IN GREEN ALASKA 



ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND 



Port Clarence was the northernmost point we 

 reached. A Uttle farther north the ice pack closed 

 the gateway to the Arctic Ocean. An excursion into 

 the ice to see the midnight sun did not hold out in- 

 ducements enough to offset the dangers. So in the 

 early morning of July 13 we steamed away on the 

 return trip. Before noon we were again in the thick 

 veil of fog with which Bering Sea always seems to 

 cover her face. Near nightfall, with a stiff wind 

 blowing, we anchored off St. Lawrence Island, and 

 two boat-loads of our people went ashore. St. Law- 

 rence is a large island at the gateway of the Arctic 

 Ocean, and in spring the ice floes from the north 

 often strand polar bears upon it. Our hunters still 

 dreamed of bears. The shore was low and marshy, 

 and the high land miles away was hidden by the 

 canopy of fog resting upon it. In his walk one of 

 our doctors saw the backs of two large white ob- 

 jects, showing above a httle swell in the land. Here 

 evidently were the polar bears they were in quest of. 



The doctor begins to stalk them, replacing the 

 shells in his gun with heavier ones as he creeps along. 

 Now he has another glimpse of the white backs ; they 

 are moving and can be nothing but bears. A few 

 moments more and he will be within close range, 

 when lo! the heads and long necks of two white 

 swans come up above the bank! The doctor said he 

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