26 INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC KEINDEER INTO ALA8KA. 



which Nvjis bright unci suiiMy, witli ;i .smooth sea, wc .skirted the .south- 

 ern shore of Tigaldu, Akutan. and Avatabak i.shind,s, standing- for 

 Unalga Pass. Akutan Volcano stood out clear and cold, covered with 

 an unusual amount of snow. The crater is not at the highest point, 

 but upon the eastern shoulder of the mountain. Its location was plainly 

 marked bj- a large black spot on the snow, made l)y the snow being 

 melted away from the warm rocks that formed the rim of the crater. 

 On the west shoulder of the volcano a large pile of perpendicular 

 rocks, forming a small mountain of themselves, covered sides and top 

 with snow and ice, glistening in the sun, and seemed like a gigantic 

 fairy ice palace. This appearance was still further heightened by 

 some bare rocks at the base, giving the appearance of a large arched 

 doorway. At the mouth of the Pass for a short time the tide rips 

 made a rough sea, causing the vessel to roll badly. 



Turning northward into the straits, we passed Egg Island, so called 

 from the abundance of the eggs of wild fowl found there. In the dis- 

 tance was the village of Biorka, noted as the cleanest village on the 

 Aleutian Islands. At 3.15 p. m. we were passing the south end of 

 Unalga Island. Off in the distance to the southwest was the little vil- 

 lage of Biorka. At 3.30 we passed Point Erskinc and at 4 we were 

 abeam of Kaletcha; soon after the celebrated Priests Rock was passed. 

 We entered Unalaska Bay, and at 5.15 p. m. made fast to the wharf at 

 Udakhta (Dutch Harbor). 



Three busy days were passed^ in visiting the Jessie Lee Memorial 

 Home of the Methodist Woman's Home Missionary Society at Una- 

 laska, also the public school, and auditing the accounts of Mr. James 

 C. Blaine, who had been in charge of the removal of the old and 

 the reconstruction of the new school building. 



At 4.10 p. m. June 8 the ship cast off from the wharf, and, after 

 taking on board the steam launch, passed out of the harbor and headed 

 westward for Asia. 



At 2.30, the 9th, we passed the celebrated Bogoslov Volcano, 13 

 miles distant. Our route lay to the north, parallel with the Aleutian 

 Islands. These, however, were so far distant that only occasionally 

 the peaks of the highest mountains were visible. 



During the morning of the 13th we crossed the one hundred and 

 eightieth degree of west longitude, and owing to the change from west 

 to east longitude dropped a day in the calendar, making six instead of 

 seven in our present week. At 10,14 a. m. on the 14th Attn Island 

 was in sight, and at noon we were distant from it about 23 miles. At 

 4 p. m. Cap(\ Wrangell became visible. A high mountain range seemed 

 to traverse the island from south to northwest, covered with snow 

 down to the water. The coast seemed to be precipitous and desolate. 



The morning of June 17 dawned with a sky overcast and cloud3\ 

 According to our reckoning we should have been in sight of the moun- 



