V THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE TRIP 89 



large for comfort, and small enough to run into any of the 

 bays where it is required to stop and hunt. By this means 

 it would be possible to make certain of getting to the right 

 place for the different kinds of game at the right season, a 

 thing which our expedition failed to do, although we covered 

 the whole extent of country from Saldovia to a point many 

 miles along the northern coast of the Alaska Peninsula in the 

 Bering Sea. Whilst passing along the shores of Kodiak, 

 Afognak, and Uganuk Islands, a sharp look-out was kept for 

 any early bears which might have made their way down to 

 the shore in any of the bays which we passed, since the 

 sight of bears is by no means an uncommon one from the 

 deck of a vessel coasting along the islands. In our case the 

 search was fruitless. At a small place called Old Woman's 

 Bay, on Uganuk Island, we rowed ashore to the mouth of a 

 small salt lagoon. Here there were great flocks of harlequin 

 and other ducks, a number of which we bagged with the 

 gun, standing behind a rock at a narrow neck between the 

 lagoon and open sea, where the ducks afforded some fine 

 shots as they came flying in from the sea with a strong wind 

 behind them. Near this place also we took the eggs of a 

 pair of bald-headed eagles which had foolishly built their 

 nest in a low tree. Glyn managed to bag one of the old 

 birds with a good long shot from his rifle. 



Matters were slow until our arrival at Aniakchak Bay on 

 May 16. The next day found us busy unloading stores 

 from the ship, and finally established in a base camp at the 

 mouth of a big river up which we were to travel. Two days 

 later we started off up the river. The bidarki and a dory 

 (a good-sized flat-bottomed boat) were loaded up with stores 

 and tents, two natives towing them up the stream. The 

 going was by no means good, as the river teemed with sand- 



