142 
DALL. 
not be said that the details will still supply an opportunity 
for study for many a year to come. The enumeration of the 
greater part of the population of mammals, birds, and fishes 
has been accomplished and the plants have been fairty well 
collected, so that we know that the fauna and flora, deduc¬ 
tion being made of circumboreal species, is essentially Ameri¬ 
can and not tinctured to any marked extent with Asiatic in¬ 
gredients. Among the lower animals the brachiopods> 
hydroid zoophytes and corallines; part of the sponges; the 
limpets, chitons, and nudibranchs among the mollusks; have 
been monographically studied. The Crustacea, insects, and 
a large part of the mollusks yet remain to be worked up 
in a similar manner. 
To close the record of achievement, I may mention the 
bibliography of Alaskan literature prepared by Mr. Baker 
and myself, wdiich, up to May, 1879, when it went to press, 
comprised 3,832 titles in eleven languages. Since it was 
published by the Coast Survey nearly as many more have 
been accumulated, and the list probably will continue to 
increase from year to year. 
Since my field-work closed, in 1880, Alaskans have not 
been idle. The prospector has invaded the recesses of the 
land, and surveys, explorations, and mountaineering have 
been almost constantly carried on. The tourist has discov¬ 
ered the country and written books which, although they 
have the resemblance of one pea to another, have neverthe¬ 
less carried tidings of Alaska to most corners of the Union. 
Alaska in one sense is no longer unknown, and she is even 
beginning to be somewhat understood and appreciated. The 
missionary has been up and down in the land, and has done 
much good in many ways, not without occasional mistakes. 
It was, therefore, with curiosity as well as interest that I 
returned to the territory last May, after an absence of fifteen 
years. In looking back on the summer’s experiences, a com¬ 
parison between the Alaska of 1865 and that of 1895 natur¬ 
ally suggests itself. I was rash enough twenty-five years 
ago to indulge in prophecy as to the future of the territory. 
