178 T. C. Mendenhall — The Alaskan Boundary Survey. 



at the southernmost extremity of Prince of Wales island, which 

 point was supposed to lie on the parallel 54° 40' north latitude ; 

 thence, " It shall ascend along the Portland canal until the 50th 

 parallel of north latitude is reached." From this point, in ac- 

 cordance with the treaty, it shall follow the line marked by the 

 summits of the range of mountains parallel to the coast until 

 such line meets with the 141st degree of longitude west of Green- 

 wich. From this point it shall proceed along the 141st meridian 

 west of Greenwich until the Arctic ocean, or the " frozen ocean," 

 which is the term used in the treaty, is reached. In a supple- 

 mentary paragraph it was agreed that all of the island known as 

 the island of the Prince of Wales should belong to Russia, and 

 hence, in virtue of our purchase, to the United States ; and also 

 that whenever the summit of the range of mountains referred to 

 before shall be at a greater distance from the coast than ten 

 marine leagues, the limit of the possessions of Russia shall be 

 formed by a line parallel to the windings of the coast and never 

 more than ten marine leagues from the shore. 



It will thus be seen that the boundary line is divided into two 

 parts which differ materially from each other. One of these is 

 that line which proceeds from a point near mount Saint Elias — 

 that is to say, the 141st meridian of- longitude west from Green- 

 wich — and runs directly north to the frozen ocean. This, being 

 an astronomical line, can readily be located by astronomical 

 methods and should give rise to no controversy. That part of 

 the line, however, which separates what is known as southeastern 

 Alaska from the British possessions is by no means simple and 

 easily determined. At the time the treaty was made between 

 Russia and Great Britain the best information available was 

 that contained in Vancouver's map, which was, and in some re- 

 spects is still, the best available representation of Bering sea and 

 that part of North America. It seems tolerably certain, however, 

 at the present time that the range of mouutains which was as- 

 sumed to run parallel to the coast has no real existence, and that 

 it is therefore necessary to fall back upon the second definition 

 of the boundary line — that is, the line which is to run parallel to 

 the Avindings of the shore and be nowhere more than ten marine 

 leagues from the same. 



Experience has shown that the longer a question concerning the 

 location of the l)oundary between two great nations is left unsettled 

 the more difficult it becomes to decide it in a manner satisfactory 



