o'clock I started up the lake accompanied by Andre and Natorak. We 

 had a fresh wind from the westward and the light skin boat flew over the sparkling waves like a 

 racehorse. In an hour's time we reached the beach at the foot of a high bluff visible from the 

 camp, and I established a station here and erected a beacon. After taking bearings of some 

 prominent peaks and points around the end of the lake I proceeded along the south shore, finding 

 from two to three fathoms of water with gradually shoaling water to the beach. The country is 

 the usual high rolling tundra land of the lower part of the bay aud forms a bluff bank to the lake. 

 Along the front of the bank it is covered with a thick growth of willow and birch, except where 

 the ice and snow have slipped down from the heights, leaving a scarred and rugged track behind. 

 A narrow strip of beach composed of white sand and gravel extends for miles along the eastern 

 side of the lake, and at intervals long spits extend far out from the shore, so that many little bays 

 are formed. We made several stops during the day in order that I might get observations aud 

 bearings. At each stop Andre and Natorak erected beacons of ilrift-wood found on the beach, to 

 assist me in the work of surveying. Towards 5 p. m. we reached a part of the lake where the 

 shore trends to the northwest, and here We found the water very shoal and the shores low and 

 swampy. Two hundred yards from the beach a bar extended to the northwest parallel to the 

 shore aud a heavy sea was running on it. Our light boat would not beat to windward, so I 

 determined to land here and wait until the wind changed, or the sea should go down suflQcieutly 

 for us to paddle. We got over the bar comparatively dry and camped on the marsh. The place 

 was alive with geese and ducks, and Andre killed enough in a very short while to last us a week. 



