126 ANTHROPOLOGICAL SURVEY IN ALASKA [Bth.ann.40 



LOWER TANANA, NENANA TO YUKON 



No old sites were learned of on this part of the river, and few, if 

 any, are probably preserved, due to lowness of banks and extensive 

 destruction (cutting of the banks) by the river. 



The present Indian villages on the river are as follows: 



1. Nenana (or Tortella), about a mission, half a mile from the 

 railroad station and town of the same name, on the left bank of 

 the Tanana and near the mouth of the Nenana River. (Fig. 1.) 



2. " Old Minto," 27 miles f rom Nenana, right bank ; but a small 

 number of Indians there now. 



3. Village at the mouth of the Tolovana, right bank (where the 

 Tolovana enters the Tanana) ; the village is on the distal (down- 

 stream) point. Nearly abandoned; only two families there now. 

 Summer (fishing) camp on the opposite point. 



4. A small settlement at mouth of Baker Creek, right bank, about 

 4 miles upstream from Hot Springs. 



5. "Crossjacket village," on left bank, about 45 miles above Ta- 

 nana, 40 miles below Hot Springs. Used to be called "Cosna." 

 Occupied, though only a few there. 



6. Near 5, but on the opposite bank, a few habitations. 



During the open season the Indians live scattered along the river 

 in fishing camps. This is especially true along the right bank down- 

 stream from Nenana. 



The Yukon Below Tanana 

 brief history 



The Yukon is the principal river of Alaska. It is one 

 of the greatest and most scenic rivers in the world. It is ap- 

 proximately 2,300 miles long (from the headwaters of the Lewes 

 River), in its middle and lower courses ranges at times with its 

 sloughs to several miles in breadth, and includes many hundreds of 

 islands of its own formation. Its scenery is still essentially primeval, 

 affected but little by human occupation or industry. It has, in fact, 

 gone considerably back in these respects since the gold rush was over. 



This great stream has been known to the white man for less than 

 a century. Cook, in September of 1778, sailed near, discovering 

 Stuart Island and Cape Stephens of the St. Michael Island, but 

 missed the river. 



In 1829 P. E. Chistiakof, director (1826-1830) of the Russian- 

 American colonies, sent the naval officer Vasilief to explore the 

 coasts between the Alexander Redoubt (at the mouth of the Nush- 

 agak) and the Shaktol or Norton Sound, and in 1830 Vasilief ex- 

 plored the larger part of the Kuskokwim River, of which the Russians 



