INVESTIGATIONS OF THE ALBATROSS. 3 



was seen on the 23d, 500 milos from tlie nearest of the Alentian Islands, 

 and the next day pnffins, gulls, etc., began to appear. Occasional ves- 

 sels Avere seen as we approached the land. 



The volcano of Akutan was sighted early on the morning of the 

 25th, and at 3:45 p. m. the same day we dropped anchor in Iliuliuk, 

 Unalaska, having made the trip from San Francisco in a little less than 

 nine days. The steamer Danube having on board Sir George Baden- 

 Powell and Dr. George M. Dawson, the British commissioners to Bering 

 Sea, was found in portj she had arrived the same day. 



The harbor presented a most animated appearance for a place so 

 remote from the ordinary routes of commerce and travel. In addition 

 to the vessel mentioned there Avere lying in the harbor H. B. M. S, 

 J^yniphe, Pheasant, and transport Costa Rica; theJJ.^.^. Alert, Thetis, 

 revenue steamer Bush, and transport Al Ki. There were also the barks 

 Garrolton and Ferris S. Thompson with coal; the Alaska Commercial 

 Company's steamer Dora and schooner Matthew Turner ; and the prize 

 La Nimfa. The steamers Lakme and Farallon were lying in Dutch 

 Harbor, about a mile distant. 



Pribilof Islands. — The Danube, with the British commissioners on 

 board, left for the Seal Islands at 10 a. in. on the 20th, and, after coaling, 

 the Albatross followed at 6 a. m. on the 27th. We exchanged signals 

 with the U. S. S. Mohican about noon, and heard a steamer's fog whistle 

 about midnight, but did not see her. Seals were frequently encountered 

 after crossing the 100-fathom line into shoaler water. They were seen 

 singly as a rule, and there were seldom more than two or three in sight 

 at a time. 



Steaming through the night at low speed, in a thick fog, we made St. 

 George Island at 8 a. m. the following morning, and anchored oti' the 

 village two hours later. 



The commissioners landed at 10 a. m. and returned at meridian, bring- 

 ing with them Mr. J. Stanley-Brown, special Treasury agent, and Capt. 

 A. W. Lavender, Treasury agent for St. George Island, for passage to 

 St. Paul. Getting under way as soon as they arrived, we ran over to 

 the latter island, and reached Village Cove at 5:45 p.m. during a dense 

 •fog. The Danube, with the British commissioner on board, was lying at 

 anchor in the bay, having arrived about noon. 



Mr. Tingle, agent of the North American Commercial Company, and 

 Mr. Murray, TJ. S. Treasury agent, came on board and called on the 

 U. S. commissioners. The time required in going to and from the 

 ship, even under favorable conditions, and the uncertainty of com- 

 munication at all times, induced the commissioners to take up their 

 quarters ashore during their stay at the island, and they were landed 

 the following day, July 29. There is no protected harbor on either 

 island and anchorages are sought to leeward of x^i'ojecting points, or 

 under the lee of the island itself, to be changed with the shifting winds 

 of that ever- varying climate. A well-found steamer may remain safely 



