78 E. P. Hcrcndeen — An Undiscovered Island. 



Arctic oceans in his company. In 1882-'83 he was a member of 

 the United States Signal Service party stationed at point Barrow. 

 He is well acquainted with all the natives on the Arctic coast 

 from the East cape of Asia eastward to the mouth of the Mac- 

 kenzie river. He speaks their language and is universally known 

 to the natives of that region under the name of " Heretic." 

 From the natives and through Captain Keenan of the whaling 

 fleet he has obtained the folloAving information, Avhich he has 

 kindly written out for the National Geographic Society. 



I beg to suggest the desirability of calling this very little- 

 known land Keenan island. 



II— BY CAPTxlIN EDWARD PERRY HERENDEEN 



Among the many traditions of the point Barrow Eskimo the 

 following is not without geographic interest : 



Since no account is kept by them of the lapse of time, it is 

 impossible to fix a date to any story related by them previous 

 to the life of their father or grandfather. Their simple answer 

 to any question regarding the date of these occurrences is alwaj^s 

 the same, '' eidrarnee " (long ago). Our story is this : An Eskimo 

 was out on a whale hunt with his umiak and crew (in April or 

 May). Venturing much farther than their companions and 

 being encompassed by ice, they were carried away to the north 

 and east by the moving pack until at last they came in sight of 

 a strange land. After many hardships and the death of most 

 of the crew, some at last reached the mainland, their own be- 

 loved '" Nunah," greatly exhausted, and related their adventures 

 to Avondering listeners. They told of times when starvation 

 grimly threatened and when the timely catching of a seal or 

 killing of a bear saved them from a dreadful fate, and the skins 

 furnished material to repair their worn garments. 



These tales, by whomsoever related, seem to bear testimony 

 to one point, viz, of land somewhere to the north and east of 

 point Barrow, which has been seen by some of these people 

 under such circumstances of hardship, distress and loss of life 

 as to have fixed the event in their minds and been related by 

 flither to son for perhaps many generations. It is often told 

 that natives wintering between Harrison and Camden bays have 

 seen land to the north in the bright, clear days of spring. 



In the winter of 1886-'87, Uzharlu, an enterprising Eskimo of 

 Ootkeavie, was very anxious for me to get some captain to take 



