ALASKA. 



33 



kolsky, on the south of Unimak Island, has 127 inhabitants; it 

 was formerly much larger. Nazan, on Atkha Island, has a popu- 

 lation of 230, described by Mr. Petroff as thrifty and prosperous. 

 St. Paul, on the Pribilof Islands, had in 1882 a population o^' 

 298. The Amukhta (172° longitude) and the Unimak (160° 

 longitude) are the two safe passes between the islands. 



St. Michaels, on Norton Sound, is one of the most important 

 localities on the coast. It is a trading post, says Mr. Petroff, where 

 rival firms have established their depots for the Yukon River and 

 Arctic trade. The station keepers come down from the interior 

 to the coast at the end of June or 1st of July, and each receives 

 his allotment of goods to take back with him in sailboats and 

 bidars during the few months when navigation on the river is not 

 impeded by ice. The vessels supplying this depot can seldom 

 approach the post before the end of June, on account of large 

 bodies of drifting ice that beset the waters of Norton Sound and 

 the straits between St. Lawrence Island and the Yukon delta. 

 St. Michaels is the usual landing place for the Yukon Valley. 

 Travelers follow a trail across the country, and reach Yukon some 

 392 miles from its mouth. Lieutenant Allen says that the distance 

 from St. Michaels to the mouth of the Unalaklik River is 55 

 miles by coast. He ascended the river 14 miles to a village called 

 Ulukuk, and followed the trail some 32 miles to the Autokakat 

 River. A descent of this stream for 3 miles brought him to 

 the Yukon. 



Port Clarence, on the bay of the same name, is the place where 

 whalers wait for their tenders before proceeding through the straits. 

 The harbor is excellent. There is a reindeer farm here, and the 

 population numbers 485. Point Hope (population 301), Cape 

 Lisburne, Icy Cape, and Point Barrow are the most important 

 points on the northern coast. 



Nulato and Nuklakayet are trading posts on the Yukon River, 

 the former being 467 miles from the sea, according to Lieutenant 

 ifo. 86 3 



