32 CRUISE OF STEAMER CORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 



possible, collect a few specimens. In this be was unsuccessful, owing to ibe fact that while in the 

 vicinity of the burying ground he was closely watched by the natives. The burying ground is 

 located on the side hill, about 180 feet above tbe level of the sea. It is a short distance above and 

 in plain sight of the settlement. 



About noon we got under way for the Diomedes, and arrived in the evening. As I had feared, 

 we found that, owing to high winds, our party had not been able to launch their boat, and the sea 

 had been so rough on the shore that they could form no idea of the amount of rise aud fall of the 

 tide. After getting the boat's crew ou board again my first inquiry was in relation to the treatment 

 they had received from tbe natives during the absence of the vessel, although the smiling, confident 

 expression ou Dick's face, as be came forward to shake hands with me, bore evidence that he 

 considered his friendship for the whites an established fact, and one which was likely to be fully 

 recognized and liberally rewarded. Boatswain Ilallahan's account confirmed the impression made 

 by Dick's happy smile. He stated that upon landing they had been assisted to haul up the boat to 

 ■a place of safety above the reach of the sea, and that Dick had insisted, as a precautionary measure, 

 upon all articles belonging to them being taken to his house, and had furnished all necessary 

 assistance for making the transfer. Everything arrived in safety except one brass rowlock, which 

 could not at first be found. Upon being informed of the loss Dick drew his knife, and, .after 

 exhausting bis stock of profanity, went forth to recover the lost property. It was not long before he 

 returned, proudly swinging the rowlock by the lanyard. It was found in the path by which they had 

 ascended the hill to the settlement, probably drop] >ed there accidentally ; but if it had been otherwise, 

 the sight of Dick's knife would have been likely to overcome any desire the thief might have had to 

 retain the missing article. Nothing more was lost, and the party were treated with the greatest 

 kindness during their stay. 



Having rewarded the natives liberally for their assistance, and assured them that their kind- 

 ness and honesty should be made known to all white men whom we met, we steamed away to the 

 southward, our effort at taking current observations having resulted in nothing but the loss of a 

 boat, anchor, and several days' services of the men engaged in the work. During the night we 

 steamed to the southward, through heavy banks of fog, similar to those noticed in this vicinity on 

 our way north. 



On the morning of the 2d the fog cleared away and the sun came out bright and warm, with 

 a perfectly clear atmosphere, such as I believe is not found except in high latitudes, giving us a 

 fine view of the Siberian coast range of mountains from Cape Krelongoune to Plover Bay. The 

 dynamic effects of glacial action on this range were so distinctly visible that Professor Muir de- 

 clared this sight alone to be well worth a trip to the polar regions. The whole range is beautifully 

 molded by glacial force. The coast line from East Cape, and including Plover Bay, is a system of 

 glacial fiords similar to those described on the Greenland coast. They are smaller but not less 

 clearly defined. The glaciers have long since passed away, but the general direction of the drift, 

 the size of the main trunk, and the number and size of the tributaries are clearly shown by these 

 deep fiords, and by the deposits of moraine matter. 



At meridian, July 2, we arrived off Cape Tchaplin, and the natives coming off in large numbers, 

 we stopped to communicate with them. On approaching near enough to be heard, from one of the 

 boats came the hail "Ship ahoy," to which we replied "Hello," and the answer came back, as one 

 of the sailors expressed it, in good nautical English, "Say, captain, why in hell don't you anchor?'; 

 This, of course, created a laugh, aud supposing that the speaker would be able to converse in 

 English, I had him brought to me when the boats came alongside, and to my astonishment found 

 that the sentence quoted, and one or two others of a similar nature, exhausted his knowledge of 

 English. 



They brought large quantities of whalebone and walrus tusks, also white-fox skins, which they 

 were very anxious to trade, as they said no schooner had visited them for two years, and they 

 were entirely out of many articles, such as tobacco, ammunition, and drilling. We bought some 

 white-fox skins, some walrus tusks, and a very fine Arctic brown-bear skin, but could get no rein 

 deer skins or fur clothing. They claimed to have plenty on shore, but would not bring them off 

 unless we would come close in shore and anchor. This we could not spare the time to do. Besides 

 we bad no confidence in their statements, which were believed to be Tchuktchi diplomacy to induce 



