Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/264

 240 ALASKA though the natural centre of the fur trade is the island of Kadiak, S. of the Aliaska penin- sula. At the time of the transfer of the terri- tory to the United States in 1867, Sitka, al- though founded in the last century, was little better than a collection of log huts, about 100 in number, with a few superior buildings occupied by government officers. St. Paul, the principal settlement on Kadiak island, is the main depot of the seal fisheries, and is surrounded by the finest farming land in the territory. Next in importance as a settlement is Captain's Har- bor, on the island of Unalashka, where is found the best anchorage in the Aleutian group. The remaining civilized places in Alas- ka consist for the most part of small trading posts scattered throughout the country, the principal of them being Fort Yukon, approxi- mately in lat, 66 N., the most northerly sta- tion of the Hudson Bay company, which for some years paid the Russian- American fur com- pany a royalty for the privilege of thus trading in their territory. Michaelovski, a station of the Russian company on Norton sound, in lat. 63 28' N., and Ion. 161 44' W., is of consider- able importance as affording the best harbor on the coast from which to forward goods into the Yukon valley. The interior of Alaska has been but slightly explored, and our knowledge of the country is confined mainly to the islands, the coasts, and a few of the larger rivers. The entire coast line of the territory, without taking into account the smaller indentations, measures about 4,000 m. in length, and is bordered by three seas : the Arctic ocean on the N., Beh- ring sea on the W., and the North Pacific on the S. The coast formation along the North Pacific differs entirely from that N. of the Ali- aska peninsula. Point Barrow, a long arm of low sandy land projecting into the Arctic ocean, forms the most northerly cape in the territory. Between this point and Behring strait, the only considerable indentation of the coast is Kotzebue sound, with a maximum depth of 14 fathoms, and the shore is low and swampy except at Cape Lisburne, where the limestone rock rises to the height of 850 feet above the sea. Cape Prince of Wales, the E. boundary of Behring strait, is the most west- ern land on the American continent, being sit- uated in lat. 65 33' N., Ion. 167 59' W., only 45 m. from East cape, the nearest part of Asia. It is a rocky and precipitous promontory. The nearest harbor is Port Clarence, a short dis- tance S., where there is a safe anchorage in 10 fathoms of water, with a bottom of soft mud. Below this inlet the country becomes low and rolling, and is not very accessible from the ocean, even in the larger bays, on account of the shoals formed of alluvium brought down by the rivers, which is retained in Behring sea by the rocky barrier of the Aliaska penin- sula. Norton sound is so shallow that vessels have been known to run aground there at the distance of a mile from the shore ; but it affords a few harbors, as also does Bristol bay, which opens into the region N. of the same rugged and barren peninsula from which the name of the territory is derived. Stretching westward toward Kamtchatka lie the Aleutian islands, so called from the name Aleuts applied to their inhabitants by the Russians. Unimak is the largest of these, and Unalashka of the greatest commercial importance. The celebrated fur seal group, named after Pribyloff, its discov- erer, is situated in Behring sea, lat. 57 N., Ion. 169 30' "W., and consists of four small islands called respectively Walrus, Beaver, St. George, and St. Paul. Below Aliaska the coast becomes mountainous, with deep sound- ings close in shore. Between Ion. 151 and 158 W. lies the Kadiak archipelago, including the large island of that name. Cook's inlet and Prince William sound, or Chugaqh gulf, are the principal arms of the sea on the North Pacific coast of the territory, until we reach the narrow strip of mainland S. of Mt. St. Elias, which is protected from the sea by the 1,100 islands of the Alexander archipelago, situated between Cross sound and Dixon's entrance. The almost innumerable channels between the islands of this vast series afford the finest in- land navigation. Prince of Wales island is the largest member of the group, which also con- tains Baranov island, the site of Sitka. The great river of Alaska is the Yukon, or Kwick- pak, as it has erroneously been called by the Russians, from the name of one of its mouths. It rises in British Columbia, enters Alaska near the Arctic circle, and flows, with a general S. W. trend, across the entire width of the terri- tory into Behring sea. Its length is more than 1,800 m., and it is over a mile broad at a point 600 m. above its delta. Its current va- ries in rapidity from 3 to 7 m. per hour, and in summer the river is navigable for light-draught steamers throughout three fourths of its length. Next to the Yukon in size is the Kuskoquim, which also flows into Behring sea, somewhat further S. It has been explored by the Rus- sians some 600 m. above its mouth, and is a very crooked and moderately rapid stream, navigable for a considerable distance. The principal rivers of Alaska which flow into the North Pacific ocean are: the Copper river, which reaches the coast in lat. 60 N., Ion. 145 W., and about which very little is known ; the Chijkaht, a rapid stream, which enters Lynn channel W. of Cross sound, and the head waters of which approach so close to a tributary of the Yukon that a short portage affords the Indians easy communication between the two rivers ; and, still further S., the Stikine or Francis river, forming the gateway to the gold region of British Columbia. Lakes are said to be nu- merous in the interior of the country. Alaska is emphatically a country of volcanoes, there being no fewer than 61 volcanic peaks already known in the territory, though but 10 of these are in activity at present. The peninsula of Aliaska, and the Aleutian islands, which really constitute a continuation of it, are of volcanic