118 
THE RED MOUNTAIN OF ALASKA. 
ward into the sea. It was late in the evening when the 
St. Elias entered Sitka Sound. A long canoe, con- 
taining half a dozen Indians, passed the vessel. They 
were Stickeens, the captain informed the passengers, run- 
ning down to the halibut grounds off Borka. 
A sharp mountain peak lifted its granite head to the 
very clouds straight ahead. This was Mt. Verstova. 
Its sides were clothed with dark reaches of hemlock and 
pine. 
At the head of the sound, a clump of low, dingy-looking 
buildings crouched beside the water. One of these was 
on a bold, rocky bluff — the old Russian castle — nearly 
two hundred feet above the other houses. A tumble- 
down wharf presently came in view, with a few sleepy 
people lounging upon it. 
" What place is this ? " asked Flossie, eagerly. 
" Sitka ! " 
