ae | Hersey, Birds at St., Michael, Alaska. 149 
eminent. Since 1881, when Mr. Nelson left St. Michael, very little 
extended work seems to have been done there. Dr. Louis B. 
Bishop spent a short time there in 1899 and probably a few col- 
lectors have stopped, for a day or two, at various times since, but 
for over thirty years almost nothing has been published from this 
part of Alaska. 
During this time many changes have taken place in the abun- 
dance of birds in other parts of North America. Species formerly 
numerous have become rare or even, in a few cases, extinct, while 
the settling up of the country has forced others to seek new breed- 
ing grounds, or adapt themselves to the advance of civilization in 
those already occupied. To set forth present conditions in this 
part of Alaska, and point out some of the changes that have taken 
place since 1881, are the purposes of the present paper; but nothing 
is intended in any way, as a criticism of any published statements 
of others. 
From the descriptions of the early writers, it appears that St. 
Michael formerly consisted of a mere handful of houses. The 
settlement was a post of the Alaska Commercial Company and had 
very little communication with the outside world. The discovery 
of gold at the point where Nome now is and at various places 
along the Yukon River, about sixteen or seventeen years ago, 
resulted in a short period of very rapid growth. Steamers began 
making regular trips from Seattle during the season of navigation 
and hundreds of people flocked to the country. Wooden hotels 
were hastily erected but many of the arrivals were obliged to find 
shelter in tents pitched upon the shores of the bay. Several stores 
were opened and without doubt their proprietors reaped a rich 
harvest for a while. Soon, a line of river steamers was in operation 
between St. Michael and points on the Yukon and passengers and 
provisions were transported to the various mining camps. St. 
Michael thus became the junction point for travel between the 
interior and Seattle. With the advent of so many people, it became 
necessary to station troops at certain points to maintain order and 
army posts were established at Nome, St. Michael and Gibbon. 
Like most towns that spring up almost in a night, a reaction soon 
set in and, for several years past, the population has been rapidly 
shrinking. Today, most of the buildings that were used as hotels 
