NARRATIVE. 15 



ated about midway on the seaward face of the delta. The drivei' was then sent back to Kotlik 

 with the sledge, leaving us in camp with the kyak. Soon after this the ice became unsafe to 

 venture upon iij the network of channels that surrounded us and we were imprisoned upon our 

 islet. Then followed abou 'j two weeks of the greatest misery it was my fortune to endure while 

 in the north. Day after day the wind blew a gale from the ice-covered sea, and was accompanied 

 by alternate fog, sleet, and snow. Without a fire, and with no shelter but a small light tent 

 made of thin drilling and pitched on a bare marsh facing the sea, the Eskimo and myself crouched 

 in our scanty supply of blankets, benumbed with cold, and unable to better our condition. 

 Finally, the weather moderated, and the geese, ducks, and other water-fowl flocked to their breed- 

 ing-ground. In a short time a fine series of skins and eggs of the Emperor Goose and other birds 

 was Secured, and as soon as the ice left the river we hired a native, who chanced along in his kyak, 

 and, lashing his kyak firmly alongside of ours, we piled upon the deck thus Improvised our 

 boxes of specimens and camp equipage and returned to Kotlik. Leaving the specimens there to 

 be brought to Saint Michaels by the fur trader, and hiring a second man to paddle, I started up 

 the coast for Saint Michaels, about 70 miles distant. We had been unable to provide ourselves 

 with gut-skin shirts to keep out the water, and after passing Cape Romanzoif, on the second day, 

 the wind began to freshen to a gale. In a short time the sea became covered with white caps, 

 that developed into huge rollers near shore and forbade our trying to land. We made for the 

 mouth of the Pikmiktalik River, about 10 miles up the coast, with the hope that we could reach 

 there before the boat swamped. 



The water was icy cold, and as nearly every wave dashed over us and added to the water in 

 the kyak, we were soon wet to the skin and sitting in water constantly increasing in the bottom 

 of the boat. All three worked desperately at the paddles, and just as I began to despair of our 

 reaching the river in time a welcome break in the shore line showed its vicinity. The kyak 

 was at once headed for this opening, and wo were soon among the breakers. As we neared the 

 mouth the breakers became heavier, until one huge roller caught the stern of the kyak and lifted 

 it high in the air, while the bow cut the water in the trough of the swell advancing at terrific speed. 

 The faithful Alexai dug his paddle into the water and strained every sinew to keep the boat 

 head-on, but the cowardly fellow in the stern-hole lost his wits and with a cry dropped his paddle. 

 Alexai and myself were barely able to prevent the boat broaching-to, and a few seconds later the 

 roller broke with a roar behind us and we were safe in the smooth water of the river. The boat was 

 run ashore among a large bed of drift-wood, and uiion trying to get out I found that sitting in the 

 icy water, which had covered my legs and hips for several hours, had deprived my lower limbs of 

 the power of motion and of sensation. The men dragged me out and built a huge fire, before 

 which I slowly thawed out and restored my circulation. The following day we reached Saint 

 Michaels safely. The remainder of the year was occupied in continuing investigations about this 

 place. 



On February 9, 1880, in company with a fur trader and two Eskimos, I left Saint Michaels with 

 two sledges. We proceeded up the coast of Norton Sound, and on the second and third day 

 traveled in the face of a high wind with a temperature of — 35° Fahr. The cold was very intense 

 for the next two weeks, and for several days while we remained at the head of Norton Bay the 

 mercury was frozen. The night of February 13 we stopped in a miserable little hut occupied by 

 three families of Eskimos. This hut was not over 10 by 12feet and 5J feet high. Here sixteen people 

 slept that night, including ourselves. The air was extremely bad, so much so that the candle I 

 lit to write my journal by went out in a few moments, and matches when lit would flare up and 

 go out as if dipped in water. Even our pipes would not stay lit, and we were soon in total dark- 

 ness. I asked the owner of the house to remove the gut-skin cover from one corner of the smoke- 

 hole in the roof, but he refused, saying it was too cold. When I finally threatened to remove the 

 . entire cover he complied and we managed to secure a good night's rest. 



Following the coast line we passed around Norton Bay and thence past Goloviua Bay, and 

 around the coast to Sledge Island, situated just south of Bering Straits. We found the people on 

 the point of starvation in all this district, and most of the dogs were already dead, while the others 

 were fast becoming skeletons. We were the first white winter visitors to Sledge Island, and our 

 arrival created considerable excitement. The lack of dog-feed made us hesitate to stop, but the 



