INTEODUCTION OF DOMESTIC EEINDEES INTO ALASKA. .SI 



present trip he should ascertain the co.st, etc., and write Mr. Bhmi, 

 agent of the company at Gan Francisco. 



After finishing our business with Mr. Powers, we went ashore for a 

 final settlement of l)ills and a farewell call on the ispravuik. The 

 governor gave Captain Jarvis a letter to the starosta (local governor) 

 at Karaginsk, instructing him to give us all possible aid in procuring 

 reindeer on Karaginski Island. The starosta is the local magistrate 

 and highest Russian officer in the small settlements. At 11 a. m., b}' 

 invitation, Captain Jarvis and m3^self took breakfast with Commander 

 Novakovsky, R. 1. N., of the Russian cruiser. His (juarters are com- 

 fortable; he ha.s an office and dining room, a large bedroom with an 

 iron bedstead, lounge, and a large bath and toilet room. The break- 

 fast passed off pleasantly. 



Returning to the ^6Y/r we had a call from the Government physician, 

 who has charge of a large region of country. He is emplo3nng his 

 spare time in writing a history of Kamchatka and its people. I 

 returned ashore with him for a couple of charts he kindly offered the 

 captain; also bade adieu to Mr. and Mrs. A. Jacovleft". During the 

 forenoon the Bear steamed into the bay, taking various courses to 

 ascertain the compass deviation. At 3. -15 p. m. the anchor was again 

 hoisted, and at 6.30 p. m. we stood down the bav and put to sea. The 

 sky was clear, and the mt)untains and volcanoes stood out in bold relief 

 against the sk3^ 



June 24: Last night there was a total eclipse of the moon. At (5.30 

 a. m. we passed Cape Shipunski. This cape is a rocky cliff 200 feet 

 high, and extends inland along a succession of mountain peaks to Jur- 

 nanova Volcano, which is a rock}^ cone 10,608 feet high, and can ])e 

 seen 120 miles at sea. Avatcha and Korianski volcanoes are also visi.- 

 blc. During the afternoon Kronotski, 10,008 feet high, was promi- 

 nent. This region is a famous resort for mountain sheep. 



June 25: At 4 a. m. Cape Kronotski was abeam, 12 miles distant. 

 At 11 a. m. sighted Cape Kamchatka. During the day we passed to 

 the westward of the Commander Islands. These islands belong to 

 Russia and are the resort of the fur seal. They are 79 miles distant 

 from Kamchatka and 180 miles from the island of Attu, the nearest 

 of the American possessions. They form a connecting link between 

 the volcanoes of the Aleutian Islands and those of Kamchatka. 

 Bering, the largest of the group, is 50 miles long and K! to 17 miles 

 wide at the north end, which is the broadest point. A chain of moun- 

 tains, 2,210 feet high, extends the length of the island. Bering, the dis- 

 coverer of the group, died and was buried on the east side of the island, 

 about three-quarters of a mile west-northwest of Capo Khitrofl". Cop- 

 per Island, the companion island to Bering in the group, is 30 miles long 

 and 5 miles broad in the widest part. At the time of B<M'ing\s discov- 

 ery in 171:1 there were no inhabitants on the islands. Aleuts were 



