Arctic Cruise of the U. S. 8. Thetis in 1889. 187 
Early the next morning, August 14th, at 5 o’clock, we pushed 
on in company with the Beluga, standing out of Camden 
bay and delaying a short time off Barter island, to communicate 
with the natives. At noon, while off Manning point, the smoke 
of several steamers was seen to the eastward, and when they had 
come up we found all but two of the steam-whalers that had gone 
east. They were led by the steamer William Lewis, commanded 
by Captain Albert Sherman, probably the boldest and most active 
of the Arctic whalers. They were all in the cabin of the Thetis in 
a short time, and I found that they had reached Mackenzie bay and 
the vicinity of the Mackenzie river. The two missing ones, the 
Orea and Thrasher, had last been seen in the vicinity of Herschel 
island. The ice-conditions were reported to be better than those we 
had passed through. After reflection I considered it my duty, as 
it was my desire, to go on to the eastward to ascertain the cause 
of the detention of the two missing whalers, and as time was 
precious I determined to run on, day and night. By this time 
night had assumed the conditions of twilight, and the stars had 
begun to appear in the skies. The threatening appearance of 
the weather detained us at first, but at 9 o’clock in the evening we 
got under way, and with her colors hoisted the good ship started 
again on her easterly course, followed in about half an hour by 
our old friend and companion, the Beluga. Before leaving we 
had hoisted out the whale-boat with Joe and native friends, who 
had been joined at this point by the women of the family. Joe 
was uncertain about his movements here, and as he expected to 
secure stores from some of the whalers I left him in their com- 
pany. 
We found the shore bolder as we progressed, and the moun- 
tains nearer the coast ; as a result, the ice generally sets directly 
and in heavy masses on the shore without grounding, and this 
point has never been passed before by the whalers, but fortu- 
nately a wide lane was open. The sight of the mountains, 
standing in their silent and gloomy grandeur, was peculiarly 
impressive, and our. inability to make a closer examination and 
exploration is to be regretted. So far as I can ascertain, no 
white man has ever penetrated these mountainous regions, which 
are known upon the maps in turn under the varying names of the 
Romanzoff, British, Buckland and Richardson mountains, being 
so named by Sir John Franklin during his boat journey along the 
coast. The British mountains are at the extreme northeastern 
