CRUISE OF THE STEAMER CORWIN. 69 



densely clothed with the characteristic willow trees and f^rass of tlie lowlands hereabout. A 

 slight current favored us, and with a smart breeze which followed the course of the river we rushed 

 along at the rate of seven knots. No shoals were seen, and the depth of the water was from three 

 to live fathoms. In common with all tiiese livers the course of the Eegyak is tortuous, and its 

 shores afford but little scope for scenic description. At about 8 o'clock ]>. m. we arrived at au 

 Indian settlement situated at the junction of the main stream with a smaller one flowing off to 

 the left, and here pitched our camp, having made 35.2 miles during the day. The Indians were 

 exceedingly kind and anxious to help us. They rushed into the water waist deep and hauled the 

 boat up with all on board high and dry amidst great excitement, and after building a fire and 

 getting enough wood to last us through tlie night, sat down around lis and smiled on us with great 

 good humor. I learned to day that tlie natives of this region in summer time travel in their skin 

 boats from the headwaters of the Selawik through a small stream into the Kuryukuk and into 

 tlie Yukon with one short portage, and it is probably by this route that Lieutenant Zagoskin, of 

 tlie Russian navy, attempted to make a passage about forty-four years ago. This oflticer reached 

 the head of the Selawik River, but for some reason did not succeed in making the portage. 



August 14, 1884. — At 7 30 we bade farewell to our kind Indian friends and proceeded on our 

 voyage. Seven miles now brought us to the junction of the Eegyak with the Selawik River. 

 Here we were confronted with a head-wind, compelling us to take to the oars. The banks of the 

 Selawik vary but little from those of the Kowak in character, with the exception that the under- 

 growth is heavier. The width of the river varies from six hundred to a thousand yards, and in 

 some Tihices it expands into bays a mile wide. From four to six fathoms of water were found in 

 the channel. From the mouth of the Eegyak the Selawik trends in a northwesterly direction 

 about six miles and then to the south and west to the lake. Many small lakes and lagoons were 

 observed near the river, and entering one of these 1 discovered an extensive sheet of water lying 

 at the foot of the mountains, about six miles from the river. At 4 p. m. we emerged into a large 

 bay filled with many islands, and the glistening waters of Selawik Lake could be seen about four 

 miles ahead. We crossed the bay and at 5.30 p. m. reached the sand-spit forming the north side 

 of the entrance to the lake. Here we camped, as there was too much sea in the lake for us to go 

 farther. The wind was strong from the southwest all day and we made 25.7 miles. Average 

 temperature, 85°. 



A ugust 15, 1884. — This morning the wind had gone down and the sea in the lake was decreasing, 

 so that we got away shortly after I took my noon observation. We kept close along the north 

 shore, and I put Andre and Natorak on the beach with a tow-line. The beach is like that on the 

 other side of the lake, composed of sand and gravel, and the shores are generally high, with 

 occasional steep blufts of sand and clay. At a point about one-half the distance from the mouth 

 of the Selawik River to the southern entrance to the lake a river runs in from the mountains which 

 separate the Kowak and Selawik Rivers. Here the country is low and marshy, similar to the 

 Kowak delta. Berries grow in great abundance along the sides of the bluffs and on the 'evel 

 tundra land, and game is exceedingly plentiful. I shot during the afternoon eight ptarmigan, one 

 goose, a loon, and an Arctic hare, and could have shot many more of each of the birds mentioned 

 had we needed them. At 7.30 we stopped for supper, but did not camp as there were signs of a 

 shift of the wind to the northeast during the night and I was anxious to reach the launch as soon 

 as i)03sible. At 10 p. m. the wind came fair and we started. Soon we got from beneath the high 

 bluffs and the wind caught our little sail, sending us spinning over the sparkling waters of the 

 lake and on toward the launch, some twenty miles away. The soft rays of the moon bathed lake, 

 jilain, and distant mountains in a flood of silvery light, and the air was filled with sweet perfume 

 wafted to us from the rich tundra plains. At intervals the long mournful note of the loon, sound- 

 ing strangely like the sobbing of a child, or the low discordant cry of the crane, startled us in our 

 reveries. As we receded from the laud these sounds were lost and only the rushing of the water 

 as it was parted at the bows was heard. At 12 o'clock I relinquished the helm to Andre and 

 rolled up in my blankets for a sleep. Distance made during the day, .33.5 miles. 



August 16, 1884. — At 3.15 a. m. we arrived at our camp at the entrance of the lake and found 

 all hands well, but tired of their week's idleness, and anxious to get away. At 10 a. m. the wind 

 increased so much that I moved the boats around on the other side of the spit, and found a 



