December 19, 1884. 



SCIENCE, 



551 



me here. I have tried, as I said I would, to put 

 in the simplest way before you some considerations 

 which appear to me as of present importance in our 

 science, both in the old world and in the new, and 

 I thank you in the heartiest way possible for the 

 opportunity you have given me to do this. 



EXPLORATION OF THE KOWAK RIVER. 



We have been favored by Major E. W. Clark, 

 chief of the Kevenue marine bureau, with the follow- 

 ing abstract of explorations on the Kowak or Kuak 

 Kiver of Alaska, made during the season of 1884 by 

 a party from the U. S. steamer Corwin, Capt. Healy. 

 The party comprised Lieut. J. C. Cantwell, com- 

 manding, assisted by Second-Assistant Engineer S. 



the river, hitherto uniformly low, began to be more 

 elevated, and the current increased to three miles 

 per hour. The course of the river was extremely 

 tortuous. Another village was seen on the left 

 bank, on a high black bluff, at four p.m. The depth 

 of the river increased to five fathoms : its width 

 varied, being from half to three-quarters of a mile. 

 Many offshoots of the main stream were noticed, all 

 extending to the northward and westward. The 

 following day a good growth of pine, birch, and 

 willow adorned the banks, which had previously 

 shown only shrubbery. At half-past eight a.m. 

 a large westerly arm was passed, which, according 

 to the native guide, was the last arm of the delta, 

 and flowed into the western part of Hotham Inlet. 

 At noon the party obtained observations, placing 

 them in latitude 68° 45 / .3, and west longitude 161° 

 46'. At half-past two p.m. a series of ice-cliffs, like 



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ys 



m**k 



ICE-CLIFFS ON KOWAK RIVER. 



B. McLenegan, a quartermaster, fireman, miner, and 

 interpreter, and was furnished with two small boats 

 and the Corwin's steam-launch. They left the Cor- 

 win at Cape Krusenstern, July 8, and the following 

 morning entered Hotham Inlet by a practicable chan- 

 nel four or five fathoms deep, which enters the inlet 

 close to its eastern point or headland. The eastern 

 and southern shores of the inlet are composed of clay 

 bluffs about two hundred feet high, backed by rolling 

 tundra. The opposite shore, however, was low and 

 swampy, with many lagoons, the native guide stating 

 that this was the Kowak delta, which has fifteen 

 mouths, and extends some fifty miles inland. The 

 temperature at this time averaged 80° or 90° F. dur- 

 ing the day. At seven o'clock on the 10th of July a 

 break was seen in the lowland of the delta, where 

 a high peak ahead and a high bluff point on the 

 western shore form a range for the channel entering 

 the river. The channel is about two hundred yards 

 wide, with two and a half fathoms least water at 

 the time the party entered. The banks are low and 

 marshy, with a dense growth of willow and birch, 

 and harbored myriads of mosquitoes. At ten a.m. 

 next day a collection of Innuit huts was seen, ten- 

 anted by only one family at that date. The banks of 



those of Eschscholtz Bay, was observed, composed 

 of a solid mass of ice extending three-quarters of 

 a mile along the left bank, covered by a thin layer 

 of dark-colored earth, and rising to a height of a 

 hundred and fifty feet. Trees were growing on the 

 surface. Up to this point, and for some distance 

 farther, not a single stone or pebble was to be seen, 

 and the silence was frequently disturbed by the fall 

 of large masses of the soft earthy banks undermined 

 by the strong current. On the afternoon of the 13th 

 a stretch of river extending about six miles in a 

 north-easterly direction was reached, which offered 

 a beautiful prospect. The river widened to half a 

 mile, with low green banks, while beyond a range of 

 rugged mountains could be seen. At the end of the 

 six-mile reach was a succession of high bluffs, 

 caused by the foot-hills coming down to the river, 

 with a narrow, rocky beach, the slopes wooded with 

 pine and juniper. There were many very fragrant 

 wild-flowers, and the mosquitoes were the only dis- 

 turbing element. This, which was named Highland 

 Camp, was about eighty miles from the entrance of 

 the river. About one p.m., on the 14th of July, the 

 mouth of the Squirrel River of the natives was 

 reached, coming in from the north-east. Its source 



