OUR GREATEST NATIONAL MONUMENT 



291 



to take the time for 

 a hunt, but we came 

 upon them rather fre- 

 quently as we tramped 

 about the country, 

 and one morning we 

 killed one on the 

 beach right in front 

 of our tent. Their 

 size is almost unbe- 

 lievable. I have meas- 

 ured tracks 9 x 14 

 inches in hard ground, 

 while in the soft 

 places the same ani- 

 mal left a trail like an 

 elephant, the individ- 

 ual tracks measuring 

 10}^ x 16 inches, 

 more than big enough 

 to cover the two pages 

 of this Magazine as 

 it lies open. 



A fox, ordinarily 

 the shyest of animals, 

 used regularly to bring 

 her litter to feed at 

 the garbage pile a few 

 yards from our tents. 

 Moose were common 

 before the eruption 

 and are beginning to 

 come back. Caribou 

 were formerly very 

 abundant and may be 

 expected to return in 

 plenty within a few 

 years. Elk were also 

 found occasionally. 



There are grouse in 

 the woods, and the numerous lakes and 

 ponds are the breeding grounds of innu- 

 merable waterfowl of all sorts — swans, 

 geese, and many kinds of ducks in im- 

 mense numbers. We saw one flock of 

 five hundred swans on Naknek River, 

 while smaller flocks were frequently met. 



Under the circumstances, the abundant 

 geese and ducks attracted little notice, 

 although the latter were far easier to bag 

 than their larger cousins. We killed no 

 geese, but shot a number of swans near 

 our various camps. Their flesh is su- 

 perior to any fowl I have ever tasted. 



The Katmai National Monument is 

 well located to serve as a sanctuary to 

 conserve all this wild life, and will doubt- 



Photograph by P. R. Hagelbarger 

 THE COLORS 01? THE EXPEDITION ON NAKNEK LAKE 

 Our dory was the first power boat that ever sailed Naknek Lake. 



less ultimately become one of the most 

 important game preserves in the world. 



DISCOVERY OP AN ENTRANCE TO THE 

 KATMAI DISTRICT 



Since the district has been set aside as 

 a national monument by proclamation of 

 the President of the United States (see 

 The Geographic for April, 1919), the 

 first question in every one's mind has 

 been, Can the place be made accessible? 

 It is ideally located for a side trip from 

 what will undoubtedly become the favor- 

 ite Alaska tour when the new govern- 

 ment railroad is completed — the trip 

 through the "Inside Passage'' and along 

 the coast, under Mt. St. Elias, to the head 



