60 CRUISE OF THE STEAMER CORWIN. 



aud at 11 p. in. I turned in satisfied tbat tbey were at last in a fair way to make an early start 

 with us in the moniiug. Temperature, 95°. 



July 23, 1884. — The day began with a light rain, which toward noon increased to a perfect 

 torrent, and so continued until near 4 p. ni., wlieu it ceased and the clouds rose from the forest- 

 covered hills and hung like a veil around the deeply-scarred sutnuiits of the adjacent mountains. 

 At 4 J), ni. 1 called all hands, and with the three Indians from the village aud one boat to lielp us 

 we started for our place of meeting with Mr. McLeuegan. We paddled lustily along, and where 

 the steej), broken bank allowed a foothold, I put all hands on the bank with a long tow-line, and 

 away we bowled up the river a great deal faster than the launch could possibly go. At 1 ]>. m. 

 we arrived at the place where we were to meet Mr. McLenegan and Mr. Miller, and, seeing no 

 signs of them, pitched our tent and set fire to a dead tree to apprise them of onr return. The 

 birch bark canoe which had been brought along was badly broken to day by being dragged over 

 a fallen tree, and it is probable we will have to dispense with it. The river rose steadily all 

 through the night, and this morning it is a foot higher than the day before. The Indians say it 

 is very high now, but that later, when dry weather comes on, it will rajjidly fall, and the whole 

 bed of the river, with the exception of the channel, will become dry. We made thirteen miles 

 to-day. Temperature, 8.5°. 



July 24, 1884 — The whole day was rainy with frequent squalls. At 7 a. m. Mr. McLenegan 

 and Mr. Miller returned from the mountains, and they were in a terribly exhausted condition. 

 They had been drenched by the rain and tormented by the mosquitoes ever since leaving the 

 river, aud their condition was now real'.y pitiable. Their boots had been worn out by hard walk- 

 ing, and tht^y were comjielled to cut pieces from their blankets to bind around their feet. Their 

 clothes were torn, and their faces, haggard and blood-stained, fully attested the hardship they 

 had undergone iu the brief period since leaving the launch. They brought back specimens of 

 green stone which Mr. McLenegan thinks is jade or nephrite. It was out of the question to think 

 of their going on without rest, and as the biiehbark canoe could not be rei)aired sufficiently to 

 stand rough usage I determined to i)usli on in the skin boat with Andre, Natorok, and the two 

 Indians, while Mr. McLenegan, Mr. Miller, and the remaining Indian would return to the launch. 

 Accordingly we put the most necessary articles in the skin boat, and leaving the rest in the care 

 of Mr. McLenegan I started ahead. At noon we reached a part of the river where it makes a 

 sudden bend to the southeast, and the jade mountain could easily bo distiuguished from the 

 surrounding peaks on account of its peculiar greenish color. We made good time throughout the 

 day, passing through a low, rolling country, backed by mountains on both sides. The current 

 remained strong and the depth of water showed no diminution. At 4.30 ]). ni. we passed a 

 remarkable (^lay bluff, some 150 feet high aud three-quarters of a mile long, on the right side of 

 the river. The constant wear of the ever-rushing stream had undermined the base, and huge 

 masses of the bluff would become detached and fall into the water with a terrific roar, and the 

 oppressive silence of the wilderness would be broken by a thousand echoes from the neighboring 

 cliffs. Mammoth tusks abound in this bluff. Some were seen which were eight inclies in diame- 

 ter, but were out of reach under the water. The course of the stream in this locality is very 

 crooked, and although we made nearly thirty miles to-day our position in relation to prominent 

 mountains in the vicinity had not materially changed. When the sun had set and tlu! shades of 

 night were comiug on we reached a deserted village, and as 1 had sent the tent back witli Mr. 

 McLenegan we turned in for the night in a vacant hut, where we were at least safe from the rain. 

 Despite the bad weather we made 2S.G miles to-day. Average tem])erature, 85°. 



July 25, 1884.— The day was warm and jileasant throughout, and we started to pack our boat 

 at 5 a. m., when Andre discovered several places worn throngh on the bottom which had to be 

 sewed up before we went any farther. This work delayed us somewhat, and it was not uutil 9 

 a. m. that we got off. We made excellent time up the river, but the course of the stream is very 

 crooked, and there are a great many islands lying in the bends. The country on both sides was, as 

 usual, spongy tundra backed by rolling country to the mountains, sixteen to twenty miles distant. 

 The banks of the river are moderately high, and composed of a dark-colored soil of a clayey 

 nature, above which lies a thick layer of black earth in which the fiber of decayed vegetable matter 

 can be seen in great quantities. The banks seem to ho undergoing a continual change of form, as 



