INVESTIGATIONS OF THE ALBATROSS. 127 



TTiy <:?nest. The evening of tlie Sth elosed M'ith every indication of 

 ax)i)i"oacbing bad weather. On the Otli, lOtli, and lltli it blew a stiff 

 gale from the SW., was overcast and rainy, moderating by noon of tlie 

 12tli. St. George was made, rnnning in by soundings, on tlie morning 

 of the Dth. A good anchorage was found off the village, north side, 

 in 9^ fathoms, where the Albatross rode out the gale in company with 

 the U. S. S. Alert until the 12th. A heavy suif prevented any com- 

 munication M'ith the shore. The appearance of the wciither not indicat- 

 ing a settled condition, with the barometer fluctuating between 30.20 

 and 20.70, and a heavy fog hanging over tlie island, and no immediate 

 prospect of landing Messrs. Townscnd and Miller with their outfit in 

 order to photograph the rookeries on St. George, it was therefore 

 decided to try St. Paul, and to return to St. Geoige at a later date. 



Accordingly, the Alhatross got uiuler way at 11 a. m. on the 12tli and 

 anchored at 8.30 p. m. on the north side of St. I'aul, where the U. S. S. 

 Ranger was still at anchor riding out the gale. Messrs. Brown, Town- 

 send, and Miller were safely landed with their outfit, when the Alhatross 

 left at 1 1 p. m. for Isanotski Strait. 



The next day we were obliged to stop the engines for several hours 

 in order to replace two dowel pins which had suddenly broken off, but 

 were under way again at 4.40 p. m. In latitude rtCP 35' N., longitude 

 108° 18' W., St. George bearing WSW. ^^ W. (maguetic), distant 44 

 miles, we sounded in 59 fathoms, green mud aiid sand. During our wait 

 a fishing trial of thirty minutes with an average of 13 lines revealed a 

 fair iishing station, Ilyd. No. 3502. The catch consisted of 70 cod; 

 average weight, lOg pounds; average length, 30 inches. 



Off Unimak Pass, in Bering Sea, we overhauled and boarded the 

 Uranus, fisherman, ninety-three days out from San Francisco. She is a 

 three-masted schooner owned by C. G. Jorgensen, carries a crew of 14 

 men, and is equipped with 9 dories and 1 ordinary boat. She had been 

 fishing along the south shore and islands of the Alaska Peninsula, 

 but with small success, and was on the way to Baird Bank, cod fishing. 



Sunday, July 15, we arrived at the mouth of Isanotski Strait, Ikatan 

 Bay, and anchored, having run a line of soundings from Cape Lazareff, 

 18 miles west of Cape Pankof, to Ikatan Bay, at an average distance 

 of 1 mile from shore. The shelf appears to slope gradually from 25 

 fathoms off Cape Pankof to 00 fathoms off Cape Lazareff, the bottom 

 being composed of <lark and gray sand and giavel. 



A short reconnoissance was made of Ikatan Bayou the IGth, to locate 

 headlands. In the afternoon we entered the pass at high water and 

 steamed up to Morzhovoi -sillage, a distance of 8 miles. Found an 

 anchorage in the middle of the cove off the village, in 4i fathoms, with 

 the Greek church bearing S. :[ E. (magnetic), muddy bottom, and good 

 holding-ground. A high bluff on the north side forms a good protec- 

 tion from northerly winds, which, however, are drawn through the cove 

 with much force at times from the eastward. The harbor is landlocked 

 and is a safe anchorage in all winds except from the southwest. 



