ALASKA. 17 



as winter comes on, and far into the spring during- late seasons, 

 wlien liigh winds rage and keep the snow in drifts. Bitiley 

 might also be grown with a little more sunlight ; and potatoes 

 might also be matured year after year in fair quantity, and a 

 good kitchen-garden established in the most favored sections ; 

 but perpetual fogs and mists hang like j^alls over the land and 

 render it of no agricultural importance. 



The summers are mild, foggy, and humid, with an average 

 temperature of 50° Fahrenheit, with winters also mild, foggy, 

 and humid, and an average temperature of 30°. Minimum 

 thermometer here seldom or never falls lower than 10° ; there 

 never has been recorded four consecutive weeks of temperature 

 lower than 3° or 5°. The weather begins to grow colder in 

 October, and does not become milder until xVpril. The natives 

 here think that 12° to 15° is pleasant weather, but if it goes 

 down to 3° or 5°, it is to them, horribly cold. There are, how- 

 ever, exceptional seasons. For instance, the summer of 1831, in 

 July and August the thermometer did not rise above 35°, and 

 evenings were not uncommon with as low a temperature as 12°. 



Eain falls at all times and with all winds, but mostly in the 

 autumn, with southeast and easterly winds, and less with 

 southwest winds in winter. 



Snow begins to fall in September, (and even in August,) and 

 does not cease earlier than May, although it frequently melts 

 as fast as it falls far into December. It is seen on the higher 

 mountains all the year round. The average snow-fall is from 

 2 to 5 feet; the high, driving winds make the snow intensely 

 disagreeable and impede traveling. 



The cloudiness of the district is remarkable ; there are not a 

 dozen cloudless days in the whole year; about thirty' to fifty 

 fine days ; and Veniaminov says, after living there ten years, 

 " that the sun may he seen in a hundred to a hundred and sixty 

 days during the year." 



Thunder is seldom ever heard, and lightning never seen ; 

 although the clouds seem to constantly suggest it. Auroras 

 are also almost unknown, and when seen are very faint. 



The old Aleuts here say that in early times the snow was 

 deeper and the cold greater than it has been for some time 

 past, while, on the other hand, they assert that the winds are 

 getting stronger and harsher as time rolls on with them. Veni- 



2 AL 



