CHAPTER I.

General geographical and topographical description of Alaska. — Adjacent seas. Groups of islands. Coasts and harbors.

Mountain chains and peaks.

Area.

River system. - Ocean currents. Earlier maps. - Review of some recent maps. The authorities for the present map. - Field for future explorations.

THE

HE United States territory known by the name of Alaska is bounded, in general terms, by the Frozen or Arctic Ocean on the north, the Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea and Strait on the west and south, and the Hudson Bay territory on the east. The exact boundaries as laid down in the treaty of cession, and proclaimed June 20, 1867, are as follows:

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'Commencing from the southernmost point of the island known as Prince of Wales' Island, which point lies in the parallel of 54° 40′ north latitude, and between the 131st and the 133d degree of west longitude (meridian of Greenwich), the said line shall ascend to the north along the channel called Portland Channel, as far as the point of the continent where it strikes the 56th degree of north latitude; from this lastmentioned point the line of demarcation shall follow the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast as far as the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude (of the same meridian); and finally, from the said point of intersection, the said meridian line of the 141st degree, in its prolongation as far as the Frozen Ocean.

"With reference to the line of demarcation laid down in the preceding article, it is understood,

"Ist. That the island called Prince of Wales' Island, shall belong wholly . . . . to the United States.

"2d. That whenever the summit of the mountains, which extend in a direction parallel to the coast, from the 56th degree of north latitude to the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude, shall prove to be at the distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the limit between the British possessions . . . . and the possessions ceded by this convention shall be formed by a line parallel to the

winding of the coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues* therefrom.

"The western limit, within which the territories and dominion conveyed are contained, passes through a point in Behring's Straits on the parallel of 65° 30' north latitude, at its intersection by the meridian which passes midway between the island of Krusenstern, or Ignalook, and the island of Ratmanoff, or Nunarbook, and proceeds due north without limitation, into the same Frozen Ocean.

"The same western limit, beginning at the same initial point, proceeds thence in a course nearly southwest, through Behring's Straits and Behring's Sea, so as to pass midway between the northwest point of the island of St. Lawrence, and the southeast point of Cape Choukotski, to the meridian of 172° west longitude, thence, from the intersection of that meridian, in a southwesterly direction, so as to pass midway between. the island of Attou, and the Copper Island of the Komandorski couplet or group in the North Pacific Ocean, to the meridian of 193° west longitude, so as to include in the territory conveyed the whole of the Aleutian Islands east of that meridian."

Adjacent Scas. - The most extensive of the adjacent seas is the North Pacific Ocean. The dividing-line between it and Bering Sea may be said to be the chain of the Catherina Archipelago, from the most western point of Aliáska Peninsula to Cape Kamchatka. That great extent of water lying north of lat. 56°, between the Kadiák group and the Alexander Archipelago, has been named by the Superintendent of the Coast Survey the Gulf of Alaska.

Bering Sea extends between Kamchatka and Eastern Siberia on the west, and America on the east; from the Aleutian Islands to Bering Strait. It has two principal eastward prolongations, Bristol Bay and Norton Sound; and two to the west, Anádyr Gulf and the Gulf of Kamchatka. Passing through Bering Strait, which separates Asia and America, we come into the Frozen Sea or Arctic Ocean. Here the coasts are even and uniform, and the only arm of this sea which is of any size is Kotzebue Sound, northeast of Bering Strait. The northern portion of this ocean is as yet unexplored.

Groups of Islands. - The North Pacific rivals its southern portion in the size of its archipelagoes. The magnificent group of eleven hundred islands, which guards the American coast from * That is to say, 30 geographical miles, or about 341% English statute miles.

Dixon Entrance in 54° 40′ to Cross Sound in lat. 58° 25' N., has received the name of the Alexander Archipelago from the United States Coast Survey, in honor of the Emperor of Russia.

The islands southeast of the peninsula of Aliáska, between lon. 151° and 158° W., are known as the Kadiák Archipelago, from the name of the principal island.

The great chain of islands from lon. 158° to 195 W. was appropriately named by Forster in 1786 the Catherina Archipelago, in honor of the enlightened and liberal Empress Catherine II. of Russia.

The most westerly of the groups included in this archipelago is that known as the Komandórski or Commander's Islands, from Commander Bering, who died upon one of them. Their situation is about lat. 55° N. and lon. 193° W. They are two in number. The largest is known as Bering Island, and the smaller and more eastern as Copper (Médni) Island.

The chain between lon. 163° and 188' W. bears the general name of the Aleutian Islands, from the term Aleuts, applied by the Russians to their original inhabitants. They are divided into several groups. Those west of lon. 185° W. are called the Nearer (Blizhni) Islands. They comprise Attú, which is the largest, Agattú, or the Crooked (Krúgli) Island, and three small islets known as the Semichi, from Sémik, the feast on the seventh Thursday after Easter, on which day they were discovered.

The group next east of the Nearer Islands, between lon. 185 and 180° W., is known as the Rat (Kreési) Islands. They are about fifteen in number, large and small. The most important are Boulder, Big and Little Gut (Keéska) Islands, Little Net (Sectkin) Island, Rat (Kreésa) Island, Amchitka Island, and the Island of Seven Peaks (Sémisopóchnoi).

The next group, from lon. 180° to 172° W., bears the name of the Andreánofski Islands, after Andreánoff, their discoverer. There are about thirty of them. The largest is Átka, and, in the order of their size, Adákh, Tánaga, Kánaga, Ámlia, Séguam, Sitkin, or Great Net Island, Burnt (Góreloi) Island, Tánara, Tagaláxa, Yúlak, Unálga, Amátignak, and Kaválay. The last four, with a number of small islets, are sometimes called the Délaroff Islands, from their discoverer. With Burnt Island they are separated from

the rest of the group by the Tánaga Pass. Between Ámlia and Séguam is situated the rocky and dangerous Séguam Pass.

Between Amúkhta Pass (lon. 172° W) and False or Isanótski Pass (lon. 163° 20′ W.) lie the Fox (Leési) Islands. This is the largest of the four Aleutian groups. It contains thirty-one islands, more or less, including the largest in the Catherina Archipelago. The principal are, in order of size, Únimak, Unaláshka, Úmnak, Akután, Akhún, Yunáska, Amúkhta, Chugingan, Kugál ga, Tigálda, Avatának, Úkamak,* Uliálga, Speérkin, and the celebrated volcano islands of St. John the Theologian (Joanna Bogoslóva) and the Four Craters. Between Únimak and Akhún is the Únimak Pass, the best passage for vessels bound for Bering Sea.

East of Únimak, the southern coast of Aliáska is liberally fringed with islands. A group comprising Unga, Nagái, Niúniak, Tiákinak, and a number of others unnamed on the Russian chart, is called the Shúmagin Islands, from the name of a sailor of Bering's expedition, who died and was buried there.

The Kadiák Archipelago consists of Kadiák, Afognák, Túgidak, Sitkinak, Marmot (Ivráskie) Island, Spruce (Yelówy) Island, Woody (Lésnoi) Island, Chirikoff (or Úkamok) Island, named after its discoverer, and many smaller islands. A small group northwest of Chirikoff Island is known as the Sémidi Islands; another in the mouth of Cook's Inlet, as the Barren (Bezplódnoi) Islands; northeast of these, a group of three is called the Chugatz Islands.† The Alexander Archipelago will be described in connection with that part of the coast.

In Bering Sea (lat. 57° N., lon. 169° 30′ W.) we find the Príbyloff Islands, so named after their discoverer. They comprise four small islands: St. Paul, St. George, Walrus (Morchówi), and Beaver (Bobrowi) Island. These are the fur-seal islands. North of the Príbyloff Islands (lat. 60° 30′ N. and lon. 173° W.) is situated the St. Matthew group, containing St. Matthew, Pinnacle, and Hall islands. These are uninhabited, rocky, and precipitous. It is said that a few Russians, left here by the Company to collect sealskins during the winter of 1816, all died of starvation. On In the mouth of Únimak Pass. Usually but incorrectly placed on the charts as Ougamok. Úkamok is one name for Chirikoff Island of the Kadiák Archipelago. † Not to be confounded with the islands which throng Chugách Gulf, or Prince William Sound.