132 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF ALASKA 



be disastrous to such animals as bears, mountain sheep, caribou, 

 and moose. Unfortunately not a museum in the world has even 

 a passable representation from Alaska of any of these animals. 

 The threatened early extermination of such fine species is to 

 be greatly deplored, but cannot well be avoided, and it is alto- 

 gether probable that within two or three years it will be ex- 

 tremely difficult, if not impossible, to secure specimens for scien- 

 tific purposes. The U. S. National Museum in Washington is 

 the proper repository for a full representation of the animals in- 

 digenous to our territory, for exhibition purposes as well as scien- 

 tific study, and it will be a great loss to science if any of the large 

 Alaskan mammals become extinct before a proper series of skins 

 and skulls is in the possession of this institution. I wish to im- 

 press this upon settlers and others going to Alaska the present 

 season, in the hope that, having their attention called to the im- 

 portance of saving specimens, the}' may take a patriotic interest 

 in placing them in the National Capital. 



CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF ALASKA 

 By General A. W. Greely, U. S. Army 



The most obvious elements of climate are those of tempera- 

 ture, humidity, precipitation (rain, snow, fog, etc.), and winds, 

 and of these temperature and precipitation affect most potently 

 the comfort and prosperity of man. 



It is about 25 years since the writer was one of several con- 

 sulted by the late General A. J. Myer as to the establishment of 

 stations of observation in Alaska, and in 1881 he was consulted 

 by the late General W. B. Hazen regarding the extension of the 

 system of such observations in the same remote and almost un- 

 known region. A certain class of persons — those who plume 

 themselves on being strictly utilitarian — then sneered at a policy 

 that would expend a few hundred dollars annually for the pur- 

 chase of instruments and for the cost of recording meteorological 

 observations by volunteer observers on this outer edge of this 

 civilized world. " Who knows or cares," said they, " whether 

 the Yukon river flows into Bering sea or the Arctic ocean, and 

 of what use is a knowledge as to the summer and winter condi- 

 tions under which the animals of this river valley live and 

 thrive?" 



