December 19, 1884. 



SCIENCE. 



553 



which terminated the navigable part of the river, 

 which would now diminish in depth with every day 

 of fine weather. From a hill near the camp, the river 

 could be seen, winding along the foot of the moun- 

 tains and off into level country beyond, while in the 

 far distance snowy peaks were seen, from which 

 the natives reported that the other peaks in which the 

 Kowak takes its source could be seen on a clear 

 day. At seven a.m., July 29, the party started down 

 the river, descending with great velocity on the swift 

 current. The mouth of the Notmoktowak or ' Pack ' 

 Elver, which drains the country between the Nunatok 

 and Kowak, was examined, and the boat passed 

 through several sloughs not observed in coming up. 

 The boat leaked and needed repairs: so on the 30th 

 Lieut. Cantwell left it to be mended, and started for 

 the Jade Mountain, twelve miles away, on foot. The 

 natives refused to accompany him, as the shaman de- 

 clared evil would come to any one who visited the 

 mountain. The tramp was fatiguing; but a torrent 

 was reached which separates the mountain from a 

 high, rugged peak of the same range. Large quanti- 

 ties of the green stone were found in the bed of the 

 stream ; but the mountain itself seemed actually to be 



The lake along its south shore is not very deep, and 

 shoals off very gradually, so as to make landing diffi- 

 cult. The country is high, rolling tundra, forming 

 a bluff bank behind the beach, covered with a thick 

 growth of shrubbery. At intervals long spits extend 

 far out from the shore, forming many small harbors 

 or bays. The eastern end of the lake, where the 

 shore trends to the north-west, is low and swampy, 

 and the water very shoal, with a sort of bar parallel 

 with the beach two hundred yards off. Here were 

 myriads of water-fowl. A river comes in from the 

 eastward about seventy-five yards wide, with from 

 twelve to eighteen feet of water. This flows from a 

 lovely little lake about five miles in diameter, almost 

 entirely surrounded by mountains. A narrow creek 

 enters the opposite side of the lake, and, ascending 

 this, the large lake, Imogarik-cho-it, or Little Sea, of 

 the natives is reached. The stream connecting this 

 with Selawik Lake is called Kiaktuk or Fox River. 

 The mountains visible from Selawik Lake border the 

 eastern shore of Imogarik Lake, and extend nearly 

 round it; but the northerly shore is quite low and 

 marshy. Another branch, called the Igaiak Eiver, 

 connects Imogarik Lake and Selawik Eiver about 



ENTRANCE TO SELAWIK LAKE. 



entirely composed of it, and the sides of the cliffs 

 were like polished glass for smoothness where they 

 had been subjected to pressure or wear. About a 

 hundred pounds of the mineral were collected; and, 

 after a short nap, the party returned to the river, 

 which they reached, almost exhausted by the heat, 

 the bad travelling, and the torture of sand-flies and 

 mosquitoes. On the 2d of August the party started 

 down to meet the launch, whose boilers were so 

 worn that she could not with safety attempt much 

 more hard steaming against the current. Observa- 

 tions for position and declination were obtained at 

 various points; and on the 6th of August, at two a.m., 

 the party reached Highland Camp, where sundry arti- 

 cles collected on the up-trip were taken on board. 

 On the following day the party camped on the shores 

 of Hotham Inlet. The distance travelled up the 

 river, including all tortuosities,' was estimated at 

 three hundred and seventy miles. 



The remainder of their stay was devoted to the 

 exploration of Hotham Inlet and Selawik Lake, and 

 its associated rivers and lakes, during which some 

 extremely valuable corrections to the charts were 

 made. Selawik Lake is practically an extension 

 through a narrow passage of Hotham Inlet. The 

 main mouth of the Kowak Eiver empties into the in- 

 let close to the entrance of the lake, which on the 

 south side is marked by a sand-spit projecting far out 

 from the shore, forming a convenient boat harbor. 



twenty-five miles from the mouth of the latter, by 

 which Selawik Lake could be reached in two days. 

 This was taken, and the junction of the Selawik and 

 Igaiak rivers reached on the morning of Aug. 14. 

 The banks of the Selawik differ little from those of 

 the Kowak, except that the undergrowth is heavier. 

 The width of the river varies from six hundred to a 

 thousand yards, and in some places expands into bays 

 a mile wide. The channel showed from four to six 

 fathoms. From the mouth of the Igaiak, the Selawik 

 trends about six' miles in a north-westerly direction, 

 and then south and west to Selawik Lake. Many 

 small lakes and lagoons were observed near the river, 

 and from a hill one large sheet of water was seen 

 which lay near the foot of the mountains, about six 

 miles from the river. That evening Selawik Lake was 

 reached through a large bay filled with many islands, 

 and the party camped on a sand-spit which formed 

 the north point of entrance to the lake. About half- 

 way from the river to the inlet a river comes into the 

 lake from the mountains between the latter and the 

 valley of the Kowak. The country here is low and 

 marshy. The work was completed Aug. 16, and the 

 party started down Hotham Inlet, of which a recon- 

 noissance was made on their way. The bar at the 

 mouth of Hotham Inlet was found to have no more 

 than six feet of water on it anywhere at low water. 

 On the 30th of August the party rejoined the Corwin 

 about fifteen miles westward from Cape Blossom, 



