Arctic Cruise of the U. S. S. Thetis in 1889. 173 
of six days at the latter place the vessel left for the island of 
Ounalaska, one of the Aleutian chain, which was safely reached, 
after a stormy passage, early on the morning of the 17th of June. ~ 
The revenue-steamer Richard Rush, commanded by Captain 
Shepherd, was found at anchor at this place, having arrived a 
few hours before the Thetis ; she had entered upon the duty of 
patrolling Bering sea, between Ounalaska and the Pribyloft 
group, for the protection of the sealing interests. The seals 
approach the hauling-out grounds and breeding places upon the 
_ islands of St. Paul and St. George in lanes, as it were, from 
the Pacific, reaching Bering sea by means of the various pas- 
sages between the Aleutian islands, and converging as they 
approach the Seal islands, the position of which seems so well 
known to them. The “marauders,” as the men on the sealing 
schooners are called who hunt them on their way north, shoot 
them from small boats, killing the many in order to procure the 
few. 
Ounalaska, or rather the village and harbor of Iiuluk, upon 
the island of Ounalaska, is the principal and most frequented har- 
bor in the Aleutian islands, and from its position is a most 
convenient port for coaling, watering and provisioning en route 
to the Seal islands, St. Michaels (at the mouth of the Yukon 
river), the anchorages in and near Bering strait, and the Arctic 
ocean. This harbor is the headquarters of all of the districts of 
the Alaska Commercial Company, and is the principal coaling and 
distributing station and rendezvous of their vessels in Alaska. 
The company here affords facilities in the way of buoyage, 
wharfage, etc., which are not only useful to their own vessels but 
of great service to government and other vessels whose duty or 
interests call them to these waters. 
The revenue steamer Bear was to be met by us at Ounalaska, 
in order that we could take from her any portion of the stores 
and material to be used in the constructing and provisioning of 
the house of refuge at Point Barrow that her commanding offi- 
cer desired to transfer to us. ‘ 
While awaiting the arrival of the Bear, the Thetis was wa- 
tered and coaled and prepared for the northerly trip before her. 
An opportunity offered me by the delay was availed of to 
inspect the store-houses of the Alaska Commercial Company at 
this point. The most interesting of the store-houses was that 
containing the skins and furs collected in the various parts of the 
