The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-08
WONDERS OF ALASKA.
Deserted Villages, Human Graves,
Curious Islands and New Ports
En11ni
From the Nero York Herald

Found.
From the Ne,o York Herald
SAN Francisco, CAL, Nov. 5.-John
w. Kelly, who accompanied the United
States steamer Thetis as official interpreter.
gives the following new incidents Of his
cruise in the Arctic and Behring seas:
The Thetis and the stea N whalers cruised
as far east as Herschel Island and
Mackenzie bay, off the delta of the great
northern river by the latter name in British
America. Under the direction of Capt.
Cross the island of Lion Reef, on the coast
of North Alaska, and Herschel Island, off
the coast OF British America, were surveyed
and charted.
Cross Island is long sand bar, affording
excellent temporary anchorage for whale
ships seeking refuge from floating ice
fields.
PECULIAR ISLAND.
Herschel Island extends east and west. It
has an area of about fifty square miles. 1t
Is series OF great rollers. appearing as if
great waves of mortar had been suddenly
chilled upon bed of red granite. These
frozen waves extend east and west, the
highest being on the north side and having
an elevation of 500 feet. Ga The south side
are long, low, narrow sand spits stretching
out within few yards Of the sand bars,
along the low lying land of Britt h
America, which goe, back to ChaDomeak-
arook (Franklin) mount ms, twenty miles
distant. On the north side Is a precipitous
bluff, to which the captain gave the name
of BELLS Bluff
ABANDONED VILLAGES ON SAND SPITs.
On three of the southern sand spits there
are abandoned villages. Those on the south
east side have been inhabited in recent
years. Guns of obsolete pattern were found
on graves. The village on the southwest
sand spit Is one of great antiquity. All ex-
cept the decayed remains of a few huts
were washed into the sea.
The graves were like these on Kotzeb
sound, the bodies resting on the ground
heads to the east. Over each corpse a heavy
wooden box had been built from driftwood
logs. In these wooden tombs, still COM
paratvely intact, ptarmigan, of which we
found great many on the islands, had year
after year sought refuge during gales and
held high carnival feasting on the corpses
In the open jaws of one SIX Teton a sac -ile-
gious snowbird had built its nest, but its
brood had flown.
WEIRD SCENE.
The scene was one of the most depressing
Oscillation. Ga the high land at the head
OF this sand spit Lieut.. Osborne, the execu-
tive officer of 1.-THE Thetis, erected a white
oak cross bearing this legend, in copper let
ters:
U. S. S. THETIS, AUGUST is, 1889.
Between the islands and the mainland
entering In three fathoms from either side.
are good harbors. Thetis Bay, on the south
ern side, affords good anchorage in from
five to seven fathoms. On the north side
OF Ihetls bay is splendid little landlocked
harbor, half mile i'll extent, entering with
four aud a h IF fathoms and three fathoms
in the middle of the harbor. This little
haven was christened Pauline Cover bv
Captain Stockton.
Heretofore no American vessels had ever
passed the Alaska Canada boundary and the
only vessels ever in that part of the world
where those under MacClure and Collinson
IN 1851, when the former was making his
famous northwestern passage.
BEsET WITH AN ICEPACK,
On the return trip to Point Barrow, and
when within thirty miles of that place. the
Thetls was beset with the icepack. The
upper yards were struck and topgallant
masts housed and the battle for freedom
commenced. The Thetis rammed away for
five days, making sometimes seventv-five
feet per hour. till she bucked her way into
an open lead that brought her safely into
Point Barrow. A few days later the wind
changed and the road eastward was again
open, permitting the steam whalers to
return.
The refuge station at Point Barrow is
supplied with food for ssventy-five men for
nine months-two ships crews-but is short
of clothing. Skin clothing cannot be OBJ
tanned there, as the natives do not get
enough for themselves. The station is not
large enough. Provisions of an anti
scorbutlc nature are badly needed. An
officer of the revenue marine, authorized to
enforce regulations against LIQUOR traffic,
would be very acceptable as keeper, espe-
cially if he had any knowledge of medicine
and surgery.