TNTRODTTrTTON (>K DOMESTIC KETNDEER INTO ALASKA. 89 



of Muj. AV. L. Buck, V. S. Army, and Mr. Lawrence M. Schiinj^, (tur 

 local school coniniittec for wSt. Michael, I nuuk' arrangements for the 

 storing of the lumber and materials for Die ])ublic school l)ui](Hng 

 that was to be erected at St. Michael dui-ing tlie summer, and for tlie 

 opening of the new term of school in September. On August 3, Mr. 

 Iledley E. Redmyer and his assistant, Mr. Ilatta, wlio are to transport 

 a herd of reindeer from Bethel to Copper Center, arrived on one of 

 the ocean steamers. At St. Michael we purchased additional supplies 

 needed for this expedition and luid many consultations regarding 

 their enterprise. 



At 2 o'clock on the morning of August 7. the river steamer RocJc 

 Island, Capt. A. E. Le Ballister, commanding, started on her voyage. 

 Sometimes it is necessary for the river steamers, whose draft of only 

 4 or 5 feet renders it dangerous for them to encounter the 60 miles of 

 open sea between St. Michael and the mouth of the Yukon, to wait at 

 St. Michael for many days before it is safe for them to make this .trip. 

 Soon after leaving St. Michael the Rocic Island encountered heavy 

 cross swells, the last trace of a gale that had disturbed Bering vSea 

 some da^^s before. The little flat-bottomed steamer tossed about in a 

 wonderful manner, snapping one of the hawsers which connected 

 her with a barge piled with hundreds of tons of heavy freight. To 

 properl}' secure the cumbersome barge was a serious task for our 

 crew; however, by heading into the protected waters under a sheltered 

 bluff this was successfully accomplished. About noon the swell died 

 down and the rest of the trip through Bering Sea was made in smooth 

 water. At 4 p. m. we anchored just north of Cape Romanof to wait 

 until liigh tide before attempting to cross the shoals which bar the 

 entrance to the mouth of the Yukon. At 6 o'clock on the following 

 morning we entered the Aphoon mouth of the Yukon delta. The 

 natives compare the delta of the Yukon with its mouths to a human 

 hand and have given the name Aphoon (thumb') to its northernmost 

 channel. 



What the Mississippi is to the central portion of the United States, 

 the Yukon is to Alaska. Tliis great inland waterwa}', flowing tluough 

 the heart of the vast northwestern section of the continent, has ren- 

 dered it possible for the explorer to penetrate its remote fastnesses 

 and make known to the world the untold wealth there held secret for 

 unknown ages. The Lewes and Pelly rivers, which at Fort Selkirk 

 unite to form the Yukon, have their sources in the lakes held between 

 the mountain ranges of British Columbia, within 40 miles of the arms of 

 the north Pacific wMch penetrate southeastern Alaska. Tliis Amazon 

 of the north does not reach salt water until it has entered the Ai'ctic 

 Circle and turned southward to pour its muddy flood into Bering Sea, 

 more than 2,000 mfles from its source. With its tributaries, it drams 

 more than 600,000 square miles of territory and is said to discharge 



