and had been before in Hudson bay, on the other side of the continent, says still more explicitly that "the climate of this coast appeared to him infinitely milder than that of Hudson bay in the same latitude, and that the pines which he had measured here were much larger." (Voyage, vol. 2, p. 187.) Langsdorf, when at Sitka in 1806, records that Mr. John D. Wolf, a citizen of the United States, who had passed the winter at the settlement, "is much surprised at finding the cold less severe than at Boston, Rhode Island, and other Provinces of the United States which lie more to the South." (Voyages, vol. 2, p. 101.) ence. But these forces are aided essentially by the configuration of the northwest coast, with a lofty and impenetrable barricade of mountains, by which its islands and harbors are protected from the cold of the north. Occupying the Aleutian islands, traversing the peninsula of Alaska, and running along the margin of the ocean to the latitude of 54° 40', this mountain ridge is a climatic division, or, according to a German geographer, a "climatic shed," such as perhaps exists nowhere else in the world. Here are Alps, some of them volcanic, with Mount St. Elias higher than Mont Blanc, standing on guard against the Arctic Circle. So it seems even without the aid of science. Here is a dike between the icy waters of Beh is a partition between the treeless northern coast and the wooded coast of the Kenaians and Koloschians. Here is a fence which separates the animal kingdom of this region, leaving on one side the walrus and ice-fox from the Frozen ocean and on the other side the humming bird from the tropics. I simply repeat the statements of geography. And now you will not fail to observe how by this configuration the thermal currents of ocean and air are left to exercise all their climatic power. All this is now explained by certain known forces in nature. Of these the most important is a thermal current in the Pacific, correspond-ring sea and the milder Southern ocean. Here ing to the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic. The latter, having its origin in the heated waters of the Gulf of Mexico, flows as a river through the ocean northward, encircling England, bathing Norway, and warming all within its influA similar stream in the Pacific, sometimes called the Japanese current, having its origin under the equator near the Philippines and the Malaccas, amid no common heats, after washing the ancient empire of Japan sweeps northward until, forming two branches, one moves onward to Behring straits and the other bends eastward along the Aleutian islands, and then southward along the coast of Sitka, Oregon, and California. Geographers have described this "heater," which in the lower latitudes is as high as 81° of Fahrenheit, and even far to the north it is as high as 50°. A chart now before me in Findlay's Pacific Ocean Directory portrays its course as it warms so many islands and such an extent of coast. An officer of the United States Navy, Lieutenant Bent, in a paper before the Geographical Society of New York, while exhibiting the influence of this current in mitigating the climate of the northwest coast, mentions that vessels on the Asiatic side, becoming unwieldy with accumulations of ice on the hull and rigging, run over to the higher latitude on the American side and "thaw out." But the tepid waters which melt the ice on a vessel must change the atmosphere wherever they flow. I hope you will not regard the illustration as too familiar if I remind you that in the economy of a household pipes of hot water are sometimes employed in tempering the atmosphere by heat carried from below to rooms above. In the economy of nature these thermal currents are only pipes of hot water, modifying the climate of continents by carrying heat from the warm cisterns of the South into the most distant places of the north. So also there are sometimes pipes of hot air, having a similar purpose; and these, too, are found in this region. Every ocean wind, from every quarter, as it traverses the stream of heat, takes up the warmth and carries it to the coast, so that the oceanic current is reënforced by an aerial current of constant influence. There is one other climatic incident here, which is now easily explained. Early navigators record the prevailing moisture. All are enveloped in fog. Behring names an island Foggy. Another gives the same designation to a cape at the southern extremity of Russian America. Cook records fog. La Pérouse speaks of continued rain and fog in the month of August. And now visitors, whether for science or business, make the same report. The forests testify also. According to Physical Geography it could not be otherwise. The warm air from the ocean encountering the snow-capped mountains would naturally produce this result. Rain is nothing but atmosphere condensed and falling in drops to the earth. Fog is atmosphere still held in solution, but so far condensed as to become visible. This condensation occurs when the air is chilled by contact with a colder atmosphere. Now, these very conditions occur on the northwest coast. The ocean air, as it comes in contact with the elevated range, is chilled until its moisture is set free. Add to these influences, especially as regards Sitka, the presence of mountain masses and of dense forests, all tending to make this coast warmer in winter and colder in summer than it would otherwise be. Practical observation has verified these conclusions of science. Any isothermal map is enough for our purpose; but there are others which show the relative conditions generally of different portions of the globe. I ask attention to those of Keith Johnston, in his admirable atlas. But I am glad to present a climatic table of the Pacific coast in comparison with the Atlantic coast, which has been recently compiled, at my request, from the It will be seen from this table that the winters of Sitka are relatively warm, not differing much from those of Washington, and several degrees warmer than those of New York; but the summers are colder. The mean temperature of winter is 32° 30', while that of summer is 53° 37'. The Washington winter is 38° 57′; the Washington summer is 73° 07. These points exhibit the peculiarities of this coast-warm winters and cool summers. The winter of Sitka is milder than that of many European capitals. It is much milder than that of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berne, or Berlin. It is milder even than that of Manheim, Stuttgard, Vienna, Sebastopol in the Crimea, or Turin. It is not much colder than that of Padua. According to observations at Sitka in 1831 it froze for only two days in December and seven days in January. In February the longest frost lasted five days; in March it did not freeze during the day at all, and rarely in the night. During the next winter the thermometer did not fall below 21° Fahrenheit; in January, 1834, it reached 11°. On the other hand a tempera 11.69 11.64 9.88 10.31 43.22 10.48 10.53 10.16 10.06 41.24 ture of 50° has been noted in January. The roadstead is open throughout the year, and only a few land-locked bays are frozen. The prevailing dampness at Sitka makes a residence there far from agreeable, although it does not appear to be injurious to health. England is also damp, but Englishmen boast that theirs is the best climate of the world. At Sitka the annual fall of rain is eighty-nine inches. The mean annual fall in all England is forty inches, although in mountainous districts of Cumberland and Westmoreland the fall amounts to ninety and even one hundred and forty inches. In Washington it is forty-one inches. The forests at Sitka are so wet that they will not burn, although frequent attempts have been made to set them on fire. The houses, which are of wood, suffer from the constant moisture. In 1828, there were twenty days when it rained or snowed continuously; one hundred and twenty when it rained or snowed part of the day, and only sixty-six days of clear weather. Some years only forty bright days have been counted. Hinds, the naturalist, records only thirty-seven "really clear and fine days." A scientific observer who was there last year counted sixty. A visitor for fourteen days found only two when nautical observations could be made; but these were as fine as he had ever known in any country. The whole coast from Sitka to the peninsula of Alaska seems to have the same continuous climate, whether as regards temperature or moisture. The island of Kodiak and the recess of Cook's inlet are outside of this climatic curve, so as to be comparatively dry. Langsdorf reports the winters "frequently so mild in the lower parts of Kodiak that the snow does not lie upon the ground for any length of time, nor is anything like severe cold felt." The Aleutian islands, further west, are somewhat colder than Sitka, although the difference is not great. The summer temperature is seldom above 66°; the winter temperature is more seldom as low as 2° below zero. The snow falls about the beginning of October, and is seen sometimes as late as the end of April; but it does not remain long on the surface. The mean temperature of Ounalaska is about 40°. Chamisso found the temperature of spring water at the beginning of the year to be 38° 50. There are some years when it rains on this island the whole winter. The fogs prevail from April till the middle of July, when they seem for the time to be driven further north. The islands northward toward Behring straits are proportionately colder, but you will not forget that the American coast is milder than the opposite coast of Asia. From Mr. Bannister I have an authentic statement with regard to the temperature north of the Aleutians, as observed by himself in the autumn of 1865 and the months following. Even here the winter does not seem so terrible as is sometimes imagined. During most of the time work could be done with comfort in the open air. It was only when it stormed that the men were kept within doors. In transporting supplies from St. Michaels to Nulato, a distance of two hundred and fifty miles, they found no hardship, even when obliged to bivouac in the open air. On Norton sound and the Kwichpak river winter may be said to commence at the end of September, although the weather is not severe till the end of October. The first snow falls about the 20th or 25th September. All the small ponds and lakes were frozen early in October. The Kwichpak was frozen solid about the 20th or 25th of this month. On the 1st November the harbor at St. Michaels was still open, but on the morning of the 4th it was frozen solid enough for sledges to cross on the ice. In December there were two thaws, one of them accompanied by rain for a day. The snow was about two feet deep at the end of the month. January was uniformly cold, and it was said that at one place sixty-five miles northeast of St. Michaels the thermometer descended to 58° | below zero. February was unusually mild all over the country. In the middle of the month there was an extensive thaw, with showers of rain. About half of the snow disappeared, leav ing much of the ground bare. March was pleasant, without very cold weather. Its mean temperature was 20°; its minimum was 3° below zero. Spring commences on the Kwichpak the 1st May, or a few days later, when the birds return and vegetation begins to appear. The ice did not entirely disappear from the river till after the 20th May. The sea ice continued in the bay of St. Michaels as late as 1st June. The summer temperature is much higher in the interior of the country than on the coast. Parties traveling on the Kwichpak in June complained sometimes from the heat. The river Youkon, which, flowing into the Kwichpak, helps to swell that stream, is navigable for at least four, if not five, months in the year. The thermometer at Fort Youkon is sometimes at 65° below zero of Fahrenheit, and for three months of a recent winter it stood at 50° below zero without variation. In summer it rises above 80° in the shade; but a hard frost occurs at times in August. The southwest wind brings warmth; the northeast wind brings cold. Some years there is no rain for months, The snow packs hard at an average of two and and then again showers alternate with sunshine. a half feet deep. The ice is four or five feet thick; in a severe winter it is six feet thick. Life at Fort Youkon under these rigors of nature, although not inviting, is not intoler able. Such is the climate of this extensive region, islands, and on its great rivers, from its southso far as is known, along its coast, among its ern limits to its most northern ice, with contrasts and varieties such as Milton describes: "For hot, cold, moist and dry, four champions fierce Strive here for mastery." Vegetable Products. IV. Vegetable Products depend upon climate. They are determined by its laws. Therefore what has been already said upon the one prepares the way for the consideration of the other; and here we have the reports of navigators and the suggestions of science. From the time this coast was first visited navigators reported the aspects which nature assumed. But their opportunities were casual, and they were obliged to confine themselves to what was most obvious. As civilization did not exist, the only vegetable products were indigenous to the soil. These were trees, berries, and plants. At the first landing, on the discovery of the coast by Behring, Steller found among the provisions in one of the Indian cabins a sweet herb dressed for food in the same manner as in Kamtschatka." That "sweet herb' is the first vegetable production of which we have any record on this coast. At the same time, although ashore only six hours, this naturalist "gathered herbs and brought such a quantity to the ship that the describing of them took him a considerable time." This descrip tion it is said was adopted afterwards in the Flora Siberica. Trees were noticed even before landing. They enter into descriptions, and are often introduced to increase the savage wildness of the scene. La Pérouse doubts "if the deep vallies of the Alps and the Pyrenees present a picture so frightful and at the same time so picturesque, which would deserve to be visited by the curious if it were not at one of the extremities of the earth." (Tom. 2, page 191.) Lisiansky, as he approached the coast of Sitka, records that "nothing presented itself to the view but impenetrable woods reaching from the water side to the very tops of the highest mountains, so wild and gloomy that they appeared more adapted for the residence of wild beasts than of men.' (Page 145.) Lütke portrays the "savage and picturesque aspect of the whole northwest coast. (Tom. 1, page 101.) As navigators landed they saw nature in detail; and here they were impressed by the size of the trees. Cook finds at Prince William sound "Canada and spruce pine, some of them tolerably large." La Pérouse alludes. to trees more than once. He describes pines measuring six feet in diameter and one hundred and forty feet in height, and then again introduces us to "those superb pines fit for the masts of our largest vessels." Portlock notices in Cook's inlet "wood of different kinds in great abundance, such as pine, black birch, witch hazel, and poplar; many of the pines large enough for lower masts to a ship of four hundred tons burden;" and then again at Port Etches he noticed "trees of the pine kind, some very large, a good quantity of alder, a kind of hazel, but not larger than will do for making handspikes." Meares reports "woods thick, also the black pine in great plenty, capable of making excellent spars." Vancouver reports in latitude 60° 1" a woodland country.' "Sauer, who was there a little later, in the expedition of Billings, saw trees six feet in diameter and one hundred and fifty feet in height, "excellent wood for ship-building." In Prince William sound the ship "took in a variety of fine spars," and he proceeds to say, "The timber comprised a variety of pines of immense thickness and height, some entirely tough and fibrous, and of these we made our best oars.' Lisiansky says that at Kodiak "for want of fir he made a new bowsprit of one of the pine trees, which answered admirably." Lütke testifies to the "magnificent pine and fir" at Sitka, adding what seems an inconsistent judgment with regard to its durability. Belcher notices Garden island, in latitude 60° 21', as "covered with pine trees;" and then again at Sitka speaks of a "very fine-grained bright yellow cypress as the most valuable wood, which, besides being used in boats, was exported to the Sandwich islands in return especially for Chinese goods." Turning westward from Cook's inlet the forests on the sea line are rarer until they are entirely disappear. The first settlement on the island of Kodiak was on the southwestern coast, but the want of timber there caused its transfer to the northeastern coast, where there considerable forests of fine tall trees." But where trees are wanting grass seems to abound. This is the case with Kodiak, the peninsula of Alaska, and the Aleutian islands generally. Of these Ounalaska, libeled by the immortal verse of Campbell, has been the most described. This well-known island is without trees; but it seems singularly adapted to the growth of grass, which is often so high as to impede the traveler and to over-top even the willows. The mountains themselves are for a considerable distance clothed with rich turf. One of these scenes is represented in a print which you will find among the views of the vegetation of the Pacific in the London reproduction of the work of Kittlitz. This peculiarity was first noticed by Cook, who says, with a sailor sententiousness, that he did not see there "a single stick of wood of any size," but "plenty of grass very thick and to a great length." Lütke records that after leaving Brazil he met nothing so agreeable as the grass of this island. North of Alaska, on Behring sea, the forests do not approach the coast, except at the heads of bays and sounds, although they abound in the interior, and extend even to within a short distance of the Frozen ocean. Such is the personal testimony of a scientific observer who has recently returned from this region. In Norton's sound Cook, who was the first to visit it, reports "a coast covered with wood, an agreeable sight," and, on walking in the country, "small spruce, trees, none more than six or eight inches in diameter." The next day he sent men ashore "to cut brooms, which he needed, and the branches of spruce trees for brewing beer." On the Kwichpak and its affluent, the Youkon, trees are sometimes as high as a hundred feet. The supply of timber at St. Michaels is from the drift wood of the river. Near Fort Youkon, at the junction of the Porcupine and the Youkon, are forests of pine, poplar, willow, and birch. The pine is the most plentiful; but the small islands in the great river are covered with poplar and willow. Immense trunks rolling under the fort show that there must be large trees nearer the headwaters. But even in northern latitudes the American coast is not without vegetation. Grass here takes the place of trees. At Fort Youkon, in latitude 67°, there is "a thin, wiry grass.' Navigators notice the contrast between the opposite coasts of the two continents. Kotzebue, while in Behring straits, where the two approach each other, was struck by black, mossy rocks frowning with snow and icicles on the Asiatic side, while on the American side of the continent is hardly less. The northern limit of trees is full seven degrees higher in Russian America than in Labrador. In point of fact, on the Atlantic coast, in latitude 57° 58', which is that of Sitka, there are no trees. All this is most suggestive. At Next after trees early navigators speak oftenest of berries, which they found in profusion. Not a sailor lands who does not find them. Cook reports "berries" on Norton sound, and "a great variety" at Ounalaska. Portlock finds at Port Etches "fruit bushes in great abundance, such as bilberry, raspberry, strawberry, and currant, red and black." Prince William sound "" any quantity might be gathered for a winter stock. Meares saw there "a few black currant bushes." Billings finds at Kodiak "several species of berries, with currants and raspberries in abundance, the latter white, but extremely large, being bigger than a mulberry." Langsdorf finds all these at Ounalaska, with whortleberries and cranberries besides. Belcher reports at Garden island "strawberries, pigeon berries, whortleberries, and a small cranberry in tolerable profusion, without going in search of them." All these I quote precisely, and in the order of time. coast an attempt has been made to introduce the nutritious grains and vegetables known to the civilized world; but without very brilliant success. Against wheat and rye and against orchard fruits there are obstacles of climate, perhaps insuperable. All these require summer heat; but here the summer is comparatively cold. The northern limit of wheat is several degrees below the southern limit of these possessions, so that this friendly grain is out of the question. Rye flourishes further north, as do oats also. The supposed northern limit of these grains embraces Sitka and grazes the Aleutian islands. But there are other climatic conditions which are wanting at least for rye. One of these is dry weather, which is || required at the time of its bloom. Possibly the clearing of the forest may produce some modification of the weather. For the present barley grows better, and there is reason to believe that it may be cultivated successfully very far to the north. It has ripened at Kodiak. There are many garden vegetables which have become domesticated. Lütke reports that at Sitka potatoes flourish; so that all have enough. Langsdorf reports the same of Kodiak. There are also radishes, cabbages, cauliflowers, peas, and carrots-making a very respectable list. The same, perhaps, may be found at Ounalaska. On Norton sound I hear of radishes, beets, and cabbages. Even as far north as Fort Youkon, on the parallel of 67°, potatoes, peas, turnips, and even barley have been grown; but the turnips were unfit for the table, being rotten at the heart. A recent resident reports that there are no fruit trees, and not even a raspberry bush, and that he lost all his potatoes during one season by a frost in the latter days of July; but do not forget that these potatoes were the wall-flowers of the Arctic Circle. Thus it appears that the vegetable productions of the country are represented practi Next to berries were plants for food; and these were in constant abundance. Behring, on landing at the Shumagin islands, observed the natives to eat roots which they dug out of the ground, and scarce shaked off the earth before they eat them." Cook reports at Ounalaska "a great variety of plants, such as are found in Europe and other parts of America, particularly Newfoundland, one of which was like parsley and eat very well, either in soups or salads." La Pérouse, who landed in latitude 58° 37, finds a French bill of fare, including celery, chicory, sorrel, and "almost all that exists in the meadows and mountains of France," besides several grains for forage.cally by trees. The forests which overshadow Every day and each meal the ship's kettle was filled with these supplies, and all eat them in soups, ragouts, and salads, much to the benefit of their health. Portlock reports at Port Etches, besides water-cresses, just above the beach, between the bay and the lake, a piece of wild wheat, about two hundred yards long and five yards broad, growing at least two feet high, which with proper care might certainly be made a useful article of food;" at Cook's inlet he reports ginseng and snakeroot." Meares reports at Prince William sound "snakeroot and ginseng, some of which the natives have always with them as a medicine." Billings finds at Kodiak "ginseng, wild onions, and the edible roots of Kamtschatka;" and then again in Prince William sound he finds "plenty of ginseng and some snakeroot." Vancouver finds at Cape Phipps "wild vegetables in great abundance. Langsdorf adds to the list at Ounalaska "Siberian parsnip, or sweet plant." These, too, I quote precisely, and in the order of time. 66 Since the establishment of Europeans on this the coast from Sitka to Cook's inlet are all that we can show under this head out of which a revenue can be derived, unless we add ginseng, which is so much prized by the Chinese, and perhaps also snakeroot. Other things may contribute to the scanty support of a household; but timber will in all probability be an article of commerce. It has been so already. Ships from the Sandwich islands have come for it, and there is reason to believe that this trade may be extended indefinitely, so that Russian America may be on the Pacific like Maine on the Atlantic, and the lumbermen of Sitka may vie with their hardy brethren of the East. Here a question occurs. These forests as described seem to afford all that can be desired. The trees are abundant, and they are perfect in in size, not unlike "The tallest pine Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast But a doubt arises,as to their commercial value. |