The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1868-01-29
The: eoiontifio Expedition to Alaska
Professor Davioson's Account of his
OhSerQatinns

The scientifio Expedition to Alaska
Professor Davioson's Account of his
Observations.
The San Francisco Buhrtim saws
sA special meeting of the Academy
OF Sciences was held in this CITY on
Wednesday evening for the purpose
OF listening to Il lecture by professor
Davidson chief of the coast survey
ing expedition to Alaska, on the geo
logical, climate, and geographical
particularitios of that wly-acquircd
territory. lIc said that in tho lati-
tudc of the Alcutians and Of Sitka this
warm water currcct encounters and is
undorrun by the cold current from the
Arctic seas, causing the great condon-
satlon and rainfall noticeable at Sitka
and at other points in the now terri
tory. During observations ut Sitka
Tor fourteen years the average fall
ofroin each year was cighty-four inch :
es. There arc to be found but few
valleys in the country, and they arc
all covered by a messy carpet one to
two feet thick. There is heavy timber
in tho vicinity of Sitka--trccs one
hundred and fifty feet high and four
to five feet in diameter. lie dcscrib-
cd q yellow cedar which grows there,
and said he was taking homo piece
obtained from the hull ofa vessel
built in the country thirty-two years
ago; but the wood is still as sound as
1T was when first cut. There is no
wood on the coast equal to 1.-THE
rest being of littlc note. There arc
no signs Of hard wood in tho coun-
try.
"Littlc patches of ground in the
interior arc cultivated by the Indians
but not valloy of 100 acres can be
found on the whole coast. 10 show
how humid tho atmosphere of the
country always remains, he mentioned
tho fact that at no place except Chilli
cote could thoy find whore fire had
ragged in the woods. The best island
on tho coast is Kodiack. There arc
hills and Wales with green hcrbagc :;
thousands Of acres covered by green
grass two and three feet high, afford
ing abundant pasturgo, and excellent
hay for use in winter. There is sufli-
eient clear weather to admit of the
curing of hay for stock. The waters
OF the archipelago abound in cod,
halibut, and salmon, the latter being
particularly abundant. In somo Of
tho small streams inland the progress
OF boats is frequently impoded by
them, and millions of them nrc thrown
on loo shores in banks two or thrcc
feet dccp, where thoy die. MANY of
the best fishing banks between Onal.
aska and Kodiaok are kept secret by
tho fishers as legitimate advantage in
their business. 4,
"He had heard some persons say
the cod caught on the banks of tho
Alaska were not tho true cod, but ho
could not detect tho difference, OK
cept that those caught thore arc usual.
~ larger and have better flavor than
those taken on The banks of Ncwfound.
land. IIo said tho aggregate of tori.
tory whore the cod arc found consti.
tptes 2 reservoir Of fifty thousand
square miles in extent, with from
twenty-five to fifty fathoms of water.
and ho entertained no doubt of tho
fact that tho fisheries will in the course
Of few years prove much better and
more lucrative than those Oh tho cas-
tern side of the continent. 81 Already
the imp6ftati6n Of cod into British
Columbia has been quite stopped and
there is no reason why the same result