ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



After a \ong discussion of prospects ami ])0S- 

 sibilities, \vc tlccided that tlic most accessible 

 place for the capture of white mountain sheep 

 lambs was the mountains bordering the Knik 

 River, which stream Hows into the ui)i)cr end 

 of the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet, seventy-five 

 miles from Tyonek. A small settlement called 

 Knik, at the head of Knik Arm, and distant 

 seventy-five miles from Tyonek, would serve 

 as our base of o])erations farther on. 



We left Tyonek .May second in a small sloop 

 manned by its owner Mr. .McOnin and an 

 Indian. There was little wind, ,so all hands 

 l)ent to the oars until four o'clock in the after- 

 noon. Then a i^ale rose suddenly, and so 

 quickly did it gat'ier force that while the w'atcr 

 around us was yet smooth, the whitccai)s could 

 be seen rolling several miles ahead. To make 

 matters more interesting, about five miles from 

 Fire Island large ]«cks of floating ice were 

 encountered, and alxuit the same time some- 

 thing happened to the l)()wsprit whicli com- 

 pelled us to furl the jil). This of course made 

 the boat difticult to manage. I'ortunatcly we 

 were well under the lee of the shore 1-)eforc the 

 force of the gale struck us; and after ;\n hour 

 of an.xiety, we reacheil the north piiint of Imtc 

 Island and anchored for the night. 



For small craft the navigation of Cook Inlet 

 is always difiicult and dangerous. Owing to 

 the strong tides, it is im])ossible to go any- 

 where unless they are in one's favor. Should 

 a traveler fail to reach his destination before 

 the tide turns, mdess he hi\-. a strong wind in 

 his favor, he must come to anchor, or his boat 

 \yill drift back to the starting i)oint. On ac- 

 count of gales that rise with remarkable sud- 

 denness about Fire Island and Turnagain 

 Arm, the waters in this section are considered 

 the most dangerous of any in Cook Inlet. 



It became necessary to station a watch at 

 night to kceji the boat in deep water, and look 

 out for ice. liy the time the tide had turned 

 again in our f,i\(ir it was too dark to proceed, 

 so we received little benefit from it. making 

 but ten miles before anchoring in the moutli 

 of Knik Arm. At low tide the boat was high 

 and dry on a mud flat, where we remained 

 until the water rose. We then made sail and 

 crossed to the north bank of the .\rm, where 

 large masses of floating ice obliged us to 

 drift with it. There is little danger from 

 drifting ice so long as it does not become 

 stranded, but should this hapi^en it of course 

 jams and endangers any craft caught in it. 



Nearing Knik we saw with our field glasses 

 that the ice in front of the village was intact. 

 It formed an island, or ])eninsula as it after- 

 wards ]iroved, with a channel on each side. 

 \\'c were on the outer edge of the iiack .-uid 



between the boat and shore the ice was thickly 

 jammed. McOuinn said we would have to 

 force a way through it to the inner channel, 

 or be carried up the wrong side of the inlet. 

 While the other members of the party opened 

 a passage wMth the oars, I jumped out on the 

 ice and hauled the boat into the right chan- 

 nel, and we w-ere soon drifting forward be- 

 tween walls of ice. 



The channel was open but a short distance, 

 and at high tide the pack jammed. Within 

 about a mile of Knik we were met by Mr. Tool 

 and Mr. Palmer, agents for the .\laskan Com- 

 mercial and North American Commercial 

 Companies. They came to advise us not to 

 approach nearer for fear of being caught in 

 the jam. Heeding their warning, we took 

 shelter behind a huge block of ice that had 

 broken from shore and stranded. I'y the time 

 the cargo was unloaded the tide had turned, 

 and McOuinn and his Indian crew turned 

 back. It was with a feeling of uneasiness that 

 we bade them good-by, and watched their 

 small boat struggling in tlir icr until the 

 blocks became so thick that only the mast 

 was visible. 



Mr. Tool generoush' placeil his cal)in at our 

 disposal and in many ways both he and Mr. 

 Palmer gave us much assistance. 



At Knik we spent two days negotiating with 

 the Indians, and in repairing a river boat I had 

 hired. T also engaged two Indians upon whom 

 the whites bestowed the names of .\ndrew 

 and r.illy. 



The next morning we left Knik and kept 

 ahead of the ice until high tide, then camped 

 near a cabin some fifteen miles from the mouth 

 of the river. I had been told a native named 

 James Ephim was camped near here. Inas- 

 much as he was said to be a good htmter, we 

 hoped to secure his services. No sooner had 

 a fire been started than a group of Indians col- 

 lected, one of whom was Jim. When Ilicks 

 told them the object of the expedition, the 

 Indians laughed at us and said it was impos- 

 sible to catch lambs, as they were hnrn in in- 

 accessible places and a few^ hours after birth 

 could easily escape. However, as soon as 

 Hicks told Jim that we wanted to hire him, 

 there was a change in his manner. Then he 

 was sure we could capture all the lambs 

 wanted, and began at once to pack his outfit. 



Pre]iarations were made for an earlv start, 

 but there was too much ice to ]irocecd with 

 safety, so a delay was necessary until ncarlv 

 high tide, when we crossed the .\rm and at- 

 tempted to land. The ice ran close to shore, 

 and there was danger of tlie lioats being 

 crushed against the bank. 



Tim and his familv were ahead. Thev 



