THE FIRST LANDING ON WRANGEL ISLAND,

WITH SOME

REMARKS ON THE NORTHERN INHABITANTS.

BY

IRVING C. ROSSE, M.D.

On May 4, 1881, through the courtesy of the Chief of Revenue Marine, Mr.
E.W. Clark, I was allowed to take passage from San Francisco, Cal., on
board the United States Revenue steamer _Corwin_, whose destination was
Alaska and the northwest Arctic ocean. The object of the cruise was, in
addition to revenue duty, to ascertain the fate of two missing whalers
and, if possible, to communicate with the Arctic exploring yacht
_Jeannette_.

Our well-found craft made good headway for seven or eight uneventful
days of exceptionally fine weather, while the ocean, somewhat deserving
the adjective that designates it, displayed its prettiest combinations
of blue tints and sunset effects as we steamed through miles of
medusidæ; and had it not been for the sight of occasional whales and the
strange marine birds that characterize a higher latitude, we should
scarcely have known of our approach to the north. Soon, however, we were
beset by pelting hail and furious storms of snow and all the discomforts
of sea life, causing a _pénible navigation_ in every sense of the term.
On May 15 we were somewhat disoriented while trying to make a landfall
in a blinding snowstorm, and groped about for several hours before
anchoring under one of the Alp-like cliffs of the Aleutian islands.