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make his statements thoroughly reliable. Alaska is in most respects a new country, the hand of civilized man has scarcely made its mark on the face of nature, the Indians and Innuits will soon disappear, domesticated and introduced species of animals and plants have scarcely taken up their abode and begun to wage war against the native species, and just at this juncture the record of a naturalist who has watched the changes of each season for two years in succession is a contribution of the first importance to science.

The first half (Part I) of the book is a personal narrative of travels on the Yukon River and in the Yukon territory, the first year as Director of the Scientific Corps of the Western Union Telegraphic Expedition; the second year he remained after the expedition returned, and prosecuted his explorations alone and at his own expense. The second part treats of the geography, history, inhabitants, and resources of Alaska.

In reading the narrative we occasionally meet with a paragraph of general interest to our readers. Let the author give us his first impressions of the Yukon :

"Passed over (p. 41) the flanks of some high hills, from one of which I caught my first glimpse of the great river Yukon, broad, smooth, and ice-bound. A natural impatience urged me forward, and after a smart tramp of several miles we arrived at the steep bank of the river. It was with a feeling akin to that which urged Balboa forward into the very waves of a newly discovered ocean, that I rushed by the dogs and down the steep declivity, forgetting everything else in the desire to be first on the ice, and to enjoy the magnificent prospect before

ine.

There lay a stretch of forty miles of this great, broad, snow-covered river, with broken fragments of ice-cakes glowing in the ruddy light of the setting sun; the low opposite shore, three miles away, seemed a mere black streak on the horizon. A few islands covered with dark evergreens were in sight above. Below, a faint purple tinged the snowy crests of far-off mountains, whose height, though not extreme, seemed greater from the low banks near me and the clear sky beyond. This was the river I had read and dreamed of, which had seemed as if shrouded in mystery, in spite of the tales of those who had seen it. On its banks live thousands who know neither its outlet nor its source, who look to it for food and even for clothing. and, recognizing its magnificence, call themselves proudly men of the Yukon.

Stolid indeed must he be, who surveys the broad expanse of the Missouri of the North for the first time without emotion. A little Innuit lad, who ran before the dogs and saw it for the first time, shouted at the sight, saying, amidst his expressions of astonishment, 'It is not a river, it is a sea!' and even the Indians had no word of ridicule for him, often as they had seen it."

The anthropologist will glean much valuable information from the narrative, while the second part on the manners and customs of the natives, is an important contribution to American anthropology. On page 127, in describing the Innuit casine, or town hall, it is stated that

"There is not a nall or a pin in the whole structure, which is of the most solid description. Some of the logs are two feet in diameter, and the broad seats on both sides, previously referred to, are each composed of a single plank forty-four inches wide, thirty feet long, and four Inches thick. These enormous planks are from drift logs, and were hewn with the stone axes of the natives."

Of the bears, the number of North American species of which is now in dispute:

"There are three species: the large brown bear of the mountains, known as the 'grizzly" among the Hudson Bay voyagers; the barren-ground bear (Ursus Richardsonii of Mayne Reid), which is confined in Russian America to the extreme north-east; and the black bear,

which frequents the vicinity of the Yukon, in the woody district only. The polar or white bear is found only in the vicinity of Behring Strait, on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, and on t Matthew's Island in Behring Sea. It has probably reached the latter locality on floating ice; we only know of its existence there from whalers, who apply the name of Bear Island to the locality, from the abundance of these animals. We know that it is not found on the mainland south of latitude sixty-five degrees. The cubs of the black bear are of the same color as tive parent, and the adult is very much smaller than its brown cousin, which sometimes reaches a length of nine feet, with a girth nearly as great. The brown bear, or grizzly, is the only one which manifests any ferocity, and it always avoids any contest unless brought to bay." Regarding the remains of the extinct elephant (Elephas primigenius), which are not uncommonly found on the surface, the author says:

"I picked up near the village a large portion of the skull of the extinct elephant (Elephas prímigenius). These bones are not so common as the teeth and tusk, being found on the surface only, and usually much decayed: while the bones of the musk-ox and fossil buffalo found in the same situations are much better preserved, and sometimes retain some of the animal matter in the bone. The natives have no tradition of any other large animal than the reindeer and moose, and regard the elephant and musk-ox bones as the remains of dead 'devils.' The tusks are not so well preserved as those found in Siberia, which are usually buried in the earth. The former are blackened, split and weathered, and contain little ivory in a state fit for use, though the Innuit of the Arctic coast occasionally find them in such preservation that they make kantags or dishes of the ivory, according to Simpson."

The chapter on the geography of Alaska gives a full acount of the general topographical features of the territory, and many useful details with regard to the navigation of the shores and adjacent islands. This is a very perfect summary of all that is known of the physical history of this portion of the North Pacific, and it shows us, also, perhaps the most important result of the expedition. This was the demonstration of the cessation of the Rocky Mountains, at a point about one hundred and fifty miles south-east of Fort Yukon.

"The Rocky Mountain chain extends east of the basin of the Yukon, between it and the Mackenzie, as far north as latitude 64°. Here it bends westward, and, becoming broken, passes to the west and south, combining with the coast ranges to form the Alaskan range." This last follows the shore line to the westward, and thus the only considerable exception to the orographic law that mountain chains trend in the same direction with the coast seems to be explained, and geographers can no longer lay down the northern extension of the Rocky Mountain as reaching to the shores of the Arctic Sea. The fauna of the Yukon is almost wholly Eastern Canadian, showing that the mountains had interposed no insurpassable barrier to the north as they had to the south of the Alaskan and west of the Rocky Mountains proper.

The soil of the Yukon Valley is always frozen at the depth of three or four feet, and in some cold situations remains icy near the surface. "This layer of frozen soil is six or eight feet thick." "This phenomenon appears to be directly traceable to the want of drainage, combined with the non-conductive covering of moss," which prevents thawing in the summer heats. Nevertheless this frozen soil has "a healthy and luxu riant vegetation, bearing its blossoms and maturing its seeds as readily as in situations apparently much more favored."

But next in value to the geographical details are the many authentic

facts regarding the natives now so rapidly disappearing. By learning to speak their language, and living among them, his testimony is of special value, and he says that he was enabled to correct many erroneous impressions formed early in his visit to the country, by more careful and repeated observations and knowledge of their language. Of the Esquimo he made a special study, and cautiously remarks (on p. 154) that "it is impossible to doubt that among all American aborigines, much in their mode of life, customs, and ceremonials is of a local nature, and due to extraneous circumstances. Much is also due, unquestionably, to the similarity of thought and habit which must obtain among human beings of a low type, and who gain their living by similar means. Hence, a general similarity of many customs may naturally be expected between both Innuit and Indians, as well as for distant aborigines of different parts of the world, and this similarity can afford no basis for generalizations in regard to their origin."

As regards their affinities, he writes: "It should be thoroughly and definitely understood, in the first place, that they are not Indians; nor have they any known relation, physically, physiologically, or otherwise, to the Indian tribes of North America. Their grammar, appearance, habits, and even their anatomy, especially in the form of the skull, separate them widely from the Indian race. On the other hand, it is almost equally questionable whether they are even distinctly related to the Chukchees and other probable Mongolian races of the eastern part of Siberia" (p. 137). As to the origin of the word Eskimo we are told that "the Indians call the Innuit and Eskimo Uskéémi, or sorcerers. Kaguskeemi is the Innuit name for the Casines, in which their Shamáns perform their superstitious rites. From this root comes the word Eskimo."

In the chapter on the aboriginal inhabitants of Alaska, he begins by dividing the inhabitants into Indians and Orarians, the latter embracing the tribes of Innuit, Aleutians and Asiatic Eskimo. The author is inclined to reject the theory most in vogue that America has been peopled from Asia or Polynesia, and "proposes to attempt to show that son of the facts which have been used in support of this hypothesis are susceptible of quite another interpretation. I refer to the existence of tribes of Orarian stock on the coast of the Chukchee Peninsula," which were originally derived from America, their emigration having taken place within three hundred years. He adds beyond that "there is no doubt but that the Aleutians originally emigrated to the islands from the American continent, driven by hostile tribes. The Innuit formerly extended farther south than they do now, and in this connection we find the suggestive remark that "Dr. Otis, of the United States Army Medical Museum at Washington, who has handled as many aboriginal American crania as any northern ethnologist, says that the skulls found in the northern mounds have the same peculiarities which distinguish all Orarian crania, and that both are instantly distinguishable from any Indian skulls." The chapters on the climate and agricultural capabilities and geology, AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. IV.

55

and the whole tenor of the remarks on this subject leads the reader to the belief that the purchase of Alaska was wisely made by our govern

ment.

TROUT CULTURE.*-This is just the book that has been wanted by every one interested in the raising of fish by artificial propagation. It contains a statement of the experience of the most successful fish breeder in the country, presented in concise and forcible language; every word fully convincing the reader that the author is simply giving the results of his experience, with the earnest desire of furnishing others with all the information necessary for them to become as successful breeders of trout as himself. With this book in hand, and a proper location and sup ply of water, there is no reason why trout raising should not succeed in the hands of any careful and energetic person. In fact nothing but pure carelessness could make it fail, though, like all other stock raising operations there are many things that should be looked after before the eggs are placed in the hatching house; and as no sheep raiser would purchase five hundred sheep for his farm unless he had what he knew to be suffi cient past rage for so large a number, so no trout raiser should purchase his five hundred or more trout eggs unless he has plenty of good water. We have not space for the extended review of this little work which our interest in the subject would otherwise lead us to make, and can only say that every point is fairly and plainly presented, from the location of the pond, its best depth and shape, its bottom, its screens and water supply; to the transportation of eggs and live fish; and all the intermediate operations of procuring the eggs in different ways, the construction of the hatching house, handling the eggs and young fish; with observations on their diseases and enemies; careful statements regarding the amount of water required for each fish of different ages, etc., etc. In fact every information that long continued and successful operations enables the author to feel confident is just what beginners want, is here given. An improved spawning screen, invented by Mr. Collins (Mr. Green's partner), is described and figured. This screen or box is so designed as to secure the eggs of trout and other fishes that have been spawned in a natural way, and is a most convenient and labor saving contrivance for the trout breeder. We hope to give a communication on this subject in a future number.

There are several facts very interesting to the naturalist alluded to by Mr. Green. The average age of a trout he thinks to be about twelve or fourteen years, and that trout are in their prime during the age of from three to ten years. Mr. Green also states that trout will not live in water the temperature of which is above 68°, and do best at a temperature of 48°.

On the last page of the book Mr. Green calls attention to a “worm"

* Trout Culture. By Seth Green. 12mo pamph., pp. 92. Green and Collins, Caledonia, Ne☛ York. [For sale at the Naturalists' Agency, Salem. Price $1.00.]

which is very destructive to young trout and other fish, by catching them in webs which are spun under water.

"The web is as perfect as that of the spider, and as much mechanical ingenuity is displayed in its construction. It is made as quickly and in the same way as a spider's, by fastening the threads at different points and going back and forth until the web is finished. The threads are not strong enough to hold the young trout after the umbilical sac is absorbed, but the web will stick to the fins and get wound around the head and gills and soon kills the fish.”

This "worm "is, according to an article in the June number of the "American Entomologist and Botanist," the larva of the notorious Black-fly, or at least of a species of the same genus, Simulium, and is figured in the " Entomologist," where also there is an important article on the transformations of this pest to fishermen, and as it now turns out to fishes also.

Messrs. Green and Collins are ready to supply persons with trout eggs at $10 for a single thousand, or young trout at $30 a thousand, to any extent required, from their farm at Caledonia, and as both eggs and young can be, and have been, sent in perfect safety to various parts of the country, and even to France and England, there is now no reason why every northern stream should not have its supply of "spotted beauties."

RECORD OF AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGY FOR 1869.*— After a greater delay than was anticipated this "Record" has at length appeared. The editor states in the introductory that "the number of American entomologists whose articles or notes are referred to in the "Record" is fifty-two; while three hundred and thirty-five new species of North and Central American insects have been described in American journals during the year 1869." We are glad to notice that our American entomological literature has assumed a highly practical character, and comprises much regarding the habits of insects, a never failing source of interest. The remarks by Baron Osten Sacken should be carefully read by every entomologist, especially the beginner, and are well worth the price of the whole pamphlet.

BRAZILIAN CRUSTACEA.†In this carefully prepared essay Mr. Smith remarks that "the collection, although quite small in number of specimens and representing only the higher groups of the class, is interesting from the large proportion which it contains of species heretofore known only from the West Indies or Florida. This is, perhaps, due chiefly to the fact that most of the collections brought from Brazil have been made at Rio Janeiro, where there are no coral reefs, while Professor Hartt's collection was made principally on the rocky and reef-bearing parts of the coast." Five new species are described, and a new genus, Xiphopeneus (X. Hartii). The plate is lithographed from photographs and is of unusual excellence.

For sale by the Naturalist's Book Agency, Salem. July, 1870. 8vo, pp. 62. Price $1.00. Notice of the Crustacea collected by Professor C. F. Hartt on the coast of Brazil in 1867, together with a List of the described species of Brazilian Podophthalmia. By Sidney I. Smith. (From the Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. Vol. 2, 1870. 8vo, pp. 41.)

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