The west shore., May 01, 1884, Page 143, Image 19

THE WEST SHORE.
143
torn, and his countenance haggard with suffering. He, the dispatch of several vessols Z Zn o V
rni1HM Wnre the chappy maulon, W,k W hnd in his, , Aleutian group i search of more. Thus Z , the to
gazed into her face, and then upon the ring the prince trade of the Taeific. The little sea-girt island k lwn
had p aced upon her finger. Without uttering a word, to the present day as Bohring's Isle.
...... ..o.n gunnw we Bianng witn amaze-, Mount St Klias
,",mm ui"y. no ure w a dagger trom ins belt and Russian, Spanish.
was n landmark bv which the enilv
j
.1. 1 ... . it. .
juiiKusii, American ami rrencli ex-
plunged it into her breast lie rushed from the castle plorers verified their observations as they passed up or
and leaped into the sen, to find rest in the boson, of the down the coast Its altitude, of which no re liable mens-
wnieis. ju wiH nmnversary or ner wedding night the
spirit of the murdered girl can be seen passing through
the castle halls, dressed in her rich bridal robes, tears
IT
streaming from her eyes as she presses her hand over tho
red wound in her breast Often before a severe tempest
she may be seen on the tower of the abandoned light
house, burning a light till dawn to guide the spirit of her
lover on the stormy sea.
Alaska haa in her keeping the loftiest mountain peak
north of Mexico, one that has been a landmark to ex
plorers and navi
gators of the
northern waters
for nearly a cen
tury and a half.
In 1741 Behring,
after a long voy
age in search of
the American
coast, sighted the
Bnowy crest of this
giant peak, the
first glimpse the
great explorer
had of the conti
nent of America,
and named it St
Elias. With his
crew afflicted with
scurvy, engender
ed by imnroner
food and exposure during their long voyage, nnd himself
failing rapidly in health, Behring sailed for home with
out exploring the discovered land. For months tho
vessel wandered aimlessly aliout until it was wrecked
upon a small island of almost barren rock rising abruptly
from the water. Here the crew passed the winter, sub
sisting upon fish and the fur-learing seals and other
amphibious animals thev were able to capture. On this
urement has yet been taken, is given at lD.fiOO foot iiIhivo
the level of the sea, on whoso very edge it stand. It
seems like a vast pivot upon which the continent turns as
it sweeps around tho groat Alaskan Sea tit the westward.
It has many noble associates on the northern coast
such as lairwoathor and Kdgo-
cumb - but they are neither
so gigantic, so imposing
in appearance nor so
grandly situated.
I!
INTKHIOK OK (illKKK ( IIIIU'II, HITM.
Ths climati of Alaska, or such jKirtion of it as will
ever be of much consequence, is fur from lx'ing ah nrctic
as is 1 opularly supoKod or the latitude would suggest
Tho Japan current, the Kuro Hiiro, the great river of
warm water (lowing northward from the coast of Japan,
is divided by the Aleutian Islands. A portion iti de
ilected through Hohring's Straits-- a fact which account
for the alwonce of floating icolsirgs nt a latitude where
bleak isle, where the roar of the surf beating against its j tho Atlantic is dotted with them - while tho main stream
rockv pliffa flavor paouau tlm onirit of Bohrim? took its ' is diverted to tho east and reaches our coast near tho
flight He and many of his afflicted crow were buried, head of Quoon Charlotte Islands. Hero it is
again
there by their surviving comrades Imfore the return of ; divided -one branch Mowing south to givo us the mag.
spring and sunshine gave them renewed vigor and hoie. ; nificent climate we enjoy, and the other sweeping around
Constructing then a rudo craft from the timbers of their ; tho Alaskan coast northward and westward to modify tho
wrecked vessel, the few survivors launched it upon the arctic severity of the temperature. Observations at Hitkn
unknown waters, and, turning the 1k)W to the westward, j for thirteen years show thnt tho mean tomeraturo ranged
finally reached the Bay of Avatscha, from which they had from 38.1 to IS degrees, and tho winter mean from '27.7