20 
or hail fell, or heavy fogs prevailed, was 245, or two days out 
of every three. . . . Kotzebue says that in the middle of 
winter the cold is not excessive and never lasts long.”— Da¬ 
vidson. 
Kadiak and the islands adjacent are high and craggy, and 
subject to heavy rains. In summer the days are sunny and 
warm and the winter is much colder than at Sitka. We noticed 
green, nutritious grass, on which small compressed cattle were 
feeding; we also observed cabbages, carrots, potatoes and oth¬ 
er vegetables growing in the neighborhood of, St. Paul. “We 
were unable to obtain any meteorological records at St. Paul, 
and our knowledge of it is extremely lifted. In general terms 
we know that it is warmer in summer than at Sitka, and colder 
in winter, and this is corroborated by the fact that ice obtained 
at Sitka for the San Francisco market has been found unfit for 
commerce on account of being full of air holes, by which it rap¬ 
idly melted, and recourse was had to the ice formed by the cold¬ 
er winters of Kadiak. ... In the latter part of August we 
found grass growing from the sphagnum and having an average 
height of not less than two feet. It is usually cut about the 
first of August, and cures well and rapidly in a few days ; some 
stalks we examined were in as fine condition and as sweet as 
any we have seen on the Atlantic slope. Western men with us 
corroborated our botanist in saying that this is really a fine graz¬ 
ing country, and capable of sustaining a very large number of 
cattle. The condition of cattle we saw about St. Paul and on 
Spruce Island, and at the freedmen’s settlement was fine, and the 
flavor of the beef we obtained was good. . . . During our 
stay at Kadiak, from August 26th to the 31st, the mean temper¬ 
ature of the air was 49° 5, and of the water, 45° 8.”— Davidson. 
As we travel this coast to the westward we encounter dry, 
bracing weather. The peninsula of Alaska, the islands fringing 
it, and the Aleutian islands, are lofty and comparatively level; 
no timber is visible along these shores ; grass and various kinds 
of vegetables are produced, and cattle, goats and hogs fare 
sumptuously. u Our stay at Unalaska was too limited to enable 
us to judge of the climate, except in the influence it has on the 
botany of the islands. . . . There are no trees of any size 
whatever upon any of the Aleutian islands. . . . Grasses 
grow luxuriantly, and when cut and cured, are used to feed the 
small Siberian breed of CRttle through the winter. . . But 
