CHAPTER YIII. 



THE GREAT ALEUTIAN CHAIN. 



The Aleutian Islands. A Great Volcanic Chain. Symmetrical Beauty of 

 Shishaldin Cone. The Banked Fires in Oonimak. Once most Densely 

 Populated of all the Aleutians ; now Without a Single Inhabitant. 

 Sharp Contrast in the Scenery of the Aleutian and Sitkan Archipelagoes. 

 Fog, Fog, Fog, Everywhere Veiling and Unveiling the Chain Inces- 

 santly. Schools of Hump-back Whales. The Aleutian Whalers. Odd 

 and Reckless Chase. The Whale-backed Volcano of Akootan. Striking 

 Outlines of Kahlecta Point and the " Bishop." Lovely Bay of Oonalashka. 

 No Wolf e'er Howled from its Shore. Illoolook Village. The u Curved 

 Beach." The Landscape a Fascinating Picture to the Ship- weary Trav- 

 eller. Flurries of Snow in August. Winds that Riot over this Aleutian 

 Chain. The Massacre of Drooshinniu and One Hundred and Fifty of his 

 Siberian Hunters here in 1762-63. This the Only Desperate and Fatal 

 Blow ever Struck by the Docile Aleutes. The Rugged Crown and Noisy 

 Crater of Makooshin. The Village at its Feet The Aleutian People the 

 Best Natives of Alaska. All Christians. Quiet and Respectful. Fash- 

 ions and Manners among Them. The " Barrabkie. '' Quaint Exterior 

 and Interior. These Natives Love Music and Dancing. Women on the 

 Wood and Water Trails. Simple Cuisine. Their Remarkable Willing- 

 ness to be Christians. A Greek Church or Chapel in every Settlement. 

 General Intelligence. Keeping Accounts with the Trader's Store. 

 They are thus Proved to be Honest at Heart. The Festivals, or " Praz- 

 niks." The Phenomena of Borka Village. It is Clean. Little Ceme- 

 teries. Faded Pictures of the Saints. Attoo, the Extreme Western Set- 

 tlement of the North American Continent. Three Thousand Miles West 

 of San Francisco! The Mummies of the "Cheetiery Sopochnie." The 

 Birth of a New Island. The Rising of Boga Slov. 



AFTER "lying-to " in a fierce southwester for three whole days and 

 nights, in which time the fury of the gale never abated for an hour, 

 our captain had so husbanded his resources that, when the weather 

 moderated, he was able to clap on sail and get under swift head- 

 way ; then we quickly left the watery area of our detention and 

 soon opened up a splendid vista of Oonimak Island, in the early 

 dawning of a clear June day. This is the largest one of that long- 

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