Jantjaey 10, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



45 



brooks and waterfalls, the occasional de- 

 pressions by small lakes shining in the sun. 



The sea abounds with fish; the offshore 

 rocks are the resort of sea lions and for- 

 merly of sea otters ; the streams afford the 

 trout fisher abundant sport, and about their 

 mouths the red salmon leap and play. In 

 October the hillsides offer store of bei'ries, 

 and in all this land there is not a poison- 

 ous reptile or dangerous wild animal of any 

 sort. 



The inhabitants of these islands are an 

 interesting and peculiar race. Their char- 

 acteristics have been well described by Veni- 

 aminolf, who knew and loved them. Bj' 

 the testimony of their language, physique 

 and culture they are shown to be a branch of 

 the Eskimo stock, driven from the continent, 

 as the shell .heaps reveal, at a very ancient 

 date and isolated since from contact with 

 any other native race, specialized and de- 

 veloped by their peculiar environment to a 

 remarkable degree. Conquered by the Eus- 

 sian hunters of the eighteenth century, prac- 

 tically enslaved for a century, their ancient 

 religion frankly abandoned for the rites of 

 the Greek Church, an apathetic reticence 

 replaced the rollicking good nature char- 

 acteristic of the Eskimo people. In 1S65 

 they were supported by the company; the 

 men shipped off in hunting parties in search 

 of the sea otter were separated from their 

 families sometimes for many months and 

 rewarded according to their success; but, 

 while the company provided food for all 

 who needed it, the time of the Aleut was 

 not his own. I have already mentioned 

 that the fur seal at that time had very little 

 commercial value. The fisheiy on the Pri- 

 biloflf Islands was conducted by Aleuts un- 

 der supervision^ and the skins were mostly 

 shipped to China or Europe. It has been 

 noted as surprising that the value of the 

 fur-seal fishery is so little referred to in the 

 arguments urging the acquisition of the 

 Territory in 1867. This was not an over- 



sight ; the seal fisheries at that time were 

 not especially lucrative, and the millions 

 which the industry has since produced 

 could not have been predicted in 1867. 

 ( Jb he continued.') 



A SIMPLEX SPECTBOSOOPE* 



For the purpose of explaining the con- 

 struction and operation of the spectroscope 

 to beginners, the simplest form was desired 

 and after various modifications of the usual 

 form had been constructed, the following ar- 

 rangement was devised and has proved 

 eminently satisfactory, Xo lenses are re- 

 quired and only a small prism of fair qual- 

 ity. 



The apparatus is shown in perspective in 

 Fig. If. P is the small prism, about 1.5 

 cm. on a side and 60° refi-acting angle. B 

 is an ordinary Bunsen burner with chim- 

 neJ^ AC is a metal screen, supported upon 

 a stand, and having a rectangular opening 

 in its center covered by a scale in millime- 

 ters upon translucent paper or celluloid, 

 covered upon the back with mica to pro- 

 tect it from the burner. Under the center 

 of the scale is a triangular opening about 8 

 mm. high and 5 mm. wide at its base. The 

 plan of the location of the parts is shown in 

 Fig 2. The scale AC is about 50 cm. from 

 the prism. 



The operation of the spectroscope is as 

 follows : The light from the burner B, pass- 

 ing through the opening D, falls upon the 

 prism P and is refracted into the eye placed 

 somewhere at E, and the light appears to 

 come from a direction similar to D' E. 

 The scale is illuminated with a strong 

 sodium light, obtained either by placing a 

 ' sodium chim./^y ' on the burner B, or by 

 putting a sodium bead in the top of the 

 fiame. The scale being seen only by 

 sodium light appears clear and distinct in 



* Unpublished paper by Holbrook Cushman ; edited 

 by W. Halloek. See Science, December 6, 1895, 

 p. 757. 



t See Science, December 6, 1895, note on p. 761. 



