U. S. Naval Observatouy, 



January 10, 1X75). 



Admiral : I liave the honor to submit herewith the Narrutiv(; of 

 the residence of the late Capt. 0. F. Hall among the Eskimos, which 

 has been prepared for the Senate, by the orders of the Department, 

 under your superintendence and advice. 



The Manuscripts of Captain Hall's explorations, purchased by 

 Congress, have been found to present a mass of writing in the form of 

 journals, note-books, and even scattered leaves, exhibiting a large 

 amount of close observation, the results of which the lamented ex- 

 plorer more than once expressed his desire to arrange with his own 

 hand and publish. 



In preparing the Narrative the aim has been to exercise a close 

 discrimination in the selection of the material which seemed the most 

 valuable chiefly in its geographical and ethnological bearings. The 

 astronomical and meteorological observations, reduced from Hall's 

 journal entries, are given in Appendixes I and II. Mr. K. W. I). 

 Bryan, late of the Polaris Expedition, assisting in the jireparation of 

 the Narrative, under the orders of the Department, has rendered very 

 valuable services in arranging and condensing the material found in 

 the journals and in superintending the astronomical and meteorolog- 

 ical reductions. Prof C. Abbe will kindlv re-examine the last 



