'50 ::XPKDITION TO POINT BAI;KO\Y, ALASKA. 



Si-recants ."\Iurilocli and Smith were indefatigable in their work, completing the Collection so fai- 

 ns practicable in natural history, and many valuable specimens were obtained, (.'racks opened in 

 the ice to the north and west of the point, and whales were reported seen by the natives April 12 ; 

 the leads were narrow, often closing entirely, with no water in sight tor days, and the natives 

 reported hearing or seeing whales nearly every day up to June 12. 



The sin-ing was very backward and we experienced a great deal of cold, disagreeable weather; 

 the shore leads opened slowly. In Elsou Bay and alongshore to the eastward of .Point Harrow the 

 ice held on until late in August, and this prevented my getting along shore to the eastward with 

 the whale-boat before the arrival of the relief vessel, as 1 had intended. 1 1 was my desire to explore 

 the coast as tar as the boundary at least, and had the season been as favorable as that of 18S2 I 

 could have left the station by June 12. 



On June 9 the natives succeeded in killing a large whale, the lirst they had taken since we had 

 been on the coast, and was the cause of considerable excitement among them for several days ; 

 they came in from all points to join the general feast on the carcass, which was free to all who eared 

 to come and partake. 



Hy the tirst of August we were becoming extremely anxious about a vessel reaching us 

 season, as the ground ice was still intact from Point Barrow to the Sea Horse Islands, and it was 

 impracticable to work a small boat along shore. The whale-boat was fitted and provisioned for a 

 voyage and held in readiness fora move as soon as the ice would let us out ; outside the bar there 

 \vas one narrow open lead extending as far as the eye could reach to the southwest, but there was 

 no break in the ground ice to let us into it; besides, it closed under a westerly wind or when the 

 prevailing northeast wind slacked up. On the morning of August. 1 a thick fog hung over the 

 ocean, and when it lifted, about 7 o'clock, our eyes were gladdened by the sight of three steamers 

 six miles away, working slowly up the lead from the southwest. With Captain Jlerendeen I at 

 once crossed the ground ice and went on board the nearest ship, reaching her about 11 a. in. Found 

 it to be the Orca, Captain Colson, from San Francisco, a new vessel on her first voyage. From 

 her we received our first mail, and from private letters learned that the station was to be aban- 

 doned as soon as a vessel could reach us. Captain Colson reported the balance of the whaling > 

 lying at anchor along the coast between Point Hope and Cape Belcher; not being so well fitted 

 as the new vessels, they would not venture into the pack. The Orca tied up to the ground floe off 

 the station until along in the afternoon, when, in company with the Bowhead, Bahcna, and Nar- 

 whal (all steamers that had now come up), she proceeded on up ro the Point; the lead here was 

 closed and the pack was solid to the north and east, and fast on the laud to the eastward of Point 

 Barrow ; they tied up under the lee of a large floe berg that had grounded in four fathoms 

 of water. 



The following day the steamers Belvidere, Lucretia, and Mary and Helen, came up bringing 

 considerable mail, but no orders, except one from the Chief Signal Officer directing me to dispose 

 of such stores as could be sold to. advantage. 1 .sold what I could to the fleet, packed everything 

 not required for immediate use, and as far as possible, without discontinuing the work- of 

 observation, made everything ready to embark, so that when the vessel sent to our relief should 

 arrive she would be delayed as short a time as possible. 



By August 15 several sailing-vessels had worked up to the station, and all were at anchor 

 behind the ground ice which had now broken away in several places; there was also an open lead 

 along shore. On the IGth the bark Sea Breeze (Captain McDonald) anchored off the station and 

 reported that he had spoken, the schooner Leo at anchor off Point Belcher, eighty or ninety miles 

 to the southwest, with orders for the station. He also reported the ice close in off Sea Horse 

 Islands, and that he thought the master of the Leo did not care to venture into the ice, as he had 

 been lying there over a week. I at once prepared to go to her in the whale-boat by working along 

 shore, but a heavy gale springing i;p from the northeast on the 17th prevented our sailing. In 

 the mean time Capt. L. C. Owen, of the bark Eainbow (who was master of the North Star when 

 she was wrecked in 1882), came to the station and tendered me the M-rviccs of his steam whale- 

 boat for the trip, which was very gratefully accepted. He sent it down to me on the 19th, with 

 Mr. Rogers, his first irate, in charge, and a crew of three men. 1 left the station a', (i.-iO p. m. the 

 same day. with Sergeant Murdoch and Interpreter Herendeen. The weather was clear and warm, 



