22 KXPKWTION TO POINT B ARROW. ALASKA. 



Al'Jcr passing tin- st r;i its \ve encountered strong northeasterly winds, which retarded our 

 progress very murli. We sighted Cape Lisburne on the afternoon of August .">!. and soon after it 

 came on to blow so heavily that the vessel \v;is hove to, and in that position rude out the gale. 

 For over forty eight hours we were unable to have lires on board for any purpose whatever. The. 

 force of the 1 gale having abated on the 3d of September. \\v stood to the southeast, the weather 

 remaining so thick that \ve were unable to obtain a sight of the sun to determine our position. On 

 the 7th \\>- sighted ley < 'ape, and then stood along shore to the northeast, keeping the land aboard 

 until we sighted the point on the afternoon of September S, and came to anchor about one mile to 

 the northeast of Cape Smythc. thus successfully accomplishing the first and most important stage 

 of our work. 



The voyage, though long and tedious, had been remarkably free from any accidents, and the 

 meager comforts of our little schooner gre\\ wonderfully luxurious when compared with the low 

 desolate shore, which we could occasionally catch a glimpse of through the drifting snow. 



Point Harrow, situated in latitude 7P >' north, longitude l-~iti- 40' west, the destination of the, 

 expedition, was tirst discovered by Mr. Flson, master in H. M. S. Pdossom, commanded by Captain 

 Beechey, in August, I.si'G : and is graphically described by him in his report of his memorable voy- 

 age, made to the Pacific and Arctic Sea. during the years lsj.". is^'ii. l.Si'7. and ISi'S. 



In the lapse of sixty years but few changes have taken place on this coast. The people of the 

 generation that Captain l.eechcy met have all passed away, and the ston of the coming of the lirst 

 white man is one of the legends of the band of Ntiwukmcnn. The next visit made by white men was 

 that of Captains ] lease and Simpson, of the Hudson's Hay service, who. in July. ]8."7, started from 

 Fort C-ood Hope, and by boat passed down the Mackenxie to the sea, and along the northern shore 

 as far as Return Keel', the point where Franklin was turned back by meeting with impassable ice, 

 in 1S2G. They here found the ice last on the land, and further progress by boats being impossible, 

 Captain Simpson accomplished the remaining distamv on foot, and thus succeeded iu determining 

 the coast line of the northern shore from P>ehring Straits to tin- mouth <>f the Mackenzie. If. M. S. 

 Plover, Captain ."Uaguire, wintered at Point Barrow the winters of IS.'iL'. 18.V>. and 1*51. since which 

 time the coast has been frequently visited l>y vessels of the American whaling licet. 



Upon arriving at the point we at once set about finding u suitable location for the observatory. 

 At the extremity of the point is the village of Xuwuk. which occupies all the land that is free from 

 inundation by the sea. To locate the observatory among their huts would entail endless trouble 

 and annoyance. Hetween the village and the mainland, three miles away, is a low. barren sand- 

 bank, from forty to one hundred yards wide, across which, during a westerly gale, the sea breaks 

 when open. To the south and west of this the land gradually rises, until at Cape Smythe it is fully 

 thirty feet above the sea : but here again we found the most suitable ground occupied by the village, 

 of r'glaamie, a cluster of about twenty-three winter huts. We were unable to go any distance? 

 back from the beach, as we had no means of transporting our stores by land, and the marshy 

 condition of the country would have prevented us from going any distance back from the beach 

 even if we had the facilities. A point about twelve feet above the sea level, lying between the sea. 

 and a small lagoon three-fourths of a mile northeast from I'glaamie. was finally selected. The soil 

 was firm and as dry as any unoccupied place in that vicinity, and. as it was marked by mounds of an 

 ancient village, \\otild be free from inundation. The lateness of the season gave us but little time 

 for deliberation. The young ice was already forming, and the migration of the birds about over. 

 It was on the morning of the 9th of September that the work of debarkation was commenced in a 

 driving storm of snow and a northeast gale. 



The lumber for the house and observatories was rafted alongside the vessel and warped 

 ashore. This work was diilicult and arduous, owing to the heavy surf on the beach, and the ico 

 being some distance off shore, the strong northeast wind blowing at the time got up considerable 

 sea. the spray froze wherever it struck, so the lumber was coated with ice as soon as it was taken 

 out of the water. There was too much surf to use onr boats, and it was not until the l.'Hh, when 

 the wind fell, that we were able to commence putting the stores ashore. A temporary wharf was 

 constructed, so the boats could be discharged without putting them on the beach. The natives, 

 Avho at first appeared bewildered at the idea of our coming to stay, showed every disposition to bo 

 friendly now, and lendercd us valuable assistance with their large skin boats (umiaks), and also 



