NORTHERN GAME TRAILS 275 



charted rock on the morning of August 17th. 

 The steamer was off Admiralty Island when the 

 accident occurred. The ship commenced to settle 

 immediately and disappeared from view in three 

 minutes after striking the rock. Of 170 passen- 

 gers on board it was reported that not more than 

 thirty were saved. 



Continuing north through the chain of precipi- 

 tous islets and broken promontories which fringed 

 the dangerous coast, there w r as always something 

 new to hold our attention. In the broad indolent 

 green swells we sometimes saw great whales 

 swimming leisurely through the bland, untroubled 

 sea, patroling the upper green, searching the 

 transparent deeps below for schools of herring, or 

 basking and rolling lazily on the slope of the 

 swells. The myriads of wild fowl were interest- 

 ing to watch, sometimes streaming through the 

 upper air, again resting peacefully on the water's 

 surface, bobbing up and down like hundreds of 

 little corks. Pearly gulls, evanescent spirits of 

 the winds, circled up from the banks with inces- 

 sant clamor harsh and shrill, overriding even the 

 trampling sea. 



At length, upon rounding a long rock} 7 point 

 that jutted out into the channel like an extended 

 finger, Wrangell Bay came into view, and lay all 



