24 CEUISE OF THE STEAMER CORWIN. 



pack. Once it is determined to enter the lead vigilance must be dpubled and every faculty kept 

 on the alert. The vessel is conned from the masthead, and while directing how the helm must be 

 put to keep clear of immediate danger, the pilot must be looking ahead for the clearest water, and 

 watching ice, sea, and sky for change of currents and winds. If any signs of the closing of the 

 lead are presented, the vessel must be got out as soon as possible, for if shut in, and she escapes 

 being crushed, she will go to the northward in the drifting pack from one to two knots per hour, 

 and it will become necessary to abandon her. If the lead followed up is between the ground-ice 

 and the pack, and the wind comes on shore, a safe place can sometimes be found behind the 

 ground-ice. A vessel may be made fast to this ice with grapnels, or anchored to leeward of it, 

 and lay with comparative safety. If anchored in a current, however, with drifting ice about her, 

 the scojie of chain must be short, and everything kept in readiness for getting under way at a 

 moment's notice. If anchored in shoal water it is desirable to get into the ice as far as possible 

 to avoid the swell, but if the water is deep the ice should be avoided. Generally the presence of 

 ice tends to kill the swell, and it will be found much smoother inside the ice thun out. 



The bowhead whale keeps as far to the northward as he can find spouting holes, and to take 

 him the whalers are obliged to keep as close to the pack as possible. Usually they track along 

 the Asiatic side in the Beriug Sea and Straits, and as they reach the Arctic, cross over and 

 work up the American shore to the northward and eastward. There is some difference of opinion, 

 however, among whalemen as to the advisability of coasting the eastern side, some believing that 

 it is'better to keep up towards Herald Island. In the Bering Sea there is very little danger in 

 entering the ice as it is almost sure to open and offer a chance to escape before reaching the Arctic. 

 With a knowledge of this fact whalers sometimes enter the ice to the southward of the Straits and 

 endeavor to work through it if they have reason to believe from the sudden disappearance of tlie 

 whale that there is clear water to the northward. In the Arctic, however, the pack is carefully 

 avoided, and it is only when conditions are most favorable that attempts are made to follow up 

 the leads. Point Barrow is approached with the greatest caution, as it is one of the most dangerous 

 places in the Arctic. As has already been mentioned, by far the major portion of the vessels lost 

 in the Arctic are wrecked in its vicinity. Vessels have sometimes been to the eastward of the 

 point as far as the mouth of the Makenzie River, but it is only in the most open seasons and 

 with a prevailing southerly wind that whalemen venture along the northern shore. 



By October 15 it is usual to begiu to think of leaving the Arctic. To remain after young ice 

 begins to make is dangerous. Ice begins to form in small globules varying in size from a pea to 

 an egg. These globules cement together, and the sharp crust formed cuts through the planking 

 of a vessel like a knife. The bark Helen Man; Captain Baldey, in 1879, the year memorable for 

 the loss of the Mt. Wollaston and Vigilant, in working forty-eight hours in this new ice cut through 

 her sheathing and all but one-eighth of an inch of her i)lauk. It is a wonder that she ever reached 

 San Fran(;isco in this condition. As the season advances in the Arctic gale follows gale, and the 

 fury with which they rage seems to increase with each succeeding ^torm, while maritime dangers 

 rapidly increase. 1 believe it to be a good rule to leave this stormy ocean with the first bad 

 weather after October 15, and there is no necessity of one of our vessels staying later. 



ALASKAN FISHERIES. 



The fishing interests of Alaskan America are becoming so important that I feel the Depart- 

 ment should become familiar with the details concerning it. In l87GMr. J. R. Daggett, a merchant 

 of San Francisco, conceived the idea of fitting out a vessel for the purpose of catching cod in 

 these waters. So successful was the venture that the McOollam Fishing and Trading Company 

 was formed for the purpose of extending operations. Other parties, witnessing the success of the 

 pioneer firm, have fitted out vessels, with generally successful results. Until within the past two 

 years the larger portion of the cod taken have been caught in the vicinity of the Choumagin Islands 

 and in the Okhotsk Sea, but these banks failing somewhat, these gentlemen, with the energy 

 characteristic of American merchants, sought for others more plentiful, and succeeded in finding 

 them in Bering Sea. So little is known of this vast body of water that no definite information can 

 be given in regard to the extent of these banks, Imt those interested and best acquainted with the 



