CRUISE OF STEAMER CORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 35 



my own belief that the schoouer Flying Mist would make an attempt to take seals from the island 

 later in the season, I detailed Lieutenant Doty with two seamen to return by the St. Paul to the 

 Seal Islands, and remain on Otter Island until the departure of the seals in the fall. 



We remained at Saint Michael's four days, cleaning boiler, coaling ship, &c, and all enjoyed 

 the visit very much. The air of industry imparted by the sound of ax and hammer in hands of 

 busy workmen; the sight of the half completed steamer on the ways; the piles of merchandise in 

 front of the storehouses, laid out in readiness for the traders ; the surrounding tundra covered with 

 its carpet of verdure, aud the songs of the birds, all combined to give the subarctic trading post 

 the appearance of a small New England town. The tundra back of the settlement is composed 

 principally of mosses and lichens, the moss, chiefly sphagnum, predominating. Together they pro- 

 duce a yellowish-green covering, with masses of pale gray, where the lichens are most abundant. 

 The entire surface of the tundra is planted sparsely with sedges and several species of heathworts, 

 the whole crossed in various directions'by irregular lines of dwarf birches, of a dark greenish hue, 

 with here and there a small clump of alder or dwarf willow. Upon a closer examination of the 

 tundra the following plants were found in bloom, although the ground was still frozen solid only 

 two feet below the surface: dwarf raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, salmon-berries, crow-berries, 

 red currants, white phlox, blue iris, lupins, trieutalis, violet, saxifrages (several species), Draba 

 arcliangelica, carex, equisetum, and several species of ferns. These, with other beautiful plants, 

 combine to change, in a few days or weeks at most, the surrounding country from a dreary arctic 

 waste to a verdant field. But, however rapidly the vegetation may appear, it is not ahead of the 

 birds. The yellow wagtail and the Lapland long-spur were numerous, and the merry, musical 

 notes of the latter enlivened the tundra everywhere. A few ducks, geese, and snipe were to be 

 seen, but, being either nesting or attending to their newly hatched young, were very shy, and 

 seemed only to desire to avoid attracting attention. The patches of alder on the hill-sides con- 

 cealed nesting green and fox-colored sparrows, with here and there a yellow warbler or black- 

 capped fiy-catcher. The numerous brackish pools in the vicinity of the Redoubt, as the settle- 

 ment is called, were frequented by two species of loons (Golymbus septentrionalis and Colymbus 

 arcticus), whose harsh cries could be heard on every side, especially during the night, while 

 about the borders of these pools busy groups of the northern phalaropes enlivened the scene with 

 their graceful movements and delicate coloring. On the distant hillside could be seen a few 

 pairs of sandhill cranes stalking about, and now and then giving utterance to their loud rolling 

 notes. In the vicinity of the building darted and circled the numerous barn swallows which 

 yearly seek their summer homes thus near the Arctic Circle. Nor was the appearance on the 

 bay any less interesting. Numerous fiocks of coots (CEdemia americana) were circling about the 

 inner bay. Numbers of jaeger gulls hovered about the vessel to pick up any scraps thrown over- 

 board, while stray parties of Arctic terns aud straggling individuals of the burgomaster, kitti- 

 wake, and short-billed gulls help to swell the list and enliven the scene. Last, but not the less 

 interesting, come the Innuits in their kyacks, always cruising in pairs. They may be seen day 

 or night if the wind does not blow, for they are fine-weather sailors and never venture out when 

 the water is rough. They catch fish, spear birds, and occasionally kill a hair-seal or white whale 

 (Beluga). 



While at Saint Michael's we had an opportunity of testing, for the first time, the sea-going 

 qualities of our steam cutter, which had been used a number of times and found to be of the great- 

 est assistance, but it had always been in smooth water. A trial during a fresh northeast wind, 

 which swept the entire width of Norton Sound over fifty miles, raising quite a rough sea and mak- 

 ing all the natives' boats seek for shelter, was followed by very gratifying results. The launch 

 proved a very able sea boat, making, without difficulty, six knots au hour, which, considering the 

 state of the sea, was remarkable. In smooth water eight knots were made without difficulty. 



Before leaving Saint Michael's we watered ship from a remarkable spring on the east side of 

 the bay. The spring is below low-water mark of ordinary neap-tides, but so great is the discharge 

 that perfectly fresh water may be dipped up from alongside a boat at half tide. 



Our interpreter, shipped on our former visit to Saint Michael's, having declined to go any 

 farther with us on account of a prediction by the shaman, that the Corwin would never return, 



