86 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



It was necessary, therefore, to reach the conclusion that these 

 islands had had no pre-Russian population, which sustains the previ- 

 ously expressed opinions on the subject, especially that of Dr. L. 

 Stejneger, of the United States National Museum, who between 1882 

 and 1922 made several visits to the islands on biological quests. This 

 result, though negative, is of substantial value. It removes beyond 

 all conjecture any doubt on that moot point and establishes a solid 

 fact which must be taken into account in all further work in these 

 regions, and on the problem of the peopling of the Aleutian chain. 

 It does not, however, do away with the probability of this chain having 

 once received a direct native increment from x\sia. This increment 

 mav have reached the chain from the Kuriles or from the north of 

 Kamchatka. It did not. it is now certain, reach it from Kamchatka 

 across the Commander Islands ; this throws a reasonable doubt on any 

 early peopling of even the Kamchatka Peninsula. 



The whole Commander Islands' visit proved a rare treat. The 

 islands are rich and highly interesting biologically, geologically, and 

 in many other ways. 



From the Commander Islands we returned to the Aleutians, and 

 our first stop was at the Four-Mountain Islands. There, after a day 

 of "full gale," we were enabled to revisit the burial caves on Kagamil 

 and explore the rough, volcanic region in the vicinity. A number of 

 additional skulls and specimens were recovered, but it was determined 

 that no further burial caves exist in this part of the island. 



The party was then able to spend another profitable day at Umnak ; 

 we visited the famed Boguslav Island, which was found to be not 

 only a wonderful aviary, but also what now is doubtless the greatest 

 breeding ground in Alaska of the sea-lions, hundreds of which, roar- 

 ing, surrounded and followed the two boats in which we explored 

 the place. 



On August 15 we reached Dutch Harbor, Amoknak Island, and 

 until the evening of the 17th excavated at our old site there, which 

 since our departure in May had been badly vandalized. We left that 

 same night on the Shoshone for Seattle, which was reached August 23. 



The trip this year capped the Alaska work begun in 1926. The 

 total results of these expeditions, while already obvious in the main, 

 cannot be definitely presented before this year's collections are more 

 fully examined. They will not solve all the problems, anthropological 

 and archeological, of Alaska ; but they will have paved with substantial 

 facts a good part of a road which previously had been mostly but a 

 trail of speculation. 



