76 CRUISE OF THE STEAMEIl CORWIN. 



I'iico of pcnplo. All tiidsc wlmm we siiw ;il the coust, Ijoldii.n'iii.i;- Dii the Noiitak, were physically 

 of a suinjii<jr ordur, and wlu'ii seen in proximity to tliosc suh.ji-ct to the debasing intluences of 

 the illicit traders, the contrast was really startling'. Ainong- tJie niinibcir were several vei'y old 

 men, wiiicli, as is well known, is a rare sight ainunn' tlic imrtlici-n races. 



Natives of tlu^ Nofitak region are in consta,nt communication with those of the Kowa-k, 

 and possibly also with thos(> of the Koyiiknlc River; the latter fact, liowevei', I caniiot state 

 with any degree of cei'tainly. I^'i'mn llicir nwn accnunts, thei'c is no ciiinininiicatioii with the 

 ColvilJe or any other river tidwing iiorliiward inid llie Arctic ()ccan: indeed, it is very doubt- 

 ful whether that n\gion is inlial)it(>d at- all. 



Ill the recently issued re]j()r1 of Lieutenant Ray. U. S. A., cnncerning his work at Point 

 Rai'i'ow, h(^ makes no uieutiDU of ha,ving conmiunicated with any na,tives frmn tlu' interior. 

 If any were known to inhabit the valley of tlie C'nlville. it seems more tlian proliable that tlie 

 Point Harrow natives would have some knowle(lge of the I'act. Indeed, the barren and iidios- 

 ]iitable character of that region ahnost pi'ecludes llie idea ol' any settlement existing thei-i^. 



In regard to tlie number in]ia,biting t h(> Noiitak Valley, estimates pre])ared from the best 

 obtainable data place the number at two hundi'ed and tweiity-fi\-e, which it is thoughl fully 

 covers tlie total ]io]iulation. 



MIXER A L liESO I ^nCES. 



It would b(> a difficult matter for any one not having a. s])eciiic knowledge of the suliject to 

 state, with any degree of certainty, what minerals might lie found in tlie region. The cursory 

 manner in which the country was necessarily examined as we journeyed through it would 

 hardly admit of any positive assertion on the subject. 



Strangely enongli, we saw no evidence of coal in any jiortion of the I'egion. Notwitlistand- 

 ing its abundance along the Lower Kowak River, we found no indications of it along the 

 Noatak, or any laud which might be ])resnmed to possess a coal-beai'ing formation. If this be 

 the case, the coal-belt, which was'sn))posed to extend from the vicinity of ('a,iie ljisliui-ne in a, 

 southerly direction thi'ough the territory, is broken in the valley of (he Noiltidv. In regard to 

 other minerals, especially gold, I have not a, sufficient knowledge of the subject to make good 

 any assertion concerning it. 



1 have seen quantities of iron among the natives, which they say is found abundantly in 

 this I'egion. and concerning t lie I ruth of which I am almost positive. The great similarity exist- 

 ing I let Ween 1 lie uioii lit a i iioiis jiortioii of t lie count ry anci other localities where iron is a staple 

 ])r(jduct leads me to believe that such is iindoulitedly the case, a.ltlioiigli. with an inliorii 

 shrewdness, the iiati\'es steadily ri^fiise to divulge the locality. 



I saw. ill the bed of the rivei'. ipiantitics of the so-called jade, which in re;dily ]iroves to 

 l)e sei'))entiue, and which is probably found in t he mountains. In the na.tive (•■•i.che. mention of 

 wiiich is made elsewhere, we found a large niiinlier of ini]tlenients ma.de of (he finest ti-anslu- 

 cent iie|ihrite. oi- greenstune. and which undoubtedly c;iiue from this region. It is a matter of 

 much r(\gre( that I cannot ( hrow ;iiiy addilioiial light upon 1 his interesting subject beyond tlie 

 mere mention of the fact. 



Altlioiigh the iniplenieiils in i|nestioii would li:i\-e been I'xceedingly valuable. I did not 

 feel warranted in niolestiiig thi'iii. 



ORXmioLOdV. 



It is to l)e regi'etted tha,t the time at my dis]'osal was not sufficient to form an ext(>nded 

 series of oljservat ions on this suliject; those submittal a-re merely fragmeiitai'v, or such as ca.me 

 under my obsei'vat ion while in the perl'oriuaii i' of ot her duties, ami noted at moments of 

 leisure. 



The species enumerateil in the following synopsis should not bi' taken ;is acomiilete list, 

 but may at least servo to indicate those varii'ties most coninion and chara-ctci'istic of (he 

 region. 



The numbers refer to those in Ridgway's "Catalogue of North American Birds." 



