IN GREEN ALASKA 



plant it with grass and trees in just the right propor- 

 tion. Here were cattle, too, and how good they looked, 

 grazing or reposing on those long, smooth vistas be- 

 tween the trees ! To eyes sated with the wild, aus- 

 tere grandeur of Prince William Sound the change 

 was most delightful. Our course lay through narrow 

 channels and over open bays sprinkled with green 

 islands, past bold cUffs and headlands, till at three 

 o'clock we entered the narrow strait, no more than 

 twice the ship's length in width, upon which is situ- 

 ated the village of Kadiak, called by the Russians 

 St. Paul. We could see the wild flowers upon the 

 shore as we passed along, barn swallows twittered 

 by, a magpie crossed the strait from one green bank 

 to the other, and as we touched the wharf a song 

 sparrow was singing from the weather-vane of a 

 large warehouse, — a song sparrow in voice, man- 

 ners, and color, but in form twice as large as our 

 home bird. The type of song sparrow changes all 

 the way from Yakutat Bay to the Aleutian Islands, 

 till at the latter place it is nearly as large as the cat- 

 bird; but the song and general habits of the bird 

 change but very httle. How welcome the warmth, 

 too ! We had stepped from April into June, with the 

 mercury near the seventies, and our spirits rose 

 accordingly. How we swarmed out of the ship, like 

 boys out of school, longing for a taste of grass and of 

 the rural seclusion and sweetness ! That great green 

 orb or half orb of a mountain that shone down upon 

 85 



