30 THE POINT BARROW ESKIMO. 
narrow strip of land, and is so large that a man standing on the north- 
ern shore can not see the ‘“‘very high” land on the southern. It takes 
an umiak a day to travel the length of the lake under sail with a fair 
wind, and when the Nunatanmiun coming from the south first saw the 
lake they said ‘“‘Taxaio!” (the sea). 
On Capt. Maguire’s map! this lake is laid down by the name 
“Taso/kpoh” “from native report.” It is represented as lying between 
Smith Bay and Harrison Bay, and connected with each by a stream. 
Maguire seems to have heard nothing of Ikpikpain. This lake is not 
mentioned in the body of the report. Dr. Simpson, however,’ speaks of 
it in the following words: ‘‘They [i. e., the trading parties when they 
reach Smith Bay] enter a river which conducts them to a jake, or rather 
series of lakes, and descend another stream which joins the sea in Har- 
rison Bay.” They are well acquainted with the Colville River, which in 
their intercourse with us they usually called ‘the river at Ni/galék,” 
Ni/galék being the well known name of the trading camp at the mouth. 
It was also sometimes spoken of as the “river of the Nunatatmiun.” 
The Mackenzie River is known as “ Kupin” (great river). We found 
them also acquainted with the large unexplored river called “ Kok” on 
the maps, which flows into Wainwright Inlet. They called it ‘“ Ku” (the 
river). The river ‘‘Cogrua,” which is laid down on the charts as empty- 
ing into Peard Bay, was never mentioned by the Point Barrow natives, 
but we were informed by Capt. Gifford, of the whaler Daniel Webster, 
who traveled along the coast from Point Barrow to Cape Lisburne after 
the loss of his vessel in 1881, that it is quite a considerable stream. He 
had to ascend it for about a day’s journey—20 miles, according to Capt. 
Hooper*—before he found it shallow enough to ford. 
CLIMATE. 
The climate of this region is thoroughly arctic in character, the mean 
annual temperature being 8° F., ranging from 65° to —52° F. Such 
temperatures as the last mentioned are, however, rare, the ordinary 
winter temperature being between —20° and —30° F., rarely rising 
during December, January, February, and March as high as zero, and 
still more rarely passing beyond it. The winter merges insensibly by 
slow degrees into summer, with occasional “cold snaps,” and frosty 
nights begin again by the Ist of September. 
The sun is entirely below the horizon at Point Barrow for 72 days in 
the winter, beginning November 15, though visible by refraction a day 
or two later at the beginning of this period and a day or two earlier at 
the end. The midday darkness is never complete even at the winter 
solstice, as the sun is such a short distance below the horizon, but the 
time suitable for outdoor employments is limited to a short twilight 
from 9a.m.to3p.m. There is, of course, an equal time in the summer 
1 Parl. Rep., 1854, vol. 42, opp. p. 186. 2Op. cit., p. 265. 3Corwin Report, p. 72. 
