October 23, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



357 



the Guagniingomo disappeared. This put the trav- 

 eller on his guard, but, while riflmg a burial 

 place of the same tribe, he was suddenly attacked 

 by a party of them, led by his former guide, who 

 shot the Arebato fatally, but failed to M^ound Chaf- 

 faujon. The latter killed the renegade, whose 

 companions disappeared, but carried or drove off 

 all the animals and equipment of the party, as well 

 as one of the Ariguas. With the other, however, 

 the ti'aveller escaped and reached the Cauca, which 

 he descended on a raft to Tremblador, where the 

 authorities had arrived with a m.ilitary party in 

 search of him. It would seem that it was his 

 intention to return to Eui-ope before long. 



The U. S. revenue cutter Corwin arrived in San 

 Prancisco from the arctic, October 12. She brought 

 with her the party sent out by General Miles last 

 yeai' to explore between the Copper and Yukon 

 rivers. They were Lieut. H. F. Allen and Ser- 

 geants Eobertson and Ficket of the Army signal 

 office. They had crossed from the headwaters of 

 the Atnah Eiverto those of the Tananah, descended 

 the latter to the Yukon, and the Yukon to 

 the sea, accomphshing a most creditable journey, 

 and one which a previous military party imder 

 Lieut. Abercrombie had failed to carry out. A 

 considerable part of it was over an unexplored 

 region. Messrs. Garland and Beatty, two English 

 ti-avellers who had crossed from the Mackenzie 

 to the Yukon and descended the latter, v>^ere taken 

 up with the American party at St. Michael's and 

 brought lo San Francisco. The Corwin also 

 brought the crews of the Napoleon, the George 

 and Susan, and the Mabel, three whalers lost this 

 season in Bering Sea and the arctic. We have re- 

 ferred previously to the loss of the Napoleon' ; the 

 two others appear to have been blown ashore in a 

 gale, August 10, near Wainwright inlet, m latitude 

 70". Three of the crew of the George and Susan 

 were lost, but the catch of oil and bone was saved 

 and brought down by the bark Ohio. The Corwin 

 party themselves have accomplished some credit- 

 able exploring work during the season. Lieutenant 

 Cantwell returned to his exploratijons of the Kowak 

 Eiver, while Asssistant engineer McLenegan, his 

 <x)mpanion in 1884 {Science No. 98, p. 551), under- 

 took the exploration of the Nunatok, or Noatok, 

 Hiver, a stream falhnginto Hotham inlet, near and 

 west from the Kowak, and so far less known than 

 the latter. The Inland, or Noatok, River had been 

 supposed to be a more important stream than the 

 Kowak until the investigations of Cantwell and 

 Stoney threw a doubt on the matter. Stoney's 

 party, whose preparations for wintering we have 

 already noticed, sent a mail down by the Corwin, 

 which left them near the head of Hotham inlet. 

 The exf)lorations of the present year were entirely 



successful, and will be referred to again when 

 details have been received. 



Thoroddson contributes to Globus an account of 

 his explorations in Iceland in 1884, which is more 

 full and precise than the notes previously i)ulo- 

 lished. It appears that in a journey of ten weeks 

 over the Odadahraun desert and the adjacent 

 mountains, about one-half was passed in an unin- 

 habited region, much of which was completely 

 unknown. He forced his way along the northern 

 base of Vatna JokiiU, the journey being frequently 

 hazardous and always laborious. Many correc- 

 tions of heights were made, and it seems that 

 Jokulsa, which has been taken as the longest 

 Icelandic river, is exceeded by Thiorsa, which is 

 some 120 miles in length. An ascent of the un- 

 visited and important Dyngja volcano was made. 

 It proved to have a double crater, the inner one 

 being 600 feet or more m depth. 



The autumnal exodus of the fleet from Alaskan 

 and arctic waters brings letters and successive 

 mails with a profusion which contrasts strangely 

 with the one opportunity of midsummer cr the 

 want of any opportunity from October to March, 

 west of Mt. St. Elias. The sealing schooner San 

 Diego, which has had a thrilling history in Alaskan 

 waters and was thought to have foundered this 

 fall in a severe gale, has reported in good order. 

 The coast survey steamer Patterson, which has 

 been surveying in Alaskan waters during the sum- 

 mer, has put in to San Francisco, having en- 

 countered heavy gales on the way down. The 

 whalers are reporting, after an unusually success- 

 ful season ; the first to appear being the Coral with 

 1,600 bbls. of oil and 16,000 pounds of whalebone. 

 She brought a slab of baleen from the Alaskan 

 right whale, caiDtured off Kadiak, and now very 

 rare, which excited the astonislmient of old 

 whalers. It was only six feet long, but weighed 

 nine hundred pounds, and is said to be the heaviest 

 on record from the Pacific. According to advices 

 from Kadiak, of Sept. 22, that flourishing viUage 

 of St. Paul had not to that date seen or heard any- 

 thing official of the existence of the supposed 

 territorial government, instituted nearly two years 

 ago. No revenue cutter had visited them for 

 three years, although this is the port of third im- 

 portance in the territory, with a good co mm erce 

 and boasting a deputy collector of customs. The 

 salmon canning had ceased for the season ; owing 

 to the low price of fish, but 60,000 cases of sahnon 

 and boneless codfish had been put up, with about 

 1,000 barrels of salt salmon and a certain amount 

 of smoked hahbut. Reports from the other fish- 

 ing stations and the outlying trading posts had 

 not been received, but the harvest of fui's and sea- 

 otter skins was an excellent one wherever heard 



