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SCIENCE     IN    ALASKA 


SELECTED  PAPERS  OF  THE 

ALASKAN  SCIENCE  CONFERENCE 

OF  THE 

NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 
NATIONAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL 

Washington,  November  9-11,  1950 

edited  by 
HENRY  B.  COLLINS 


PUBLISHED   BY 

THE  ARCTIC  INSTITUTE  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

June  1952 


ARCTIC  INSTITUTE  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Special  Publication  No.  i 

Copies  of  this  volume  may  be  obtained  from  the  Washington 
Office  of  the  Arctic  Institute,  1530  P  Street,  N.W.,  Washington  5, 
D.C.   Price  $2.25  postpaid. 


SCIENCE     IN    ALASKA 


SELECTED  PAPERS  OF  THE 

ALASKAN  SCIENCE  CONFERENCE 

OF  THE 

NATIONAL  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES 
NATIONAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL 

Washington,  November  9-11,  1950 

edited  by 
H  HENRY  B.  COLLINS 


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PUBLISHED   BY 

THE  ARCTIC  INSTITUTE  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

June  1952 


PREFACE 

The  Alaskan  Science  Conference,  held  in  Washington,  D.  C, 
in  November  1950  under  the  auspices  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences— National  Research  Council,  had  as  its  objectives 
(1)  to  review  the  status  of  scientific  research  in  Alaska,  (2)  to 
appraise  the  major  requirements  for  future  research,  and  (3)  to 
explore  ways  and  means  of  developing  new  facilities  and  co- 
ordinating existing  ones. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Conference,  published  by  the 
Academy-Council  in  April  1951,  carried  in  full  the  addresses 
given  at  the  opening  session,  the  general  meeting,  and  the  clos- 
ing session.  The  Proceedings  also  included  abstracts  of  the 
papers  presented  at  the  section  meetings  and  symposia,  papers 
that  for  the  most  part  followed  the  general  pattern  of  an  ap- 
praisal of  the  past  accomplishments  and  future  needs  of  Alaskan 
research  in  the  various  fields  of  science.  As  these  papers  repre- 
sented the  first  broad  survey  of  Alaskan  science  it  was  felt  that 
a  useful  purpose  would  be  served  if  some  of  them  could  be 
published  in  full,  as  a  companion  volume  to  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Conference.  Accordingly,  the  Arctic  Institute  of  North 
America,  which  had  participated  in  the  work  of  the  Conference, 
undertook  the  preparation  of  the  present  volume  of  selected 
papers,  representative  of  those  presented  at  the  Conference. 

Grateful  acknowledgments  are  due  to  the  Chairmen  of  the 
various  sections  who  recommended  papers  for  publication: 
C.  Earl  Albrecht,  Territorial  Commissioner  of  Health,  Chair- 
man, Section  of  Public  Health  and  Medicine;  P.  V.  Cardon, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Chairman,  Section  of  Agri- 
culture and  Forestry;  Albert  M.  Day,  U.  S.  Fish  and  Wildlife 
Service,  Chairman,  Section  of  Zoology;  James  L.  Giddings,  Jr., 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  Chairman,  Section  of  Anthropol- 
ogy; Henry  R.  Joesting,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Chairman, 
Section  of  Geophysics;  John  C.  Reed,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey, 

iii 


Chairman,  Steering  Committee  and  Section  of  Geology  and 
Geography;  Athelstan  F.  Spilhaus,  University  of  Minnesota, 
Chairman,  Section  of  Meteorology;  William  C.  Steere,  Stanford 
University,  Chairman,  Section  of  Botany;  and  particularly, 
A.  L.  Washburn,  Chairman  of  the  General  Meeting  of  the  Con- 
ference and  Executive  Director  of  the  Arctic  Institute  of  North 
America,  who  conceived  the  idea  of  the  present  volume  and 
made  possible  its  publication. 

Henry  B.  Collins 


IV 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 
PREFACE    iii 

AGRICULTURE  AND  FORESTRY 

Status  and  Accomplishments  of  Agricultural  Research 

in  Alaska.   Don  L.  Irwin 1 

Alaska  Forest  Research  Problems  and  Program.   R.  F. 

Taylor 1 1 


ANTHROPOLOGY 

Survey    of    Southeastern    Alaskan    Indian    Research. 

Viola   E.    Garfield 20 

Present    Status    of   the    Alaskan    Eskimos.     Margaret 

Lands 38 

Preservation  of  Archaeological  and  Ethnological  Mate- 
rial in  Alaska.   Frederica  de  Laguna 52 

Preservation  of  Archaeological   Remains  in  Canada. 

Diamond   Jenness 60 

Contemporary    Problems    in    the    Anthropology    of 

Southeastern  Alaska.    W.  S.  Laughlin  ....     66 

Ancient  Bering  Strait  and  Population  Spread.    /.  L. 

Giddings,  Jr 85 

BOTANY 

Botanical  Research  in  Alaska.    William  C.  Steere  .     .103 
The  Future  of  Botanical  Research  in  Alaska.    Ira  L. 

Wiggins 111 

GEOLOGY  AND  GEOGRAPHY 

Glaciological     Research     in     Alaska.      William     O. 

Field,  Jr 133 

Some  Geographical  Bases  for  Planning  New  Alaskan 

Settlement.    Kirk  H.  Stone 136 

The  Hydrology  of  Alaska.  Arvi  O.  Waananen   .     .     .   151 


v 


69279 


PAGE 
GEOPHYSICS 

Geomagnetism— Cosmic  and  Prosaic.  David  G.  Knapp 

and  Elliot  B.  Roberts 163 

The  Geophysical  Institute  at  the  University  of  Alaska. 

Wm.  S.  Wilson 170 

METEOROLOGY 

Agro-Climatological  Investigations  in  the  Permafrost 
Region  of  the  Tanana  Valley,  Alaska.  Basil  M. 
Bensin 197 

PUBLIC  HEALTH  AND  MEDICINE 

Water  Supply  Problems  in  Low  Temperature  Areas. 

Amos  J.  Alter 219 

Relationships  of  Permafrost  to  Environmental  Sanita- 
tion.   Amos  J.  Alter 240 

The  Psychological  Aspects  of  Arctic  and  Sub-Arctic 

Living.   Ernest  L.  McCollum 254 

ZOOLOGY 

Planning  for  Alaska's  Big  Game.   Olaus  J.  Murie    .     .  258 

Pressing  Problems  in  Administration  of  Wildlife  Re- 
sources in  Alaska.    W.  A.  Elkins 268 

Management    of    the    Marine    Resources    of   Alaska, 

Seton  H.  Thompson 282 

Alaskan  Waterfowl  and  their  Management.    Ira  N. 

Gabrielson 292 


VI 


STATUS  AND  ACCOMPLISHMENTS   OF 
AGRICULTURAL  RESEARCH  IN  ALASKA 

Don  L.  Irwin,  Director 

Alaska  Experiment  Station 
University  of  Alaska 

It  is  the  object  of  this  paper  to  assess  and  report  the  present 
status  and  accomplishments  of  agricultural  research  work  in 
Alaska.  In  doing  so  it  is  necessary  to  keep  in  mind  that  the 
enlarged,  more  technical  research  program  is  comparatively 
new  in  Alaska.  Little  more  than  three  years  have  elapsed  since 
this  enlarged  research  program  in  agriculture  was  made  possible 
by  increased  direct  appropriations  through  both  the  United 
States  Congress  and  the  Alaska  Legislature. 

To  coordinate  the  work  the  University  of  Alaska  and  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  agreed  on  a  joint 
program  for  the  study  of  the  agricultural  problems  of  the  Terri- 
tory. In  initiating  this  joint  program  the  University  of  Alaska 
and  the  Federal  Department  of  Agriculture  have  signified  their 
willingness,  and  their  intention  to  cooperate  fully  and  share 
equally  the  responsibility  for  advancing  agricultural  research 
in  Alaska  as  rapidly  as  funds,  personnel  and  facilities  permit. 

To  immediately  activate  this  joint  program  the  University  of 
Alaska  made  available  the  physical  plant  and  facilities  of  its 
experiment  station  at  Fairbanks  and  of  its  sub-stations  at  Mata- 
nuska  and  Petersburg.  To  augment  this  program  and  imple- 
ment the  more  technical  and  analytical  phases  of  the  research 
work  the  Federal  Department  has  undertaken  a  substantial 
building  program  at  their  station  located  at  Palmer  in  the 
Matanuska  Valley.  A  large  research  laboratory  is  already  com- 
pleted and  in  use.  Construction  companies  are  now  engaged, 
under  contract,  in  the  erection  of  a  large  greenhouse,  an  experi- 
mental vegetable  storage  building,  and  seven  residences  for 
housing  the  staff.   The  Department  has  also  purchased  an  addi- 


2  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

tional  staff  house  adjacent  to  the  laboratory  building.  At  the 
Matanuska  Station  a  contractor  is  erecting  a  building  providing 
garage  space,  threshing  shed  for  agronomic  work,  area  for  work 
with  horticultural  crops  and  fire  proof  grain  storage. 

From  Territorial  building  appropriations  the  University  has 
just  completed  a  large  dormitory-mess  hall  at  the  Fairbanks 
Station,  in  the  basement  of  which  is  a  low  pressure  steam  boiler 
to  be  used  in  technical  work  and  as  a  central  heating  plant. 
Part  of  the  basement  floor  will  be  used  for  laboratory  work.  In 
addition  they  have  extended  the  steam  lines  to  several  buildings 
and  are  now  completing  a  garage-threshing  shed  with  fire  proof 
grain  storage  facilities,  similar  to  those  under  construction  by 
the  Federal  Department  at  the  Matanuska  Station.  All  of  these 
facilities  are  part  of  the  coordinated  long  term  planning  with 
which  both  parties  to  the  joint  agreement  are  in  full  accord. 

Research  work  of  the  Alaska  Station  has  been  departmental- 
ized. Seven  departments  are  operating  on  a  full  time  basis. 
They  are:  Soils  science,  horticulture,  animal  industry,  agrono- 
my, agricultural  economics,  agricultural  engineering  and  ento- 
mology. Departments  of  human  nutrition  and  plant  pathology 
have  not  yet  been  organized.  All  projects  in  each  of  the  depart- 
ments are  conducted  on  standard  work  and  line  project  basis. 

There  are  eleven  line  projects  under  the  soils  science  depart- 
ment, nine  under  horticultural  crops,  eight  under  animal  in- 
dustry, five  in  agricultural  engineering,  two  in  agricultural 
economics,  ten  in  agronomic  field  crops  and  three  in  ento- 
mology. 

Three  departments  are  new,  having  operated  for  approxi- 
mately one  year  each.  It  seems  better  research  policy  to  at  first 
confine  the  efforts  of  the  technicians  to  a  few  major  projects 
adequately  financed,  than  to  dissipate  the  energies  of  the  per- 
sonnel over  a  larger  number  of  projects  inadequately  staffed 
and  under  financed. 

The  staff  for  this  joint  research  program  is  composed  of 
highly  trained,  carefully  selected  specialists  in  their  respective 
fields.  Both  the  employee,  his  wife  and  family  must  be  willing 
to  forego  certain  refinements  of  living  standards.    Each  must 


Agricultural  Research  in  Alaska— Iriuin  3 

have  a  pioneering  spirit  and  be  able  to  adapt  the  routine  of 
their  lives  and  their  thinking  to  environmental  conditions  con- 
siderably at  variance  with  those  to  which  they  were  accustomed. 

Offsetting  these  conditions  is  the  exciting  anticipation  of 
being  able  to  accomplish  technical  research  work  in  a  new 
country,  unhampered  by  precedent  and  tradition.  Even  forti- 
fied by  thorough  training  and  experience  the  research  worker 
soon  learns  that  the  varied  environmental  conditions  of  soils 
and  climate  encountered  over  so  vast  an  area  of  sub-Arctic  and 
Arctic  reaches  require  that  he  amend  his  thinking  and  even  his 
approach  to  the  research  problems  confronting  him. 

Because  of  this  situation  and  in  order  that  each  research 
worker  may  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  problems  in  the 
various  agricultural  areas  it  is  necessary  that  staff  members  travel 
more  than  would  be  required  in  the  majority  of  the  States.  Staff 
conferences  are  held  regularly  at  which  various  phases  of  the 
work  are  discussed.  This  gives  opportunity  for  pooling  the  ideas, 
observations  and  opinions  of  the  staff  members,  and  assists  in 
coordinating  their  thinking.  By  this  means  too,  the  project 
work  of  each  department  becomes  more  real  and  vital  to  each 
of  the  other  departments  in  relation  to  their  own  particular 
projects.  The  effort  of  the  staff  members  thus  becomes  coopera- 
tive rather  than  individualistic. 

To  further  bring  the  agricultural  research  needs  of  the  Terri- 
tory into  focus,  various  organizations  in  Alaska  connected  with 
agriculture  have  been  furnished  with  a  list  of  projects  on  which 
station  research  work  is  now  being  accomplished.  They  have 
been  requested  and  urged  to  submit  to  the  station  additional 
subjects  on  which  research  information  would  be  of  immediate 
assistance  to  the  growing  farm  population.  Excellent  sugges- 
tions have  been  received  by  this  procedure.  As  rapidly  as  prac- 
ticable these  suggestions  will  be  incorporated  into  our  research 
program.  By  this  means  the  farmers  themselves  feel  that  they 
are  assisting  in  the  work,  as  indeed  they  are. 

Knowledge  of  soils  is  basic  to  any  agricultural  production. 
On  their  productivity  rests  the  foundation  of  our  agricultural 
economy.  Accordingly  a  soil  survey  has  been  established  by  the 


4  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

soils  science  department  of  the  experiment  station.  In  1948 
there  were  49,920  acres  mapped  and  classified  in  the  Matanuska 
Valley,  29,440  acres  in  1949  and  27,520  acres  in  1950.  In  the 
Tanana  Valley  7,860  acres  were  classified  in  1949  and  21,120 
acres  in  1950.  The  information  obtained  is  of  use  both  to  old 
and  new  settlers  alike. 

A  cooperative  arrangement  has  been  worked  out  between  the 
soils  science  department  of  the  experiment  station  and  the  U.  S. 
Soil  Conservation  Service  for  an  exchange  of  soils  information 
on  the  various  areas  in  which  their  respective  field  parties  are 
working.  By  this  means  preliminary  information  on  soil  erosion 
problems,  soil  classification,  soil  horizons  and  soil  fertility  levels 
is  more  quickly  made  available  to  the  technicians  of  both 
organizations. 

Late  in  September  of  this  year  installation  of  cabinets, 
benches  and  other  fixed  equipment  was  completed  in  the 
various  rooms  in  the  new  research  laboratory  building  at 
Palmer.  Soil  science  technicians  have  only  recently  begun 
analytical  work  in  their  new  laboratory  quarters  on  a  tre- 
mendous backlog  of  soil  samples  collected  from  the  three  sea- 
sons of  field  operations. 

Rapid  soil  tests  by  the  soils  science  department  have  shown 
varying  deficiencies  of  nitrates,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in 
soils  of  all  of  the  agricultural  areas  in  Alaska.  Commercial 
fertilizers,  both  singly  and  in  complete  form  have  been  applied 
experimentally  on  cereals,  forage  crops  and  on  vegetable  crops. 
These  tests  are  in  cooperation  with  technicians  working  in  the 
departments  of  agronomy,  horticulture,  and  animal  industry. 
Striking  increased  yield  responses  on  crops  have  been  obtained. 
Circular  Number  10,  General  Recommendations,  Fertilizers 
for  Alaska,  1950,  was  prepared  for  distribution  by  the  soils  sci- 
ence department  last  February. 

Apparently  there  is  a  deficiency  of  manganese  in  some  Alaska 
soils.  This  is  particularly  true  of  soils  in  the  Matanuska  Valley 
having  high  calcium  or  magnesium  content.  The  deficiency  is 
more  apparent  on  growing  oat  plants.  Leaf  Speck,  or  spot  on 
the  growing  plant  frequently  defoliates  the  plants  and  in  some 


Agricultural  Research  in  Alaska— Irwin  5 

instances  blights  as  high  as  30%  of  the  florets.  Research  on  this 
problem  is  being  accomplished  in  various  areas  where  this 
deficiency  is  evident. 

Since  potatoes  are  possibly  the  foremost  cash  crop  of  the 
Alaska  farmer,  potato  breeding,  culture  and  storage  investiga- 
tions have  been  given  intensive  study  by  the  horticultural  de- 
partment. In  1949,  7225  new  seedling  varieties  were  planted 
in  individual  hills.  Twelve  hundred  of  the  most  promising 
seedling  hills  were  retained  and  planted  in  rod  row  nurseries 
this  year.  The  highest  yield  of  any  variety  of  potatoes  was 
obtained  from  one  of  these  seedlings.  A  number  of  standard 
varieties  of  potatoes  were  given  fertilizer  application  tests,  dur- 
ing the  past  three  years,  at  both  the  Matanuska  and  Fairbanks 
Stations.  Tests  of  the  dry  matter  content  of  tubers  of  each 
variety  were  conducted  by  the  specific  gravity  salt  bath  method. 

Introductions  of  many  vegetable  varieties  are  being  tested 
for  quality,  yield  and  adaptation  to  market  requirements. 
Vegetable  breeding  work  is  now  in  its  initial  stage.  Prepara- 
tion of  information  on  recommended  vegetable  varieties  is  now 
in  progress. 

Tree  and  bush  fruit  tests  are  in  progress  on  an  extensive 
scale.  Location  and  method  of  planting,  fertilizer  applications, 
windbreaks  and  soil  type  planting  are  among  the  techniques 
being  used.  The  chief  characteristics  being  sought  are 
winter  hardiness,  disease  resistance,  quality  and  yielding  ability. 
Annual  and  perennial  flowers  and  ornamentals  are  being  tested 
extensively.  Greenhouse  work  on  an  extensive  scale  will  begin 
as  soon  as  the  research  greenhouse  at  the  Palmer  station  is 
completed. 

Research  work  in  animal  industry  is  confined  principally  to 
dairy  breeding  and  production,  to  projects  on  poultry  and  on 
feeding  and  management  of  fur  bearing  animals.  Dairying  is 
one  of  the  most  stable  and  economically  sound  farm  enterprises 
in  Alaska.  The  price  of  Grade  A  raw  milk,  $10  to  $11  per 
hundred  pounds,  at  4%  butterfat,  is  attractive.  Therefore,  the 
number  of  Grade  A  dairies  is  increasing  steadily  in  the  Mata- 


6  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

nuska  Valley.  The  same  will  be  true  in  the  other  farm  areas 
when  more  land  is  cleared  and  in  cultivation. 

For  many  years  replacement  cows  on  dairy  farms  were  im- 
ported from  the  Continental  United  States.  In  1948,  the  Bureau 
of  Dairy  Industry  loaded  to  the  Alaska  Experiment  Station  two 
Holstein  bulls  and  two  Red  Dane  bulls,  all  were  pure  bred 
animals  of  the  highest  germ  plasm  obtainable.  They  were 
shipped  to  Alaska  and  housed  at  the  Matanuska  Experiment 
Station.  In  the  dairy  breeding  project  the  pure  bred  Guernsey 
herd  of  cows  at  the  Matanuska  station  were  divided  as  nearly 
as  possible  into  two  lots  of  equal  age,  weight  and  milk  pro- 
duction. One  lot  was  bred  to  a  pure  bred  Guernsey  bull  of 
high  germ  plasm.  The  other  lot  were  cross  bred  to  a  Red  Dane 
bull.  The  object  of  this  project  is  to  secure  data  on  milk  pro- 
duction and  vigor  of  the  progeny  for  comparative  purposes. 
All  heifer  calves  are  retained  through  their  first  lactation  period 
so  that  experimental  error  will  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  The 
first  heifer  calves  from  this  experiment  have  been  bred  but  are 
not  yet  in  production. 

The  second  phase  of  the  dairy  breeding  program  is  an  arti- 
ficial insemination  project  which  is  cooperative  between  the 
Alaska  Experiment  Station  and  the  dairy  farmers  of  the  Mata- 
nuska Valley. 

Semen  from  the  two  Holstein  and  two  Red  Dane  bulls  is 
used  in  inseminating  the  cows  on  the  farms.  To  date  more  than 
600  calves  have  been  born  since  this  program  was  initiated. 
All  of  the  heifers  are  being  kept  for  replacements  in  the  farm 
dairy  herds.  Semen  is  also  being  shipped  to  dairymen  in  the 
Tanana  Valley  and  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula.  Calf  breeding,  using 
substitute  feeds  composed  mostly  of  locally  grown  grain  has 
been  in  progress  for  a  number  of  years.  The  information  ob- 
tained is  finding  practical  application  by  the  farmers  in  feeding 
the  replacement  heifer  calves.  Circular  No.  12,  Better  Forage 
for  Alaska,  has  been  published  cooperatively  by  the  soils, 
agronomy  and  animal  industry  departments. 

Research  on  the  value  of  artificial  light  in  milk  production, 
regularity  of  heat  periods,  sterility  and  conception  rate  during 


Agricultural  Research  in  Alaska— Irwin  7 

the  winter  period  is  also  receiving  attention.  No  marked  in- 
crease in  milk  production  was  registered  when  artificial  light 
was  used.  However,  heifers  exposed  to  added  light  had  more 
than  twice  as  many  heat  periods  and  the  conception  rate  was 
markedly  higher  than  for  heifers  receiving  normal  light.  An 
increase  of  approximately  10%  in  winter  egg  production  was 
recorded  by  extending  the  light  period  two  hours  per  day  in 
the  laying  house. 

Investigation  is  being  conducted  at  the  Experimental  Fur 
Station  at  Petersburg  on  fur  bearing  animals,  by  use  of  various 
fish  by-products  used  in  feeding  mixtures,  on  fur  quality  and 
physical  condition.  Considerable  quantities  of  fish  offal  are 
available  at  a  very  low  cost  at  the  canneries  in  southeast  Alaska. 
Feeding  salmon  waste  to  young  mink  at  the  weaning  stage  has 
caused  severe  losses.  Biologists  at  the  station  have  identified  the 
condition  as  "Yellow  Fat  Disease,"  locally  known  among  Alaska 
mink  farmers  as  "Watery  Flide."  Plans  are  now  in  progress  to 
secure  the  services  of  a  qualified  pathologist  to  conduct  research 
on  this  and  other  disease  problems  of  fur  and  farm  animals, 
and  of  poultry. 

The  agronomy  department  is  concerned  at  present  principally 
with  research  on  introduced  varieties  of  cereals  and  forage 
crops.  Thousands  of  strains  of  crop  plants  are  now  being  grown 
at  the  station  in  plots  and  evaluated  for  germ  plasm  adapted  to 
our  relatively  young  and  cold  soils  and  our  cool  climatic  en- 
vironment. Crops  receiving  major  attention  are  bromegrass, 
alfalfa,  alsike  clover,  sweet  clover,  barley,  oats  and  wheat.  Other 
promising  crops  are  also  receiving  attention.  Winter  hardiness, 
quality,  disease  resistance,  lodging  resistance  and  early  maturity 
are  characteristics  sought  in  varieties  to  be  used  in  plant  breed- 
ing. Superior  crop  varieties  based  on  research  work  are  an- 
nually recommended  to  Alaska  farmers  by  the  agronomy  de- 
partment. The  1950  recommendations  are  included  in  Station 
Circular  No.  11,  Recommended  Varieties  of  Field  Crops  for 
Alaska. 

Two  recently  recommended  varieties  of  cereals  are  Edda 
barley  and  Siberian  3  oats.   Approximately  ten  tons  of  each  of 


8  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

these  varieties  have  been  increased  under  contract  in  Idaho 
and  Montana  this  year  and  will  be  released  to  Alaska  farmers 
for  growing  in  1951. 

Intensive  studies  are  being  conducted  on  methods  of  crop 
culture,  including  rates,  dates,  and  methods  of  seeding,  fertility 
requirements,  weed  control  and  the  processing,  handling  and 
storage  of  crops.  As  soon  as  more  data  are  available  it  is  antici- 
pated that  a  project  on  crop  rotation  will  be  initiated. 

During  the  past  seventeen  months  the  Department  of  Agri- 
cultural Economics  has  confined  its  attention  to  two  major 
projects.  Using  the  basic  information  reported  in  1948  by  a 
field  party  from  the  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics,  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture,  entitled  Some  Economic  Aspects 
of  Farming  in  Alaska,  station  economists  are  continuing  their 
studies  in  farm  management.  These  studies  are  difficult  because 
few  of  the  farms  have  sufficient  acreage  developed  to  operate 
economically.  The  soils  are  new,  most  of  them  having  been 
cleared  and  cultivated  in  the  past  fifteen  years.  Wide  variations 
in  soil  fertility,  methods  of  crop  culture  and  soil  management 
practices  exist  among  the  individual  farms.  Information  on 
these  sketchy  farm  management  factors  is  being  tabulated 
from  on-the-farm-interviews.  Data  are  being  obtained  on  crop 
yields,  livestock  numbers,  equipment  and  building  inventory, 
labor  distribution  and  use,  and  other  considerations  incident 
to  cost  of  operation  and  net  farm  income  of  various  farm  enter- 
prises. 

The  second  phase  of  economic  studies  is  concerned  with 
markets  and  the  marketing  of  farm  produce.  This  problem  was 
studied  intensively  in  1949  by  station  economists  in  collabora- 
tion with  economists  from  the  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Eco- 
nomics. Their  preliminary  report,  Markets  for  the  Products 
of  Cropland  in  Alaska,  has  now  been  released  to  the  public  and 
may  be  obtained  through  either  the  Bureau  of  Agricultural 
Economics  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  or  by  applying 
to  the  Agricultural  Extension  Service  of  the  University  of 
Alaska,  College,  Alaska.    At  present  this  study  is  being  con- 


Agricultural  Research  in  Alaska— Irwin  g 

tinued  intensively  and  has  been  extended  to  the  smaller  out- 
lying villages  and  mining  camps  of  the  Territory. 

Agricultural  engineering  is  a  new  department  established 
approximately  one  year  ago.  Its  major  concern  is  the  use  of 
native  lumber  in  the  construction,  insulation,  and  ventilation 
of  farm  buildings  under  sub-Arctic  conditions.  This  becomes 
of  primary  importance  in  the  agricultural  areas  of  Alaska  where 
timber  is  available  and  where  the  cost  of  imported  building 
material  is  almost  prohibitive.  Fourteen  small  buildings,  each 
six  feet  wide  by  eight  feet  long,  have  been  constructed  of  native 
materials  to  test  the  efficiency  of  various  materials  and  types  of 
construction.  Some  are  constructed  of  green  logs,  others  of 
dry  logs  and  still  others  of  rough  sawed  material.  All  buildings 
are  insulated  with  sawdust.  Thermostatically  controlled  electri- 
cal heating  elements  set  at  7o°F.  and  connected  to  electric 
meters  have  been  installed  in  each  unit.  Measurements  of 
material  shrinkage  by  means  of  internal  air  pressure  gauges 
will  be  taken  at  regular  intervals  throughout  the  year. 

Another  project  of  vital  importance  to  Alaskan  agriculture 
is  the  drying  of  threshed  grain.  Because  of  rains  at  harvest  time 
it  is  not  unusual  for  grain  to  have  a  high  moisture  content  when 
threshed  and  to  heat  in  the  bin.  Drying  equipment  has  been 
constructed  on  an  experimental  basis  to  study  this  problem. 
Cost  of  operation  and  efficiency  of  several  methods  and  designs 
of  drying  equipment  will  be  studied. 

One  project  on  the  ventilation  of  farm  buildings  and  another 
on  methods  and  equipment  for  land  clearing  are  each  in  the 
initial  stage. 

The  ravages  of  insects  detrimental  to  crops  and  livestock 
annually  cause  severe  economic  losses  in  Alaska.  The  depart- 
ment of  entomology  was  organized  in  the  spring  of  1950.  Work 
has  been  initiated  in  projects  for  the  control  of  root  maggots, 
cut  worms  and  other  injurious  insects  using  a  number  of  in- 
secticides at  various  concentrations.  To  date  results  are  not 
conclusive.  This  may  be  due  to  the  cold  damp  soils  and  cool 
air  temperatures.  A  study  of  residues  in  soils  from  the  various 
insecticide  applications  is  also  receiving  attention. 


io  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

The  efforts  of  the  Alaska  Experiment  Station  personnel  are 
devoted  entirely  to  research  activities.  Manuscripts  for  publi- 
cation, whether  press  releases,  informative  circulars,  reports  or 
bulletins  are  all  carefully  reviewed  and  checked  for  accuracy, 
clarity  and  form,  by  an  editorial  committee  composed  of  three 
staff  members  and  the  station  editor.  It  is  the  definite  policy 
of  the  station  to  release  only  information  based  on  actual  re- 
search findings. 

Education,  except  indirectly,  is  not  the  function  of  the  Ex- 
periment Station.  That  is  the  function  of  the  Agricultural 
Extension  Service  of  the  University  of  Alaska.  As  rapidly  as 
station  publications  are  received  from  the  printers  they  are 
forwarded  to  the  Extension  Service  for  distribution  to  farm 
people  and  other  interested  parties. 


ALASKA  FOREST  RESEARCH 

PROBLEMS  AND  PROGRAM 

R.  F.  Taylor 

Forester  in  Charge,  Alaska  Forest  Research  Center 

The  forests  are  one  of  Alaska's  renewable  resources.  If  wisely 
used  they  can  be  forever  a  source  of  supply  for  many  forest 
products,  and  of  great  value  to  the  future  State  of  Alaska.  No 
one  knows  exactly  how  much  forest  land  there  is  in  the  Terri- 
tory. The  nationwide  forest  survey  has  not  been  extended  to 
Alaska,  but  it  is  estimated  that  a  third  of  the  land  area  is 
covered  by  forests  of  some  kind  (10).  Figure  1  shows  the 
approximate  location  and  extent  of  the  forest  land. 

The  forests  of  Southeast  Alaska  contain  dense  stands  of  spruce 
and  hemlock  sawtimber  and  pulpwood,  very  little  of  which  has 
yet  been  utilized.  The  advent  of  pulpmills  will  make  full  use 
of  those  forests.  The  interior  of  Alaska,  too,  contains  valuable 
forests  and  forest  land  although  their  value  is  not  yet  generally 
realized. 

As  most  of  you  know,  forestry  is  the  preservation  of  forests 
by  wise  use.  This  wise  use  concerns  itself  not  only  with  timber 
production,  but  with  the  related  needs  of  safeguarding  water- 
shed, range,  scenic,  recreation,  wildlife  and  other  values.  Wise 
use  requires  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  forest  resource  to  be 
managed.  Forest  research  attempts  to  gain  this  intimate  knowl- 
edge and  to  develop  best  methods  of  forest  management. 

In  1928  a  forest  experiment  station  for  Alaska  was  authorized 
by  Congress.  Twenty  years  later  the  money  was  appropriated 
for  a  small  research  station,  called  a  research  center.  Our  cen- 
ter, with  headquarters  in  Juneau,  was  two  years  old  last  July  1. 
It  is  not  yet  a  regional  station  with  divisions  set  up  to  tackle 
the  various  lines  of  research  mentioned  a  moment  asro.  We 
cannot  attempt  to  work  on  more  than  a  few  of  the  most  pressing 
problems,  and  most  of  these  are  in  Southeast  Alaska.   They  are 

11 


12 


Alaskan  Science  Conference 


Forest  Research  Problems  and  Program— Taylor         13 

primarily  concerned  with  the  development  of  the  pulp  and 
paper  industry  on  the  Tongass  National  Forest. 

Interior  Research 

The  Forest  Research  Center  can  use  only  a  small  fraction  of 
its  funds  for  research  on  interior  forests,  but  one  study  has  been 
undertaken  in  an  effort  to  determine  the  effect  of  forest  fires 
on  the  timber  and  other  vegetation.  This  will  be  described  by 
Dr.  H.  J.  Lutz  of  the  Yale  Forest  School  in  another  section  of 
this  conference.  As  one  result  of  this  study  which  is  being 
carried  on  with  the  cooperation  of  the  Bureau  of  Land  Man- 
agement's Forestry  Division,  it  was  found  that  volumes  of  10 
thousand  board  feet  or  20  cords  of  pulp-sized  timber  per  acre 
were  common  in  the  denser  stands  of  the  interior.1  It  has  been 
estimated  that  there  are  25  million  acres  still  unburned  of  the 
dense  forests  that  occupy  the  lower  slopes  of  river  valleys.  This 
area  is  as  large  as  the  Douglas-fir  region  of  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington, or  the  commercial  forest  land  area  of  New  England  (12). 
The  red  spruce-balsam  fir  stands  of  northern  Maine  and  Ontario 
seldom  contain  more  than  20  cords  per  acre  yet  they  support 
large  industries  (2). 

I  am  convinced  we  can  grow  good  timber  on  the  better  sites 
in  the  Interior,  if  fire  can  be  controlled.  If  only  the  estimated 
25  million  acres  of  heavily  forested  land  could  be  saved  it  would 
certainly  be  of  tremendous  value  to  the  future  State  of  Alaska. 

Southeastern  Alaska  Research 

The  forests  of  Southeast  Alaska  are  a  northward  extension 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  western  hemlock-Sitka  spruce  type.  It  is  a 
climax  virgin  forest  scarcely  touched  by  axe  or  saw.  From  80 
to  160  inches  of  annual  rainfall  keeps  it  fire-proof  and  the 
foresters  dripping  wet.  The  Tongass  National  Forest  of  16 
million  acres  practically  blankets  this  area. 

Others  will  mention  the  need  of  the  pulp  industry  to  furnish 

1  8  M  per  acre  in  trees  8"  and  larger  in  diameter.  Twenty  cords  per  acre  in 
trees  4"  and  larger  in  diameter. 


14  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

permanent  year-round  employment.  Our  work  is  in  connec- 
tion with  its  development.  Forest  research  started  in  a  small 
way  in  Southeast  Alaska  twenty-five  years  ago  with  the  pulp 
industry  in  mind,  but  there  were  no  funds  to  continue  it 
through  the  depression.  The  results  of  the  work  done  at  that 
time  have  been  very  useful. 

The  Research  Center  started  operations  in  July  1948.  In 
August  the  first  preliminary  contract  for  the  sale  of  pulptimber 
in  the  Ketchikan  region  was  made.  Twenty  years  previously  I 
had  completed  a  study  of  the  yields  of  even-aged  second-growth 
and  as  a  result  the  Forest  Service  had  set  up  a  management  plan 
for  pulptimber  cutting  which  envisioned  an  80-year  rotation. 
With  an  estimated  78  billion  board  feet  of  timber  on  the  Ton- 
gass  National  Forest  and  second  growth  that  resulted  from  clear- 
cutting  maturing  in  from  75  to  80  years,  it  was  planned  that  the 
annual  cut  could  not  exceed  one  billion  feet  (1).  There  was 
little  concern  over  the  correctness  of  the  yield  figures  as  no 
pulpmills  were  planning  immediate  operations.  Now,  how- 
ever, it  seemed  advisable  to  check  the  growth  estimations. 

The  yield  tables  had  been  made  from  288  sample  plots 
scattered  over  the  Tongass  National  Forest.  In  1948  twenty- 
five  of  these  plots  having  stands  somewhere  near  rotation  age 
were  relocated  and  remeasured.  Actual  growth  was  compared 
with  predicted  growth.  Actual  growth  of  the  aggregate  of  25 
plots  was  6  percent  less  than  predicted  and  the  standard  error 
of  any  one  plot  was  12  percent.  Predictions  of  growth  would 
be  based  on  many  plots  in  a  small  range  of  age  classes  which 
would  tend  to  reduce  the  error.  The  accuracy  of  the  yield 
tables  is  of  less  consequence  when  we  consider  that: 

1.  Areas  cut  over  for  pulptimber  will  be  examined  periodi- 
cally and  corrections  in  predicted  yield  made  as  a  result. 

2.  The  young  stands  that  follow  cutting  for  pulptimber  may 
differ  from  the  stands  on  which  the  yield  tables  were  based. 
The  yield  table  plots  were  in  old  blow-downs  and  abandoned 
Indian  village  sites,  and  a  few  old  Russian  cuttings  where  the 
area  had  been  pretty  well  cleared  of  the  previous  growth.  Saw- 
timber  logging  also  clears  the  area  of  all  but  a  few  culls  and 


Forest  Research  Problems  and  Program— Taylor         15 

these  soon  fall.  Pulp  cutting,  however,  will  be  in  the  climax 
forest  with  its  many  live  culls  which  may  be  left  standing.  Re- 
generation may  be  sparse  as  the  result  of  shade  and  competition 
and  the  new  stands  may  contain  more  hemlock  and  be  some- 
what understocked.   This  is  a  major  silvicultural  problem. 

The  Climax  Forest 

This  climax  forest  should  be  explained,  perhaps.  The  rough 
picture  is  this: 

When  a  stand  of  timber  is  blown  down  or  clear-cut,  an  even- 
aged  young  stand  regenerates.  When  it  becomes  mature  on  the 
better  sites  we  may  have  a  sawtimber  stand.  If  uncut,  the  trees 
become  over-mature  and  gradually,  one  by  one,  they  fall.   The 

Table    l.—An   acre   of  climax  forest  and  an   acre   of  80-year-old  second-growth 
compared.-    Trees  S  inches  in  diameter,  breast  high  and  larger 

Climax  Forest  Second-Growth 

Age   range— years    900  1 2 

Average   diameter— inches    20  1 1.3 

Number   of    trees 102  364 

Net  volume,  cubic   feet 4»343  8,922 

Annual  growth,  cubic  feet 35  112 

stand  gradually  gives  way  to  a  mixture  of  ages  as  new  trees, 
mostly  hemlock,  come  into  the  small  openings.  As  there  is  little 
light  or  space  at  any  one  time,  growth  is  very  slow.  When  the 
original  even-aged  stand  has  vanished,  we  have  the  so-called 
climax  composed  of  trees  ranging  in  age  from  a  few  years  to 
over  800  years,  often  on  the  same  acre.  The  800  year-old  tree 
may  be  only  18  inches  in  diameter. 

Nature  works  towards  this  climax  (5).  The  forester  prefers 
the  pre-climax  of  healthy  young  even-aged  stands.  They  have 
little  disease  or  defect  and  produce  on  the  average  twice  as 
much  volume  in  80  years  as  the  climax  forest  maintains  (7). 
See  Table  1.  Theoretically,  the  second  crop,  after  pulp  mills 
cut  the  climax,  would  have  so  much  more  volume  that  the 


-  Site  3  of  climax  forest  compared  to  site  index  no  of  second  growth.  Climax 
has  5  sites  (6  logs  to  less  than  1  log).  Second-growth  sites  range  from  70  feet  to 
150  feet  at  100  years    (7). 


16  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

forest  could  support  a  heavier  cut  on  a  sustained  yield  basis. 
That's  for  the  far  distant  future.  We  are  concerned  now  as  to 
how  the  climax  should  be  logged  to  get  the  best  stand  of  repro- 
duction and  how  to  predict,  even  in  rough  terms,  what  kind  of 
a  stand  will  come  back.  Also,  logging  for  pulp  over  large  areas 
must  not  damage  other  present  values,  the  most  important  of 
which  are  the  salmon  spawning  streams. 

Forest  Management  Problems  and  Preliminary  Results 

Cutting  the  climax  stands.  Probably  most  of  you  have  seen 
the  older  logged-off  areas  in  the  western  states  where  miles  of 
timber  were  clear-cut  and  burned— sometimes  reburned  several 
times.  Many  of  these  areas  had  to  be  replanted  at  great  ex- 
pense. It  has  been  commonly  accepted  by  many  people  that 
pulptimber  cutting  in  Alaska  will  result  in  similar  blackened 
areas  unless  special  precautions  are  taken.  We  cannot  say  that 
such  a  thing  could  not  happen  in  Southeast  Alaska.  We  can 
say  that  it  would  be  very  unlikely  because: 

1.  Rainfall  is  so  heavy  and  so  well  distributed  over  the  year 
that  forest  fires  are  extremely  rare.  2.  Logged  areas  are  covered 
at  once  by  dense  vegetation  and  in  10  years  are  dense  forests 
of  tree  reproduction  (4,  8).  3.  If  large  continuous  areas  are  to 
be  clear-cut  they  will  be  broken  up  by  using  staggered  settings. 
That  is,  areas  probably  no  larger  than  80  acres  will  be  alter- 
nately logged  leaving  green  forest  as  a  protection  from  fire 
spread  and  as  a  source  of  seed. 

Large  pulptimber  areas  have  been  examined  by  research  men 
during  the  past  two  years.  It  is  obvious  that  few  extensive  clear- 
cuttings  can  be  made  unless  pulpmills  can  economically  log  the 
many  interspersed  areas  of  scrub.  Bands  and  islands  of  uncut 
submerchantable  forest  will  be  left,  and  all  through  the  mer- 
chantable tracts  live  cull  trees  will  be  scattered.  This  may  pre- 
sent a  problem  in  getting  full  stands  of  reproduction.  The  Sta- 
tion is  now  experimenting  with  costs  of  girdling  or  poisoning 
these  culls. 

Predicting  future  growth.  This  problem  is  mainly  one  of 
trying  to  tie  our  present  even-aged  yield  tables  to  the  all-aged 


Forest  Research  Problems  and  Program— Taylor         17 

climax.  We  want  to  be  able  to  say  that  if  the  climax  to  be  cut 
for  pulp  is  site  3  the  new  stand  will  be  of  a  certain  site-index. 
Small  areas  of  second-growth  bordered  by  climax  forest  are 
compared.  The  site  index  of  the  second-growth,  its  soil  depth 
and  horizon  characteristics  are  compared  with  the  site  class  of 
the  climax  adjoining  it  or  interspersed  in  it.  So  far  correlations 
are  not  high,  but  we  need  only  an  approximation.  The  tests 
so  far  are  mostly  near  our  Kasaan  Bay  work  area  on  the  Ketchi- 
kan pulptimber  unit.  If  results  are  obtained  they  will  be  tested 
over  larger  areas.  The  ability  to  relate  site  class  of  the  climax 
with  site  index  of  second-growth  will  allow  more  than  merely 
predicting  future  growth.  The  climax  site  classification  is  partly 
based  on  number  of  16-foot  logs  and  other  data  (6)  that  a  timber 
cruiser  normally  gets.  From  his  data  we  may  be  able  to  say 
whether  an  unmerchantable  stand  would  regenerate  to  a  mer- 
chantable stand.  How  to  get  an  unmerchantable  stand  logged 
is  another  matter. 

The  Impact  of  Logging  on  Salmon  Streams 

The  Forest  Service  must  know  whether  pulptimber  logging 
is  likely  to  damage  salmon  streams  and  if  so  how  to  prevent  it. 
There  is  no  doubt  about  the  importance  of  the  salmon  to  South- 
east Alaska.  Fishing  is  the  main  industry  and  there  is  much 
concern  even  though  protective  measures  are  already  included 
in  Forest  Service  timber  sales  contracts  (11).  These  protective 
clauses  specify  that  logging  is  not  to  be  allowed  to  interfere 
with  the  passage  of  salmon  to  spawning  grounds  and  there  must 
be  no  injury  to  spawning  areas  in  any  way.  This  deals  mostly 
with  physical  obstructions  or  damage  to  the  water  course  and 
these  can  be  prevented.  However,  it  is  thought  that  logging  on 
the  watershed  might  affect  the  stream  in  other  ways.  Siltation, 
turbidity,  water  temperature,  flash  floods  and  other  factors  must 
be  considered.  Hence  the  Research  Center  is  engaged  in  studies 
of  certain  test  streams  selected  on  the  east  coast  of  Prince  of 
Wales  Island.  Cooperation  of  the  U.  S.  Fish  and  Wildlife 
Service  and  the  Fisheries  Research  Institute  takes  care  of  fish 


18  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

biology  work,  totally  out  of  a  forester's  line,  and  advice  of  water 
resource  experts  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  aids  in  the  water 
flow,  water  stage  measurements.  A  fairly  good  picture  of  normal 
stream  changes  has  been  obtained  during  the  past  three  years. 
After  logging  starts  on  certain  of  these  watersheds  any  changes 
in  the  stream  regimen  will  be  observed. 

Measurements  on  4  test  streams  taken  in  the  study  of  the 
effect  of  logging  on  salmon  streams  indicate  that  in  this  region 
of  heavy  rainfall  watersheds  remain  almost  constantly  saturated. 
Because  of  this  the  watersheds  have  little  extra  storage  capacity 
during  the  seasons  of  heaviest  rainfall,  hence  fall  floods  are 
normal.  Total  rainfall  on  the  watersheds  of  streams  without 
sizeable  lakes  drains  out  within  a  few  hours  after  it  falls. 

Basic  studies.  The  silvics  and  silviculture  of  the  tree  species 
of  Alaska— familiar  species,  but  growing  under  Alaska  con- 
ditions—must be  the  subject  of  long  and  intensive  study.  The 
effect  of  the  various  site  factors  on  growth  is  complicated  by 
such  conditions  as  permafrost  in  the  Interior  and  deep  acid 
humus  layers  in  Southeast  Alaska.  Along  with  studies  of  im- 
mediate importance  we  must  carry  on  this  long  range  work  in 
silvics  dealing  with  seed  production,  dissemination,  germina- 
tion, seedling  survival  and  tree  growth.  Only  a  good  basic 
knowledge  of  silvics  will  insure  proper  forest  management 
practices. 

The  small  staff  of  the  Alaska  Forest  Research  Center  has 
plenty  of  problems  but  we  can  tackle  only  a  few  at  a  time.  Per- 
haps we  will  have  a  small  but  effective  basis  for  expansion  of 
research  when  the  time  comes  to  broaden  the  scope  of  our 
program.  Wise  use  of  Alaska's  forest  resource  must  depend  on 
research. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Heintzleman,    B.    F.     Pulptimber   resources    of   Southeastern 

Alaska.   May  1937. 

2.  McLintock,  T.  F.    Mapping  vulnerability  of  spruce-fir  stands 

in  the  Northeast  to  spruce  budworm  attack.    Northeastern 
Forest  Expt.  Station  Paper  No.  21.  Jan.  1949. 

3.  Sundborg,  George.    Opportunity  in  Alaska.    New  York.    1946. 


Forest  Research  Problems  and  Program— Taylor         19 
.  The  role  of  Sitka  spruce  in  the  development  of  second- 


growth  in  Southeastern  Alaska.   Jour.  For.  27:  532-34.    1929. 

Taylor,  R.  F.  The  successional  trend  and  its  relation  to  second- 
growth  forests  in  Southeastern  Alaska.    Ecology  12:  381-391. 

.     Indicator  vegetation   on   cutover   land   of   Southeast 

Alaska.  Univ.  Wash.  Forest  Club  Quarterly.  July  1931. 

Yield  of  second-growth  western  hemlock-Sitka  spruce 


stands  in  Southeast  Alaska.  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Tech.  Bull.  412. 
March  1934. 

8.  .  Available  nitrogen  as  a  factor  influencing  the  occur- 
rence of  Sitka  spruce  and  western  hemlock  seedlings  in  the 
forests  of  Southeast  Alaska.    Ecology,  16   (4).    1935. 

9.  Alaska  Resources  Committee  of  the  National  Resources  Com- 

mittee. Regional  planning.  Part  VII,  Alaska.  Dec.  1937. 

10.  Forest  Service,  Alaska  Region.    The  forests  of  Alaska.    U.  S. 

Dept.  Agr.  July  1,  1944. 

11.  Forest  Service,  Alaska  Region.   Sale  Prospectus.  June  14,  1948. 

12.  Forest  Service.   Forests  and  national  prosperity.   U.  S.  Dept.  of 

Agr.  Misc.  Pub.  No.  668. 

13.  Pacific  Pulp  &  Paper  Industry,  North  American  Review  Num- 

ber.  May  1944. 


SURVEY  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  ALASKAN 
INDIAN  RESEARCH 

Viola  E.  Garfield 

Department  of  Anthropology 
University  of  Washington 

Approximately  eight  thousand  Indians  now  live  on  the 
coastal  mainland  and  islands  of  Alaska  from  Copper  River  east 
to  the  Canadian  border.  In  the  early  eighteenth  century  when 
Europeans  sailed  into  north  Pacific  waters  the  native  popula- 
tion was  probably  much  larger.  Figures  are  difficult  to  com- 
pare because  of  different  bases  of  classification  and  areas  in- 
cluded. The  Russians  applied  the  term  Kolosh  specifically  to 
the  Tlingit,  but  also  included  all  Indians  from  Prince  William 
Sound  to  the  coast  of  Washington,  as  well  as  those  on  the 
Copper  River  under  the  same  term.1  Indians  now  in  south- 
eastern Alaska  belong  to  three  distinct  language  groups  al- 
though the  larger  number  of  them  speak  Tlingit.  Tlingit  terri- 
tory includes  coastal  mainland  and  islands  from  Yakutat  Bay 
to  Dixon's  Entrance,  or  most  of  southeastern  Alaska.  Haida 
have  occupied  the  southern  half  of  Prince  of  Wales  and  adja- 
cent islands  for  the  last  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred 
years.  Their  ancestors  crossed  Dixon's  Entrance  northward 
from  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  and  established  themselves 
in  Tlingit  territory  shortly  before  European  explorers  appeared. 
The  third  group,  the  Tsimshian,  are  very  recent  migrants. 
Their  one  settlement  is  on  Annette  Island  to  which  over  nine 
hundred  of  their  ancestors  migrated  from  the  vicinity  of  Prince 
Rupert,  British  Columbia,  in  1887. 


1  Petroff,  1900.  Tikhmenef  reported  the  population  of  Russian  America  as 
14,019  in  1819.  This  included  an  estimated  5,000  Kolosh.  Veniaminov  estimated 
the  number  of  Kolosh  in  sixteen  villages  (Haida  and  Tlingit)  as  5,850  in  1835. 
In  1839  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  enumerated  7,190  Tlingit  and  Haida,  ex- 
clusive of  those  at  Sitka.  The  10th  U.  S.  Census  reports  6,763  Tlingit  and  788 
Haida   (1880). 

20 


Southeastern  Alaskan  Indian  Research— Garfield         21 

At  the  dawn  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  North  Pacific 
ocean  and  continental  northwest  America  were  only  vaguely 
known  to  Europeans  whose  ancestors  had  discovered  the  west- 
ern hemisphere  over  two  hundred  years  earlier.  Early  in  the 
century  Russian  explorations  prove  America  to  be  separate 
from  Asia  and  led  to  further  discoveries.  In  1741  Bering  and 
Chirikov  set  sail  from  Petropavlovsk  and  between  them  gained 
some  knowledge  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  and  the  coast  as  far 
south  as  Sitka  Sound.  They  saw  and  described  Indian  camp- 
sites, some  of  which  were  undoubtedly  Tlingit,  but  saw  few 
Indians.  Two  boatloads  of  Chirikov's  men  mysteriously  dis- 
appeared in  or  near  Sitka  harbor.  Painted  Indians  came  out  of 
the  bay  into  which  the  men  disappeared  and  smoke  was  seen 
but  nothing  further  was  learned  of  the  fate  of  the  men  or  the 
identity  of  the  Indians. 

When  survivors  of  Chirikov's  and  Bering's  crews  reached 
Petropavlovsk  in  1741  and  1742  respectively  they  touched  off 
a  flood  of  fur  seekers  and  initiated  the  maritime  fur  trade  that 
flourished  into  the  nineteenth  century.  The  first  well  organized 
Russian  fur  company  under  the  leadership  of  Shelikov  began 
systematic  exploitation  of  both  the  fur  bearers  and  the  native 
peoples  with  establishment  of  the  settlement  on  Kodiak  Island 
in  1783.  Rival  companies  were  soon  eliminated  or  merged  with 
the  Russian  American  Company  that  enjoyed  a  trade  and 
administrative  monopoly  of  the  territory  until  the  transfer  of 
Alaska  to  the  United  States  in  1867. 

Russian  activities  until  the  1790's  centered  around  the  Aleu- 
tians, Kodiak  Island  and  Cook  Inlet  with  exploratory  trips 
along  the  coast  to  the  southeast.  Therefore,  early  Russian 
annals  deal  principally  with  the  Aleuts,  Kodiak  Islanders  and 
Kenai  Peninsula  Athapascan  tribes.  There  is  very  little  about 
the  Tlingit  before  the  settling  of  Yakutat  Bay  in  1796  and  of 
Sitka  in  1799. 

Most  of  the  information  about  natives  was  supplied  by  ex- 
plorers or  parties  sent  to  investigate  and  report  on  the  affairs 
of  the  company  and  their  treatment  of  the  natives.  Though 
Russian    traders   lived   intimately   with   Aleuts,    Kodiaks   and 


22  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Kenai  Peninsula  natives,  marrying  the  women  and  working 
daily  with  the  men,  their  records  are  generally  meagre,  super- 
ficial and  untrustworthy.  Native  men  were  treated  as  subordi- 
nates and  virtual  serfs  and  were  accepted  on  equal  social  status 
only  if  they  were  thoroughly  Russianized.  Russian  husbands 
sought  to  deny  so  far  as  possible  the  cultural  backgrounds  of 
their  native  wives  and  to  raise  their  children  in  the  Russian 
tradition.  Hence,  they  did  not  make  an  effort  to  understand 
native  culture  and  were  not  interested  in  recording  it.  What- 
ever appears  in  letters,  diaries,  official  reports  and  other  papers 
of  the  Russian  traders  is  generally  oriented  toward  some  prob- 
lem of  native-Russian  relationship  and  is  not  the  result  of  in- 
terest in  native  cultures. 

Russian  relationships  with  the  Tlingit  were  never  friendly. 
After  the  destruction  of  Sitka  in  1802  and  of  the  Yakutat  Bay 
settlement  in  1805  the  relationship  was  one  of  armed  truce 
marked  by  attacks  and  retaliation  on  both  sides.  Tlingit  were 
not  allowed  to  settle  near  the  rebuilt  Sitka  stockade  until  after 
1821  and  even  then  Russian  armed  guards  kept  constant  vigi- 
lance. The  Indians  apparently  did  likewise.  In  such  an  atmos- 
phere there  was  little  inclination  or  opportunity  for  recording 
language,  literature,  music,  social  organization  or  other  esoteric 
aspects  of  Tlingit  culture.  Information  is  much  more  detailed 
on  warfare,  clothing,  canoes,  trading  practices  and  treachery. 
The  notable  exception  is  the  treatise  written  by  Father  Venia- 
minov  who  came  to  Sitka  in  1834  and  who  had  previously 
written  an  account  of  Aleut  culture.2  Almost  nothing  appears 
in  Russian  annals  concerning  the  Haida  as  a  separate  tribe,  as 
they  were  included  with  the  Kolosh.  The  Haida  disposed  of 
pelts  to  the  traders  who  came  to  the  anchorages  in  Cordova 
Bay  and  Graham  Island  during  the  height  of  the  maritime  fur 
trade. 

Between  1774  and  1791  the  Spanish,  fearful  for  their  Pacific 
domain,  sent  explorers  up  the  coast  where  they  briefly  held 
Nootka  Sound.  They  left  accounts  of  tribes  met  with  from 
California  northward.   Though  Perez  was  off  the  Queen  Char- 

2  Translated  excerpts  appear  in  Petrof,  1900  and  Bancroft,  1875. 


Southeastern  Alaskan  Indian  Research— Garfield         23 

lotte  Islands  in  1774  he  did  not  land  or  encounter  Indians. 
Maurelle's  journal  of  explorations  in  Bucareli  Bay  in  1775  is 
probably  the  earliest  description  of  the  Haida  on  record  (9). 
Hezeta's  expedition  also  met  Indians  at  Sitka  Sound,  presum- 
ably Tiingit.  Journals  of  the  expedition  of  1779  include  some 
accounts  of  Indians  from  Bucareli  Bay  to  Kenai  Peninsula. 

Between  about  1785  and  1800  many  ships  of  Spanish,  Eng- 
lish, French,  Russian  and  American  registry  plied  the  coast 
from  California  to  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  (63).  Some  of  these 
men,  like  Cook  (1776)  and  Vancouver  (1792-94)  headed  ex- 
peditions that  were  primarily  exploratory,  but  the  greater  num- 
ber came  to  garner  pelts  of  the  sea  otter.  In  the  1790's  as  many 
as  twenty  to  thirty  ships  came  to  the  anchorages  of  Nootka 
Sound,  Parry  Passage  at  the  north  end  of  Graham  Island  and 
Cordova  Bay  across  Dixon's  Entrance.  As  competition  became 
keener  vessels  cruised  among  the  islands  seeking  anchorages 
and  unexploited  areas  where  Indians  would  come  out  in  canoes 
to  trade.  There  is  a  wealth  of  material  to  be  gleaned  from  the 
journals,  maps  and  drawings  left  by  these  men,  fur  traders  and 
explorers  alike. 

Most  of  the  visitors  came  in  the  early  summer  and  left  before 
the  autumn  storms  for  Hawaii,  Macao,  Canton,  California  or 
the  south  Pacific.  They  saw  Indian  families  at  the  fur  rendez- 
vous or  summer  camps,  when  they  were  busy  hunting  as  well  as 
gathering  and  storing  food  for  their  winter  supply.  The  visitors 
saw  little  of  the  rich  pageantry  or  ceremonial  life  of  the  Indians, 
though  the  wood  sculpture  piqued  their  curiosity  and  caused 
them  to  enquire  into  its  meaning.  A  few  traders  who  returned 
year  after  year  came  to  know  individual  Indians  well  and  to 
learn  something  of  their  social  life,  beliefs  and  traditions.  The 
short  season  gave  both  traders  and  Indians  a  sense  of  urgency 
and  offered  little  leisure  time  for  enquiry  into  cultural  back- 
grounds. Nevertheless,  a  few  men  did  find  time  to  collect 
vocabularies,  learn  something  of  clans  and  of  inheritance  of 
social  position  and  names.  Though  Indians  accompanied  ships 
to  winter  quarters,  very  little  advantage  seems  to  have  been 
taken  of  their  presence  to  learn  more  of  their  culture.    Con- 


24  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

sidering  the  language  difficulties  it  is  perhaps  remarkable  that 
so  much  accurate  information  was  obtained.  Certainly  abstract 
ideas  and  subtle  nuances  of  belief  and  custom  would  be  im- 
possible to  impart  by  such  means. 

Almost  without  exception  exploring  expeditions  included 
specially  trained  men  such  as  naturalists,  geographers,  cartog- 
raphers, artists  and  sketchers,  in  addition  to  officers  and  crew 
primarily  concerned  with  operating  the  ships.  Most  Spanish 
expeditions  included  priests.  Each  kept  a  journal  or  diary  of 
discoveries  and  observations  in  his  field.  One  or  more  men 
were  also  charged  with  noting  everything  that  did  not  fall 
within  the  domain  of  a  specialist,  but  that  might  be  of  value 
or  interest  in  establishing  trading  and  possessory  rights  of  the 
sponsors.  Until  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  there 
were  no  specialists  trained  in  the  science  of  studying  people. 
Therefore,  descriptions  of  native  tribes,  their  customs  and 
manufactures  were  made  by  men  trained  in  other  fields.  Many 
of  them  applied  the  same  objective  criteria  to  descriptions  of 
people  as  they  did  to  recording  mountains  or  plants.  Others 
distorted  the  cultures  and  misinterpreted  the  peoples  they 
encountered  in  terms  of  personal  attitudes,  prejudices  and 
preconceived  ideas,  and  their  accounts  must  be  read  critically. 

In  addition  to  commerce  in  furs,  the  search  for  the  North- 
west Passage  attracted  explorers  to  the  area.  After  1 800  whalers, 
particularly  American,  invaded  the  north  Pacific  and  Bering 
sea  to  the  Arctic.  Exploration  was  also  stimulated  by  the  de- 
veloping struggle  for  overseas  possessions. 

Piecing  together  many  accounts  from  the  eighteenth  and 
early  nineteenth  centuries  it  is  possible  to  get  a  fairly  adequate 
idea  of  material  culture  but  only  a  superficial  knowledge  of 
non-material  aspects  of  northwest  coast  Indian  life. 

By  1820  the  herds  of  otter  and  seal  had  been  seriously  de- 
pleted and  fewer  ships  visited  the  coast  each  year.  The  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  pushing  westward  to  share  in  the  take  of 
furs,  reached  the  coast  in  the  early  1830's  and  built  Fort  Simp- 
son in  1834,  the  first  permanent  fort  on  the  coast.  To  protect 
their   interests   the   Russian   American   Company   constructed 


Southeastern  Alaskan  Indian  Research— Garfield         25 

Fort  St.  Dionysius  on  Wrangell  Island  in  the  same  year.  Compe- 
tition between  the  two  companies  was  keen  and  controversy 
resulted  in  agreements  to  lease  the  coast  from  Portland  Canal 
to  Cape  Spencer  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  ten  years, 
including  Fort  St.  Dionysius  which  was  renamed  Fort  Wran- 
gell. The  lease  was  renewed  until  the  cession  of  Alaska  to  the 
United  States.  Building  of  the  two  forts  brought  Stikine  River 
Tlingit,  Kaigani  Haida  and  Tsimshian  tribes  into  the  center 
of  trading  activities  and  into  the  annals  of  factors  and  visitors. 
The  Stikines  moved  into  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Wrangell  and  the 
Tsimshian  to  Fort  Simpson  where  Haida  traders  came  in  large 
numbers  each  fall.  Hudson's  Bay  factors'  journals  add  to  the 
picture  of  native  life,  though  the  accounts  are  primarily  con- 
fined to  matters  pertinent  to  trade  and  daily  events.  Changes 
that  were  taking  place  in  dress,  homes  and  house  furnishings, 
food  habits  and  trade  demands  in  Indian  communities  are  re- 
vealed in  these  reports  (17). 

American  traders,  with  more  desirable  goods  than  either  the 
English  or  Russians  were  able  to  offer,  successfully  competed 
for  pelts.  Americans  are  also  accused  of  trading  guns,  ammuni- 
tion and  liquor  to  the  Indians,  providing  them  with  generally 
more  efficient  means  of  hunting  and  also  with  both  the  weapons 
and  stimulus  for  feuding  and  aggressive  warfare  among  them- 
selves. 

As  Russian  strength  on  the  coast  waned  England  and  the 
United  States  emerged  as  competitors  for  sovereignty  over 
Northwest  America.  The  year  1867  opened  a  new  era  for 
Alaska  and  its  aboriginal  inhabitants  when  the  territory  was 
sold  to  the  United  States.  Sitka  remained  the  capital  of  the 
new  possession.  A  port  of  entry  with  a  customs  officer  and  a 
company  of  soldiers  was  established  at  Tongass.  Military  troops 
were  also  stationed  at  Sitka  with  a  general  in  command.  In 
1877  the  army  was  recalled  and  the  customs  officer  was  left  in 
sole  charge  of  Alaska.  Jurisdiction  was  transferred  to  the  navy 
in  1879  and  the  Jamestown  with  Captain  Beardslee  in  charge 
was  sent  to  Sitka.  Seventeen  years  after  the  purchase  a  civil 
government  was  set  up  and  a  governor  appointed  to  administer 
the  affairs  of  the  District  of  Alaska  (2). 


26  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Following  the  purchase,  the  principal  sources  of  information 
about  the  Indians  are  the  annual  and  special  reports  of  army, 
navy  and  customs  officers  and  of  the  men  sent  to  gather  data 
about  the  new  country.  Between  1867  and  1884,  when  civil 
government  was  established,  was  a  period  of  tension  and  con- 
fusion for  Indians  and  non-Indians  alike.  Alaska  was  visited 
by  professional  writers,  scientists,  reporters,  adventurers,  gov- 
ernment officials  and  church  representatives  who  published 
their  impressions,  opinions  and  observations  in  books,  news- 
papers, magazines  and  official  reports.  Discovery  of  gold  in  the 
Cassiar  in  1869  started  the  influx  of  prospectors  and  miners 
who  contributed  to  unsettled  economic  and  social  conditions. 
Indians  far  outnumbered  white  residents,  especially  at  Sitka 
and  Wrangell,  and  the  latter  were  certain  that  they  would  be 
attacked.  Petitions  and  pleas  for  protection  poured  into  Wash- 
ington official  circles  and  were  taken  up  by  the  press.  Though 
Indians  did  not  undertake,  or  even  plan,  any  mass  attacks  so 
far  as  can  be  determined,  they  did  attempt  to  protect  their 
lives  and  property  according  to  their  own  concepts  of  justice. 
A  report  to  Congress  in  1879  includes  letters  from  whites  living 
in  the  territory,  personal  observations  and  opinions  of  travelers 
and  special  investigators,  and  official  letters  of  government  per- 
sonnel concerning  the  Indians  living  at  Sitka  and  Wrangell,  of 
whom  there  were  about  five  thousand  in  the  winter.  The  report 
also  includes  accounts  of  the  Kake  and  Hootznahoo  incidents 
in  which  the  two  towns  were  shelled  and  burned  for  refusal  to 
hand  over  purported  murderers  of  white  men.  In  each  case  the 
Indians  contended  that  whites  had  first  killed  men  of  their 
villages  and  that  they  were  entitled  to  compensation,  or  lacking 
that,  to  revenge.  The  documents  reveal  the  conflict  of  ideas  of 
justice  between  Indians  and  whites.  Characteristically,  the 
report  includes  very  little  information  based  on  interviews  with 
Indians  or  statements  by  them  (42).  Another  report  was  written 
by  an  army  lieutenant,  Frederick  Schwatka,  sent  to  determine 
the  kind  of  military  campaign  that  would  be  necessary  to  wipe 
out  Indian  communities  in  the  event  that  it  was  deemed  ad- 
visable to  do  so.   He  comments  that  the  Indians  were  generally 


Southeastern  Alaskan  Indian  Research— Garfield         27 

friendly  to  the  whites  and  that  he  could  find  no  warlike  ten- 
dencies among  them. 

From  the  date  of  purchase  scientific  expeditions  were  sent  to 
investigate  resources,  survey  coastlines  and  harbors  and  collect 
data  that  would  serve  in  the  economic  development  of  Alaska. 
Nearly  all  of  these  reports  contain  some  data  on  the  native 
people  however  brief.  One  of  the  best  reports  is  that  of  Ensign 
A.  P.  Niblack  who  gathered  information  in  the  summers  of 
1885,  1886  and  1887  in  the  course  of  a  survey  of  the  coast.  He 
also  took  excellent  photographs  of  Haida  towns,  but  did  not 
reach  northern  Tlingit  settlements.  Niblack  urged  that  a  de- 
tailed ethnographic  study  be  made  during  the  winter  when 
Indians  were  at  home  and  could  be  interviewed.  His  book 
includes  illustrations  and  descriptions  of  Northwest  Coast 
Indian  manufactures  in  the  United  States  National  Museum. 
This  was  the  earliest  systematic  attempt  on  the  part  of  an 
American  to  describe  the  cultures  of  the  Tlingit  and  Haida 
Indians.  However,  other  men  sent  by  the  government  on 
scientific  missions  in  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 
added  measurably  to  existing  knowledge  of  coastal  tribes. 
Notable  contributions  were  made  by  Dall  (1870),  Schwatka 
(1885),  Abercrombie  (1884)  and  Petrof  (1881  to  1890).  These 
and  other  papers  were  collected  and  published  in  Washington 
in  1900.3  They  form  a  valuable  source  of  data,  including  census 
reports  for  Alaska  for  the  years  1880  and  1890.  Publications 
of  the  Harriman  scientific  expedition  in  the  summer  of  1899, 
privately  sponsored,  include  a  chapter  on  the  Tlingit  and 
drawings  and  photographs  of  towns  and  sculpture  (28). 

Missionization  of  Canadian  coastal  Indians  by  the  English 
began  with  the  arrival  of  a  missionary  at  Fort  Simpson  in  1856. 
He  trained  Indian  lay  workers  and  sent  them  and  white  mis- 
sionaries up  and  down  the  coast  and  into  Alaska  territory.  The 
first  American  mission  and  school  in  southeastern  Alaska  was 
established  at  Wrangell  in  1877,  followed  by  one  at  Sitka  to 
take  the  place  of  the  Russian  school  for  native  children.    The 

s  Under  the  title  Compilation  of  Narratives  of  Explorations  in  Alaska.   Wash- 
ington, 1900. 


28  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Greek  Orthodox  church  continues  to  function  in  Sitka  and  has 
many  Tlingit  among  its  members.  Haines  mission  was  begun  in 
1880  and  in  1885  mission  schools  were  started  at  Hoonah  and 
Howkan,  the  latter  a  Haida  town  (34,  56). 

Federal  funds  were  appropriated  for  schools  in  Alaska  in 
1869  but  were  not  used  until  1885.  Sheldon  Jackson,  a  Presby- 
terian missionary,  was  appointed  General  Agent  of  Education. 
He  made  a  report  for  the  year  1885-6.  Since  then  reports  of 
administrators  and  teachers  have  been  issued  annually.  They 
are  excellent  sources  of  information  on  economic  and  health 
conditions  in  native  villages.  Teachers  have  not  been  en- 
couraged to  acquaint  themselves  with  the  social  and  religious 
backgrounds  of  the  people  whose  economic  activities  they  often 
supervise  and  whose  children  they  teach,  hence  include  very 
little  of  these  aspects  of  culture. 

On  the  other  hand,  missionaries  and  mission  teachers  are 
frequently  more  aware  of  social,  religious  and  ceremonial  prac- 
tices of  the  natives  though  they  misinterpret  them.  Customs, 
ideas  and  attitudes  that  contrast  sharply  with  those  of  the  mis- 
sionaries' own  culture  are  emphasized  and  held  up  for  un- 
favorable comparison. 

The  first  anthropologist  to  record  stories,  linguistic  texts  and 
notes  on  the  social  organization  of  the  Haida  and  Tlingit  was 
Dr.  Franz  Boas.  The  first  trained  field  worker  to  make  a  de- 
tailed study  of  the  two  groups  was  J.  R.  Swanton,  who  spent 
the  winter  of  1900-01  in  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  and  four 
months  in  1904  in  Sitka  and  Wrangell.  His  analysis  of  Haida 
family  legendary  histories  and  kinship  organization  includes 
the  Alaska  Haida  (Kaigani).  He  also  obtained  accounts  of  the 
migrations  of  Haida  families  to  Prince  of  Wales  Island  and 
collected  myths,  folktales  and  songs.  His  reports  on  Tlingit 
social  organization  and  mythology  are  the  most  comprehensive 
that  have  been  done  to  date.  Almost  twenty-five  years  passed 
before  anthropologists  again  visited  the  Tlingit  and  Kaigani 
Haida. 

The  monumental  analysis  of  Tsimshian  culture  by  Dr.  Boas 
includes  comparative  data  on  the  mythology  of  all  Northwest 


Southeastern  Alaskan  Indian  Research— Garfield         29 

Coast  tribes  and  is  essential  to  an  understanding  of  the  Alaska 
Tsimshian  (14).  Two  books,  written  to  publicize  the  missionary 
work  of  William  Duncan,  contain  much  of  ethnographic  inter- 
est and  describe  the  circumstances  that  motivated  the  Alaska  mi- 
gration (3,  65).  The  Annette  Island  community  was  the  subject 
of  a  congressional  investigation  in  1935  but  the  report  is  so 
burdened  with  charges,  counter-charges  and  subjective  evalua- 
tions as  to  be  almost  useless  for  any  social  science  study  (68). 

Other  sources  of  information  on  southeast  Alaska  include 
four  histories  of  Alaska  and  one  of  Sitka.  Two  of  the  histories 
treat  the  Indians  in  a  very  summary  manner,  dismissing  them 
as  obstacles  to  be  overcome  in  the  development  of  the  territory. 
They  do  not  contribute  to  our  knowledge  of  the  Indians  or  the 
part  they  played  in  Alaska's  history,  but  do  reflect  the  attitudes 
of  the  writers  and  many  of  their  readers.  Other  historians 
describe  outstanding  Indian  leaders  and  the  influence  they  and 
their  tribesmen  had  in  the  shaping  of  events  (1,  2).  No  account, 
either  historical  or  novelistic,  has  been  written  on  the  theme 
of  Indian  personalities  and  participation,  though  there  is  rich 
material  for  such  a  treatise. 

Few  anthropologists  have  undertaken  studies  of  broad  scope 
since  Dr.  Swanton's  pioneer  survey.  Dr.  Ronald  Olson  has  yet 
to  publish  his  data  on  Tlingit  history  as  preserved  in  folktales 
and  clan  legends.  The  first  field  work  to  combine  the  knowl- 
edge and  techniques  of  personnel  trained  in  several  fields  of 
anthropology  was  directed  by  Dr.  Frederica  de  Laguna  in 
northern  Tlingit  territory  in  the  summer  of  1949  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  Angoon  during  the  summer  of  1950.  Ethnographic, 
archaeological  and  linguistic  approaches  were  applied  to  the 
complex  problems  of  Tlingit  cultural  history  and  prehistory. 
Such  surveys,  if  carried  out  systematically  to  cover  a  large  area, 
will  go  a  long  way  toward  providing  answers  to  perplexing 
questions  concerning  the  origins  of  Northwest  Coast  cultural 
elements  and  their  indigenous  development. 

A  large  number  of  studies  have  been  made,  limited  as  to 
subject  and  area  or  both.  The  techniques  of  blanket  weaving, 
basketry  (20,  52)  and  woodworking  have  been  described  and 


30  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

there  are  short  papers  on  stone,  bone  and  copper  work.  Very 
little  has  been  added  to  the  description  of  stylistic  elements  and 
variety  of  designs  developed  by  Northwest  Coast  Indians  that 
Dr.  Boas  included  in  Primitive  Art.  A  number  of  studies  of 
wood  sculpture  have  been  published.  These  include  histories 
of  totem  poles  and  the  legends  and  historic  events  illustrated 
on  them  (5,  24,  36),  brief  analyses  of  stylistic  differences  in  illus- 
tration and  theories  concerning  the  origin  of  Northwest  Coast 
art  style  and  of  totem  poles  in  particular  (6,  46,  51).  Almost 
nothing  has  been  done  on  mask,  rattle  and  box  decoration  or 
on  painting  beyond  publishing  illustrations  with  brief  notes 
identifying  designs  or  owners.  Some  work  has  been  done  on 
architecture  and  canoe  building  (50,  64).  Descriptions  of  hunt- 
ing and  fishing  equipment  and  techniques  are  inadequate. 
Though  Indians  and  Aleuts  hunted  sea  otter  and  seal  and 
probably  accounted  for  the  larger  number  of  pelts  taken  away 
by  traders,  the  writer  knows  of  no  detailed  description  of  the 
techniques  and  weapons  employed. 

Publications  on  social  organization  are  both  descriptive  and 
theoretical.  Theoretical  papers  are  concerned  primarily  with 
the  probable  origin  of  traits  of  the  matrilineal  clan  organiza- 
tion and  the  direction  and  dates  of  their  diffusion  (4,  11).  Some 
material  has  been  collected  on  the  growth,  spread  and  dis- 
appearance of  lineages  and  clans,  noting  some  of  the  social, 
economic  and  political  influences  involved  (22,  58,  59).  Rank, 
status  and  slavery  have  received  some  attention  and  several 
writers  have  discussed  the  potlatch  and  its  function  in  the 
prestige  system  (8,  18,  44). 

Economic  organization  and  production  for  one  village  has 
been  documented  (49),  but  most  of  the  economic  studies  have 
been  concerned  with  distribution  of  wealth  at  potlatches  and 
not  with  the  manner  in  which  subsistence  needs  were  satisfied 
and  surplus  commodities  acquired. 

Very  little  has  been  done  on  music,  dancing  or  drama,  and 
nothing  on  the  survival  and  adaptation  of  these  arts  to  present 
modes  of  life. 

Language  studies  are  limited  to  brief  sketches,  vocabularies 


Southeastern  Alaskan  Indian  Research— Garfield         31 

and  a  few  myths  in  text  from  the  Tlingit  and  Haida,  but  noth- 
ing from  the  Alaska  Tsimshian.  Tlingit  is  known  to  differ 
dialectically  but  the  extent  of  these  differences  and  their  geo- 
graphic boundaries  are  not  known.  Nothing  is  being  done  on 
the  influence  of  Russian  and  English  on  the  native  languages. 

Myth  and  folktale  collections  are  adequate,  but  by  no  means 
exhaustive.  The  comparative  analysis  of  Northwest  Coast  oral 
literature,  done  by  Dr.  Boas,  is  now  over  thirty-five  years  old 
and  many  collections  have  been  made  in  the  meantime.  Other 
comparative  studies  have  been  of  single  stories  or  of  a  small 
collection  of  plots,  themes  or  motives.  These  reveal  relation- 
ships between  Northwest  Coast  oral  literature  and  that  of  their 
neighbors  or  with  Asia.  The  close  relationship  between  pride 
in  lineage  ancestors  and  the  process  of  myth  making  has  been 
barely  touched. 

Excepting  the  pioneer  effort  of  Rev.  Jones,  no  work  has  been 
done  on  culture  change.  The  theory  of  other-area,  particularly 
Asiatic,  origin  of  Northwest  Coast  cultures  has  perhaps  impeded 
work  on  cultural  growth  within  the  area.  Since  archaeological 
work  is  both  difficult  and  unrewarding  in  an  area  of  high  rain- 
fall and  extensive  use  of  wood,  students  have  turned  to  other 
methods  of  accounting  for  cultural  traits  and  complexes.  Com- 
parisons between  elements  of  Northwest  Coast  cultures  and 
those  of  other  areas  reveal  similarities  that  are  interpreted  as 
evidences  of  diffusion  into  Northwest  Coast  and  culture  history 
then  becomes  a  problem  of  determining  dates  and  sources  of 
introduction.  Culture  change  occurs  when  new  elements  are 
introduced.  No  attention  has  been  directed  to  the  cultural 
dynamisms  existing  in  the  area,  nor  to  the  economic,  social, 
political  and  religious  factors  that  influence  cultural  stability, 
change  and  direction  of  change. 

The  field  of  personality  types  and  personality  development 
has  been  entirely  neglected.  Dr.  Benedict's  characterization  of 
the  Kwakiutl  (Patterns  of  Culture,  Boston,  1934)  has  been 
widely  used  and  frequently  quoted  as  a  description  of  North- 
west Coast  Indians.  However,  her  interpretation  has  not  been 
checked  in  the  field.    We  lack  documentation  on  adult  per- 


32  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

sonalities  and  on  the  training  and  development  of  children. 
Some  material  on  adults  can  be  gleaned  from  ethnographies 
and  myth  collections,  but  there  is  a  dearth  of  information  on 
the  training  of  small  children. 

Practically  nothing  has  been  done  in  the  field  of  physical 
anthropology.  An  inventory  of  publications  reveals  a  few  skull 
measurements,  general  descriptions  of  physical  type  and  blood 
types  of  about  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  Tlingit. 

Investigation  of  the  relationship  of  Alaska  Indians  to  their 
resource  areas,  undertaken  in  1944  and  continued  into  1946, 
stemmed  from  different  sources  than  any  of  the  research  cited 
above. 

At  the  time  of  the  Alaska  purchase  no  reservations  were  set 
aside  for  the  natives  and  no  treaties  were  made  with  them.  The 
whole  question  of  rights  to  land  and  other  resource  areas  was 
held  in  abeyance.  From  time  to  time  the  question  of  whether 
natives  have  any  rights  at  all  has  arisen  and  has  been  both 
denied  and  affirmed.  In  1935  Tlingit  and  Haida  tribes  were 
authorized  to  bring  suit  in  the  U.  S.  Court  of  Claims  for  com- 
pensation for  "lands  and  other  tribal  or  community  rights" 
(53).  Claims  were  filed  by  a  few  Tlingit  communities  or  tribes, 
but  were  not  allowed  by  the  court.  The  question  again  arose 
as  a  result  of  a  section  of  the  Alaskan  Fisheries  Regulations, 
first  promulgated  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  1942.  The 
regulation  provided  that  "no  trap  should  be  established  in  any 
site  in  which  any  Alaska  natives  have  any  rights  of  fishery  by 
virtue  of  any  grant  or  of  aboriginal  occupancy."  The  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior  held  hearings  in  Tlingit  and  Haida  villages 
in  1944  "to  determine  fishing  and  other  occupancy  rights  of 
these  communities,"  in  response  to  petitions  from  communities 
dated  April  1942  and  July  1944.  Individuals  testified  concern- 
ing the  kinship  groups  to  which  they  belonged  and  the  areas 
they  were  traditionally  privileged  to  use  by  reason  of  kinship 
affiliations.  Witnesses  were  closely  questioned  to  determine 
locations  of  camps,  smokehouses  and  other  sites  in  use.  Much 
information  was  gathered  on  traditional  utilization  of  resource 
areas,  inheritance  of  rights  and  the  degree  to  which  the  Indians 


Southeastern  Alaskan  Indian  Research— Garfield         33 

continue  to  exercise  aboriginal  rights  to  provide  themselves 
with  food.  Indian  claims  were  vigorously  refuted  by  cannery 
and  other  industrial  and  business  interests.  Both  sides  employed 
expert  researchers  and  a  vast  amount  of  material  from  pub- 
lished sources  was  collected.  Translators,  sociologists,  lawyers 
and  anthropologists  compiled  extensive  records  dating  from 
eighteenth  century  explorers  and  traders  to  contemporary 
sources.  For  the  first  time  a  systematic  compilation  was  made 
of  Tlingit  and  Haida  customs  of  utilization  and  inheritance  of 
land,  streams,  beach  and  salt  -water  resource  areas.  Changes  in 
food  economy  and  in  the  extent  to  which  areas  were  used  from 
the  date  of  the  Alaska  purchase  to  the  present  -were  documented 
from  published  sources,  augmented  by  testimony  of  elderly 
Indians  of  customary  usage  as  related  to  them  by  parents  and 
grandparents. 

A  further  point  at  issue  was  the  legal  one  of  the  status  of 
Tlingit  and  Haida  tribes  under  Russian  rule,  hence  the  status 
they  occupied  -when  the  territory  was  ceded  to  the  United 
States.  Russian  documents  were  translated  and  pertinent  sec- 
tions extracted  to  support  the  argument  that  no  territorial  rights 
of  the  Indians  were  recognized  by  the  Russians.  Whatever  the 
outcome  so  far  as  Indian  claims  are  concerned,  much  valuable 
material  was  compiled  relating  to  the  economy,  resource  utili- 
zation, kinship  affiliations  and  functions  of  the  Haida  and 
Tlingit. 

A  coordinated  plan  of  research  for  southeastern  Alaska  is 
now  needed  to  make  use  of  material  already  accumulated.  Such 
a  plan  should  include  consideration  of  theoretic  problems  bear- 
ing on  the  relationship  between  this  and  other  native  areas, 
the  dynamics  of  culture  growth  that  made  this  an  area  of  com- 
plex cultures,  and  the  processes  of  acculturation  operating  at 
the  present  time.  This  goal  can  best  be  attained,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  writer,  by  a  coordinating  committee  serving  as  a  clearing 
house  and  source  of  information,  not  in  the  role  of  directing  or 
supervising  research.  The  committee  would  lay  out  a  tentative 
plan,  with  first  consideration  to  traits  that  are  fast  disappearing. 
A  report  on  current  and  contemplated  field  work  and  a  list  of 


34  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

library,  museum  and  other  sources  of  material  that  might  other- 
wise be  overlooked  should  be  compiled.  The  committee  would 
also  assist  in  the  coordination  of  studies  for  the  rest  of  Alaska 
and  the  Northwest  Coast.  Though  this  paper  has  been  pri- 
marily concerned  with  the  Indians  of  southeastern  Alaska,  the 
area  from  Cook  Inlet  to  northern  California  should  be  included 
in  the  plan. 

An  integrated  plan  of  research  would  reveal  many  concrete 
problems  for  students  to  investigate,  either  individually  or  in 
cooperating  teams.  The  Northwest  Coast  is  quite  as  rewarding 
an  area  as  others  in  the  United  States  and  deserves  the  same 
careful  consideration  and  coordinated  attack  from  social  sci- 
entists as  it  has  received  from  scientists  in  other  fields. 

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45.    .    Social  structure.    New  York.    1949. 

46.  Newcombe,  W.  A.    British  Columbia  totem  poles.    Report  of 

the  Provincial  Museum  of  Natural  History  for  the  year  1930. 
Victoria.    1931. 

47.  Niblack,  A.  P.    The  Coast  Indians  of  Southern  Alaska  and 

Northern  British  Columbia.   Smithsonian  Report,  1888,  Part 
2,   Washington.    1889. 

48.  Oberg,  Kalervo.    Crime  and  punishment  in  Tlingit  society. 

American  Anthropologist,  57.    1934. 

49.    .  The  social  economy  of  the  Tlingit  Indians.   University 

of  Chicago    (mimeo).  1937. 

50.  Olson,  R.  L.    Adze,  canoe  and  house  types  of  the  northwest 

Coast.  U.  of  Wash.  Publications  in  Anthropology,  II.  Seattle. 
1927. 

51.  Paalen,  Wolfgang.   Totem  art.   Dyn,  4-5.   Mexico.    1943. 

52.  Paul,  Frances.    Spruce  root  basketry  of  the  Alaska  Tlingit. 

Haskell  Institute.   Lawrence,  Kansas.    1944. 

53.  Paul,  W.  L.  Jr.    Historical  and  legal  materials  relative  to  the 

Tlingit  and  Haida  Claims  Act  of  1935.  U.  of  W.  Law  School. 
Seattle.    1939- 

54.  Petrof,  Ivan.    The  population  and  resources  of  Alaska.  Com- 

pilation of  Narratives  of  Explorations  in  Alaska.  Washington. 
1900. 


Southeastern  Alaskan  Indian  Research— Garfield         37 

55.  Rickard,  T.  A.    The  use  of  native  copper  by  the  Indigenes  of 

North  America.  Jour,  of  the  Anthropological  Institute  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  ././.   London,  1934. 

56.  Scidmore,  E.  R.  Alaska.  Its  southern  coast  and  the  Sitkan  Archi- 

pelago.   Boston.    1885. 

57.  Swanton,  J.  R.    Haida  texts  and  myths.    Bull.  29,  Bureau  of 

American  Ethnology.   Washington.    1905. 

58.    .    Social  condition,  beliefs  and  linguistic  relationship  of 

the  Tlingit  Indians.  26th  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology.   Washington.    1908. 

59.    .  Contributions  to  the  ethnology  of  the  Haida.   Memoirs 

of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  VIII.  New 
York.    1909a. 

60.  — .  Tlingit  myths  and  texts.   Bull.  39,  Bureau  of  American 

Ethnology.  Washington.   1909b. 

61.  Swanton,  J.  R.  and  Franz  Boas.  Haida  songs.  Tsimshian  texts. 

American  Ethnological  Society,  3.    1912. 

62.  Wagner,  H.  R.    (editor  and  translator).    Journal  of  Toraas  de 

Suria  of  his  voyage  with  Malaspina  to  the  Northwest  Coast 
of  America  in  1791.   Glendale.    1936. 

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America  to  the  year  1800.   2  vols.   U.  of  Cal.  Press,  Berkeley. 

!937- 

64.  Waterman,  T.  T.    Native  houses  of  western  North  America. 

Indian  Notes  and  Monographs,  Museum  of  the  American 
Indian,  Heye  Foundation,  series  2,  vol.  11.    New  York.  1923. 

65.  Wellcome,  H.  S.  The  story  of  Metlakatla.   New  York.  1887. 

66.  Wickersham,   James.    A   bibliography   of  Alaskan   literature, 

1724-1924.   Cordova.    1927. 

67.  Hearings  on  Claims  of  natives  of  the  Towns  of  Hydaburg, 

Klawock,  and  Kake,  Alaska,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of 
Section  201.21b  of  the  Regulations  for  Protection  of  Com- 
mercial Fisheries  of  Alaska  (mimeo).    1944. 

68.  Survey  of  conditions  of  the  Indians  in  the  United  States.   Hear- 

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Affairs,  U.  S.  Senate.  Part  35.  Metlakatla  Indians,  Alaska. 
Washington.    1939. 


PRESENT  STATUS  OF  THE 
ALASKAN  ESKIMOS 

Margaret  Lantis 

Study  of  Adult  Development 
Harvard  University 

In  1940,  15,700  Eskimos  were  counted  in  Alaska.  Figures  for 
1950  are  not  yet  available,  but  it  seems  likely  that  the  population 
has  increased  slightly.  Until  World  War  II,  Alaskan  Eskimos 
were  scattered  in  200  or  more  small  settlements.  Even  the  "big 
villages"  had  fewer  than  500  people  each.  In  fact,  only  twenty 
villages  had  more  than  200  inhabitants  apiece,  according  to  the 
1940  Census.  During  the  war,  Eskimos  tended  to  concentrate 
in  Fairbanks,  Nome,  and  other  centers  of  military  construction 
that  offered  jobs.  Since  the  war,  Pt.  Barrow  has  drawn  people 
from  all  northwest  Alaska,  also  because  of  work  opportunities, 
finally  attaining  a  population  close  to  1000.  Hence,  during  the 
past  ten  years  the  number  of  villages  probably  has  decreased. 

Including  Alaska  Native  Service  (Federal)  and  Territorial 
systems,  there  were  55  schools  in  Eskimo  communities  in  1948. 
Although  schools  gradually  are  being  transferred  from  A.N.S. 
to  Territorial  system,  the  total  number  at  this  moment  probably 
is  the  same  or  only  slightly  decreased.  A  few  Eskimo  youngsters 
go  to  the  boarding  school  at  Mt.  Edgecumbe  (Sitka)  for  sec- 
ondary-level vocational  instruction,  though  not  such  a  high 
proportion  as  from  the  Southeast  Alaskan  Indians.  The  White 
Mountain  Boarding  School  for  Eskimo  children  has  had  fires 
and  other  difficulties,  but  the  policy  of  the  A.N.S.  is  to  keep  it 
open.  Not  so  many  Eskimo  children  (proportionally)  attend  any 
school,  even  the  local  village  school,  as  among  Aleuts  and  Indi- 
ans. Eskimos  are  as  intelligent  as  the  others  and  most  of  the 
children  enjoy  school,  but  their  families'  hunting  and  fishing 
require  migration. 

Understandably,  teachers  and  missionaries  strive  to  keep  Es- 
kimo families  close  to  their  facilities,  in  some  ways  an  unrealistic 

38 


Present  Status  of  Alaskan  Eskimos— Lantis  39 

policy  from  the  standpoint  of  both  Eskimos  and  the  larger  White 
community.  If  people  hang  around  a  large  village  which  cannot 
offer  work  to  very  many  and  where  the  surrounding  area  may 
have  been  hunted  out  or  over-grazed  by  the  reindeer,  they 
inevitably  will  become  dependent  on  relief  or  will  be  under- 
nourished and  tubercular.  Because  of  employment  offered  by 
the  Navy  oil-drilling  project,  Barrow  has  grown  without  the 
usual  effects.  However,  as  this  project  is  not  a  permanent  de- 
velopment of  the  local  economy,  it  does  not  change  the  generali- 
zation that,  as  now  constituted,  the  economy  of  the  west  coast 
of  Alaska  cannot  support  many  villages  of  even  500  population. 

Tuberculosis  has  been  in  the  past  two  generations  the  scourge 
of  Alaskan  Eskimos,  not  only  in  the  individual  tragedies  of  its 
victims  but  in  its  effects  on  community  life.  When  mothers  of 
young  families,  men  30  to  40  years  old  who  are  or  can  become 
the  experienced  leaders,  and  the  better-schooled  adolescents  are 
killed  indiscriminately,  community  planning  probably  will  be 
ineffectual.  There  are  three  A.N.S.  hospitals,  three  isolation 
field-stations  for  terminal  TB  cases,  and  about  ten  field  nurses 
in  Eskimo  territory,  and  the  area  is  served  in  summer  by  two 
of  the  floating  health  units  of  the  Territorial  Department  of 
Health.  For  special  treatment,  Eskimos  are  sent  to  hospitals 
outside  their  area,  also.  School  lunch  program,  Aid  to  Depend- 
ent Children  (Social  Security),  and  other  welfare  programs  help 
combat  disease  by  combating  poverty  and  under-nutrition.  The 
indigenous  people  are  of  course  eligible  for  all  those  Federal 
Security  Agency  programs  that  function  in  Alaska. 

The  Federal  Government  does  not  have  treaties  with  the 
native  peoples  of  Alaska,  just  as  it  does  not  have  treaties  with 
separate  groups  in  Puerto  Rico.  This  is  quite  unlike  the  situa- 
tion in  the  States.  Native  peoples  of  Alaska  are  protected  by  a 
Territorial  non-discrimination  law.  They  are  citizens,  eligible 
to  vote,  and  expected  to  pay  personal  property  taxes  although 
only  a  small  proportion  of  Eskimos  do  vote  or  pay  taxes.  Col- 
lecting the  taxes  would  cost  more  than  the  return  in  many  re- 
mote localities.  The  principal  reason  for  Eskimos  not  voting  is 
that  their  villages  are  too  small,  have  too  few  of  voting  age  who 


4o  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

are  literate,  to  satisfy  the  requirements  for  setting  up  a  voting 
district.  Although  participating  little  in  Territorial  Govern- 
ment, they  do  participate  actively  in  their  own  communities. 
By  1949,  32  Eskimo  villages  had  organized  under  the  Indian 
Reorganization  Act,  had  their  constitutions  and  officers,  and  in 
most  cases  were  really  functioning  as  civil  bodies. 

In  1950,  there  were  33  community  stores,  native  owned  and 
operated,  in  the  Eskimo  area,  in  a  total  of  45  community  stores 
for  all  Alaska.  In  the  little  Eskimo  villages,  often  with  difficulties 
of  transportation  and  other  commercial  disabilities,  such  stores 
have  been  needed  more  than  in  the  large  Indian  towns  of  South- 
east Alaska  that  can  attract  competitive  privately-owned  stores. 
To  keep  them  reasonably  economical,  in  1947  twenty  Eskimo 
and  seven  Aleut  and  Indian  stores  were  organized  by  the  Alaska 
Native  Service  in  a  purchasing  and  merchandising  cooperative, 
with  headquarters  in  Seattle.  To  get  these  stores  and  a  few  other 
activities  started,  a  Federal  revolving  credit  fund  was  started 

in  1939. 

Although  the  stores  have  done  fairly  well,  other  cooperative 
economic  enterprises,  such  as  reindeer  herds  and  sawmill,  have 
not  done  so  well.  Members  of  an  umiak  crew  will  stay  together 
well  for  whale  or  walrus  hunting,  but  other  productive  activities 
seem  to  be  too  individualistic  for  a  quick  shift  to  a  modern 
cooperative  enterprise,  especially  when  it  is  attempted  with  a 
technology  that  also  is  new.  The  most  successful  enterprise  (not 
strictly  a  cooperative?)  has  been  the  Nome  Skin  Sewers,  started 
during  the  war  to  supply  fur  clothing  to  the  Air  Force  and  other 
Services.  In  1945,  it  sold  $35,504  worth  of  clothing;  in  1946, 
$32,081  worth.  By  individual  sale  to  traders  and  tourists  and 
by  sale  through  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Clearing  House,  run  by  the 
A.N.S.  as  a  merchandising  organization,  Eskimos  sell  their  ivory 
carvings,  baskets,  dolls,  and  a  few  other  craft  products.  Although 
it  is  difficult  to  judge  the  volume  or  value  of  this  trade,  it 
probably  is  worth  at  least  $100,000.  This  amount  seems  large, 
but  even  $200,000  a  year  would  provide  only  $5o-$6o  per  family 
per  year.    And  craft  work  never  is  well  distributed,  as  only  a 


Present  Status  of  Alaskan  Eskimos— Lantis  41 

few  people  are  really  skilled  and  also  have  access  to  the  necessary 
materials. 

Not  every  village  that  has  a  school  has  a  resident  missionary. 
Such  missionaries  as  the  Moravians  along  the  Kuskokwim  River 
and  the  Roman  Catholics  at  Hooper  Bay  and  on  the  lower 
Yukon  travel  to  visit  outlying  settlements  as  few  secular  teachers 
do.  A.N.S.  teachers  generally  have  undertaken  more  community 
functions  than  the  Territorial  teachers,  who  until  recently  have 
been  in  the  towns  and  not  in  the  relatively  isolated,  wholly 
Eskimo  villages.  Even  so,  the  typical  teacher  or  missionary  does 
not  travel  to  the  Eskimos'  outyling  settlements,  except  perhaps 
for  one  quick  trip  a  year.   Field  nurses  travel  much  more. 

Although  widely  scattered  Eskimos  are  subject  to  the  same 
influences  by  Whites  from  the  United  States  and  although  they 
themselves  travel  widely  in  west  Alaska  and  thus  influence  each 
other,  still  one  cannot  give  a  generalized  description  of  an  Es- 
kimo village  much  more  easily  now  than  one  could  a  hundred 
years  ago.  Regarding  the  houses,  for  example,  one  cannot  say 
much  more  than  that  they  generally  are  makeshift  wooden  struc- 
tures incorporating  any  other  handy  materials:  sods,  corrugated 
iron,  whale  bones,  or  walrus  hide.  Most  homes  are  heated  by 
stoves— often  home-made— burning  coal,  fuel  oil  or  wood.  On 
the  trail,  Primus  stoves  are  used.  Even  poor  homes  have  an 
alarm  clock,  a  modern  oil  lamp,  enamel-ware  kitchen  utensils, 
crockery,  hand-turned  sewing  machine,  flashlight  and  similar 
utilitarian  articles.  Many  homes  in  a  village  like  Unalakleet  are 
well  furnished  at  the  level  of  a  comfortable  village  or  farm 
home  on  the  Northern  Plains.  (For  greater  detail,  see  "Accul- 
turation of  Alaskan  Eskimos,"  which  will  be  published  in  the 
Encyclopedia  Arctica,  V.  Stefansson,  editor.) 

In  the  post-war  years,  housing  has  been  a  serious  problem  not 
only  for  Whites  in  the  rapidly-growing  Railbelt  but  also  for 
Eskimos.  In  1949,  the  Alaska  Housing  Authority,  as  a  trial, 
granted  loans  to  rebuild  42  houses  at  Hooper  Bay  .  The  house- 
holder was  loaned  not  more  than  $500,  to  be  repaid  within  six 
years.  In  1950,  six  Eskimo  villages  on  the  Bering  Sea  coast 
benefited   by   91    completely   new   homes   and    improvements 


42  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

for  79.  In  1949,  the  Navy  and  Alaska  Native  Service  housing 
program  at  Barrow  was  completed.  Total  cost:  $170,000.  It 
comprised  75  new  houses,  49  repaired  houses,  and  31  additions 
to  houses. 

With  the  vigorous  health  program  under  way  for  Eskimos 
and  others  (orthopedic  hospital,  new  400-bed  TB  hospital,  wide- 
spread immunization,  chest  X-rays,  etc.)  and  the  Housing  Au- 
thority's housing  program,  many  sections  of  the  west  coast  of 
Alaska  do  not  have  the  neglected,  slowly  deteriorating  look  that 
they  had  ten  years  ago.  The  basic  problem  that  has  not  been 
approached  in  similarly  comprehensive  fashion  is  the  future  of 
the  economy  of  west  Alaska. 

Most  Alaskan  Eskimos  still  do  much  hunting  and  fishing  for 
home-consumed  food  and  clothing.  The  most  nearly  universal 
source  of  cash  income  is  trapping.  Income  varies  greatly  from 
time  to  time  and  place  to  place  as  the  animal  populations  vary 
and  as  fur  styles  change.  In  the  lower  Kuskokwim  area,  more 
than  $100,000  worth  of  muskrat  skins  may  be  taken  in  one 
trapping  season  now  that  muskrat  is  in  demand.  Not  far  away, 
Nunivak  Islanders,  who  have  fox  and  a  few  mink  but  no  musk- 
rat,  have  none  of  this  prosperity.  On  the  other  hand,  they  have 
reindeer.  Another  widely  distributed,  although  not  so  remunera- 
tive, type  of  income  is  the  Territorial  bounty  on  eagles,  hair 
seals,  wolves,  and  coyotes.  Total  appropriation  for  bounties 
for  the  biennium  beginning  1951:  about  $200,000.  Much  of  the 
hair-seal  bounty  will  be  collected  by  other  races  than  Eskimo, 
around  the  south  coasts  of  Alaska  where  seals  are  considered 
foes  of  the  commercial  fishing  industry. 

Other  income  sources  are  more  localized.  There  is,  for  ex- 
ample, a  good  deal  of  seasonal  lighterage  employment  at  Nome, 
Kotzebue,  Barrow;  coal  mining  on  Meade  River;  gold  mining 
on  Seward  Peninsula  and  elsewhere;  ivory  carving  by  not  only 
the  famous  King  Islanders  but  other  Bering  Strait  groups;  jade 
mining  in  the  Shungnak  area;  reindeer  herding  by  a  few  families 
from  ten  or  twelve  villages  (elsewhere  deer  are  herded  only  for 
roundup);  and  cannery  work  for  men  from  many  villages  of 
southwest  Alaska,  many  of  whom  are  transported  by  air  to 


Present  Status  of  Alaskan  Eskimos— Lantis  43 

Prince  William  Sound  and  other  localities.  Around  Bristol  Bay, 
men  of  Eskimo  or  mixed-Eskimo  ancestry  but  not  now  living 
an  Eskimo  way  of  life  are  commercial  fishermen.  On  the  whole, 
the  economy  is  haphazard  and  poorly  balanced.  At  present, 
Alaskan  Eskimos  can  get  real  stability  and  security  only  from 
their  hunting  and  fishing  and,  in  many  places,  trapping. 

For  this  reason,  some  people  in  the  States  say  Eskimos  must 
have  land  reservations,  However,  1)  much  of  their  food  comes 
from  the  sea,  which  cannot  be  reserved,  2)  the  large  sustaining 
caribou  herds  cannot  be  held  on  reservations,  3)  it  does  no  good 
to  have  a  piece  of  territory  if  the  food  or  revenue-producing 
animals  are  dying  out,  as  they  are  in  some  localities.  The  long- 
range  probabilities  of  Alaskan  development  should  be  con- 
sidered, and  these  do  not  seem  to  include  reservations.  Although 
there  are  a  few  small  reservations  in  the  Eskimo  country  (Una- 
lakleet,  Wales,  Little  Diomede  Island,  Noorvik,  Elim,  White 
Mountain,  and  Mountain  Village)  and  a  few  reindeer  and 
fishing  reserves,  the  whole  U.  S.  system  of  treaties,  reservations, 
and  allotments  was  not  introduced  to  Alaska.  Eskimos  must  be 
considered  part  of  the  general  population.  Where  they  are 
treated  as  a  curiosity  for  tourists,  for  example  at  Nome  and 
Kotzebue,  they  are  not  helped  but  are  hindered  in  adjustment 
to  the  present  condition  of  Alaska. 

If  we  understand  the  principal  changes  occurring  in  Eskimo 
culture  and  the  needs  that  these  changes  engender,  we  can  see 
which  aspects  of  Eskimo  life  need  to  be  studied  and  in  what  ways 
Cultural  Anthropology  can  be  useful. 

Now  that  the  Eskimos  have  entered  a  money  economy,  they 
need  what  all  Alaska  needs:  a  stable  year-round  livelihood. 
Agriculture,  especially  the  growing  of  field  crops,  is  not  the 
future  hope  of  the  west  and  north  coasts  of  Alaska.  Garden 
produce  grows  well  in  some  localities,  and  range  livestock,  es- 
pecially reindeer,  might  be  developed,  but  these  show  no  pros- 
pect of  becoming  the  basis  of  a  whole  economy.  Reindeer,  for 
example,  can  be,  under  present  conditions,  the  chief  support  of 
only  a  few  families  in  each  of  twenty  to  twenty-five  villages.  At 
one  time  or  another,  sheep  have  been  important  in  Greenland 


44  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

and  cattle  and  sheep  in  Scandinavia,  but  the  mines,  manufac- 
tures and  fisheries  of  Sweden  and  Norway  can  support  a  growing 
population  far  better  than  their  agriculture,  and  the  same  is 
true  of  Alaska. 

A  non-agricultural  region  can  be  economically  useful  in  three 
ways:  production  of  raw  materials,  which,  exclusive  of  agricul- 
ture and  fishing,  are  minerals,  oil,  and  timber;  processing  and 
manufacturing;  and  provision  of  services,  including  trade.  (Mili- 
tary use  requires  locally  principally  the  service  trades,  especially 
when  materials  and  construction  labor  are  imported.)  To  now, 
northern  and  western  Alaska  has  drawn  workers  from  outside 
only  when  the  first  of  these,  production  of  such  raw  materials 
as  whale-oil  and  gold,  has  boomed.  These  activities  offered  em- 
ployment to  the  indigenous  people  chiefly  in  the  services,  for 
example  as  dog-team  drivers  and  guides,  and  in  semi-skilled 
labor  in  a  combination  of  service  and  small-scale  manufacture, 
for  example  as  ship's  carpenters  and  deckhands  in  the  great  days 
of  steam-boating  on  the  Yukon  and,  earlier,  on  the  whaling 
ships.  Production  in  northwest  Alaska— which,  aside  from  the 
reindeer  industry,  has  been  entirely  a  natural-resource  use— has 
been  periodic  and  ^independable,  poorly  organized,  and  scarcely 
planned  at  all.  The  only  type  of  production  in  which  the  Eski- 
mos have  operated  largely  and  fairly  steadily  has  been  trapping. 
In  a  more  restricted  area,  Eskimos  have  produced  ivory  for  orna- 
ments and  knick-knacks.  (Since  Bristol  Bay  Eskimos  for  two 
generations  or  more  have  been  so  mixed  with  Indians  and  others 
that  they  can  be  scarcely  recognized  as  an  Eskimo  population, 
their  commercial  fishing  is  not  included  in  the  above  generali- 
zation.) 

The  type  of  industry  that  can  stabilize  Alaskan  economy  is  a 
varied  manufacturing  and  processing.  Along  the  Railbelt  (An- 
chorage to  Fairbanks  and  environs)  this  is  getting  its  first  small 
but  solid  start,  although  it  has  been  the  basis  of  Southeast  Alas- 
kan economy  for  sixty  years,  viz.  in  the  seafood-canning  industry. 
If  wood  pulp  processing  can  be  extended  beyond  its  present  be- 
ginning at  Ketchikan,  it  can  provide  a  new  basic  industry  for 
the  whole  Southeast  area.    So  far,  these  developments  have  af- 


Present  Status  of  Alaskan  Eskimos— Lantis  45 

fected  the  Eskimo  economy  relatively  little.  The  1950  Census 
shows  the  following  percentage  increase  in  population  in  the 
preceding  ten  years: 

% 
1st     Division 9.2 

2nd   Division 5.9 

3rd    Division 202.1 

4th    Division 75.0 

These  figures  do  not  include  military  personnel  assigned  to 
Alaska.  In  the  3rd  Division  is  the  Anchorage-Matanuska-Kenai 
development.  In  the  4th  Division  is  the  Fairbanks  metropolitan 
development.  The  2nd  Division,  which  has  the  highest  propor- 
tion of  natives— 86%  of  the  total  population  according  to  the 
1940  Census— has  shown  the  smallest  increase.  Most  of  the  Eski- 
mos live  in  this  2nd  Division.  The  3rd  and  4th  have  boomed 
largely  on  military  construction  and  the  servicing  of  military 
establishments,  it  is  true,  but  not  solely  on  these,  fortunately. 
With  their  agriculture,  tourist  business,  and  other  develop- 
ments, a  genuine  beginning  of  a  broad  and  balanced  economy 
has  been  made.  Otherwise,  such  an  influx  of  people  would  look 
like  just  another  stampede,  with  an  impending  collapse. 

The  economy  of  Alaska  has  been  based  until  recently  almost 
exclusively  on  exploitation  of  natural  resources:  fur-bearing  and 
oil-bearing  animals,  fish,  minerals,  and,  to  a  very  small  extent, 
timber.  With  the  exception  of  fish,  virtually  all  products  were 
shipped  out  unprocessed.  Furs,  for  example,  were  not  tanned, 
dyed,  glazed,  and  mounted  in  Alaska.  After  the  end  of  the 
whaling  industry,  there  was  not  even  the  rendering  of  whale  oil. 
Since  Alaskan  economy  is  getting  its  new  start  by  means  of  a 
construction  boom  and  will  have  many  construction  needs  for 
a  long  time,  as  any  rapidly  developing  area  does,  the  first  re- 
quirement is  for  1)  local  processing  plants  to  provide  construc- 
tion materials,  2)  power  to  run  the  plants  and  run  the  transpor- 
tation, and  3)  development  of  local  skilled  labor.  In  1949,  for 
example,  the  first  plant  in  Alaska  to  produce  oxygen  and  acety- 
lene started  operating,  similarly  the  first  plant  to  produce  bulk 
cement,  both  in  the  Railbelt.   These  do  the  Eskimos  no  direct 


46  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

good,  but  indirectly  these  and  similar  developments  provide 
jobs.  It  is  in  the  opportunity  to  supply  skilled  and  semi-skilled 
labor  that  Eskimos  have  the  best  chance  to  be  integrated  into 
a  growing  and  changing  culture. 

The  Eskimos  have  been  threatened  with  the  fate  of  other 
ethnic  minorities  from  unindustrialized  areas  who  were  quickly 
absorbed  into  a  modern  economy,  for  example  Negro  domestic 
servants  and  field  labor  in  the  United  States,  Negro  mine  labor 
in  South  Africa,  plantation  labor  in  New  Guinea,  Mexican  field 
labor  in  the  U.  S.,  and  Hindu  servants  for  the  British  in  India. 
Some  of  these  have  moved  on  into  trade  and  skilled  labor. 
Others  have  been  held  static,  except  that  their  dissatisfaction  has 
increased.  To  keep  from  becoming  handy-men,  dishwashers, 
and  unskilled  laborers  around  the  airfields  and  on  the  construc- 
tion projects,  Eskimos  need  technical  training.  The  apprentice- 
training  program  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor  is  being 
extended  to  Alaska  now  for  the  first  time.  Eskimos  should  be 
fully  incorporated  into  this  program,  as  they  have  a  good  back- 
ground for  technical  work  and  constitute  a  very  valuable  labor 
resource,  already  adapted  to  the  country. 

In  south  and  southeast  Alaska,  power  can  come  from  hydro- 
electric plants.  In  the  summer  of  1950,  a  $20,000,000  hydro- 
electric plant  was  authorized  for  the  Anchorage  area,  to  have  a 
capacity  of  30,000  kilowatts.  This  will  increase  Alaska's  total 
non-military  generating  capacity  by  40%  or  more.  The  Federal 
Power  Commission  has  estimated  that  Alaska  will  use  in  i960 
nearly  seven  times  as  much  electric  power  as  in  1947  when  a 
survey  was  made.  Expansion  of  power  production  and  of  trans- 
portation indirectly  creates  many  jobs.  The  local  people  should 
not  be  ignored  and  submerged  by  a  wave  of  immigrants  from 
the  States,  immigrants  who  settle  down  and  become  year-round 
competitors  for  jobs,  unlike  the  men  who  work  gold  dredges  in 
the  summer  and  live  in  Seattle  in  the  winter.  (Some  men  from 
the  dredges  do  become  trappers  or  move  to  Fairbanks  in  the 
winter.) 

For  northwest  Alaska,  the  most  promising  source  of  heat  and 
power  is  coal.    Among  minerals,  coal  production  was  second 


Present  Status  of  Alaskan  Eskimos— Lantis  47 

only  to  gold  in  1949  in  value  of  product.  Coal  production 
reached  a  new  peak  that  year:  440,000  tons.  Coal  has  been 
produced  in  three  new  locations  in  1950  although  total  pro- 
duction has  decreased  slightly.  Cost  of  transportation  from  the 
Meade  River  mine  in  the  Barrow  area,  the  principal  mine  in 
northwest  Alaska,  makes  the  coal  expensive.  The  Eskimos  now 
need  encouragement  in  locating  and  mining  coal  in  more  ac- 
cessible places.  In  1951,  a  coal  analysis  laboratory  will  be 
opened  at  the  University  of  Alaska,  to  help  the  growing  industry. 
If  Eskimos  can  develop  this  industry  themselves  on  a  seasonal 
basis,  they  can  avoid  becoming  the  Arctic  equivalent  of  South 
African  mine  labor. 

Oil-drilling  by  the  Navy  near  Pt.  Barrow  has  produced  the 
only  boom  in  Eskimo  territory  since  the  gold  rush,  but  even 
though  this  project  is  extended  beyond  1951,  it  is  not  a  reliable 
basis  for  a  regional  economy.  Several  base  metals  are  currently 
needed  and  priced  high  (copper,  lead,  zinc,  tin,  antimony,  mer- 
cury, tungsten,  and  especially  uranium  minerals  which  are 
found  in  the  Haycock  area  in  Seward  Peninsula)  but  until  re- 
cently did  not  receive  a  high  enough  price  to  justify  mining, 
apparently.  Although  the  defense  production  demand  may 
encourage  more  mining— Seward  Peninsula  Eskimos  are  most 
likely  to  be  affected  since  some  of  them  already  are  miners— still 
nothing  looks  so  promising  for  a  long-term  development  as  the 
mining  and  transportation  of  coal.  Even  better  is  the  develop- 
ment of  a  range  of  skills  so  that  the  people  can  change  and  adapt 
if  future  technological  changes  or  depletion  of  natural  resources 
end  some  of  the  local  industries. 

Talk  of  development  of  such  industries  does  not  presuppose 
that  Eskimos  will  entirely  abandon  hunting  and  fishing.  As 
pointed  out  in  "Wildlife  in  the  Economy  of  Alaska  Natives," 
a  paper  given  at  the  16th  North  American  Wildlife  Conference, 
March  1951,  native  families  may  continue  to  depend  on  wild- 
life resources  for  much  of  their  food  and  clothing,  using  cash 
income  for  such  things  as  boats  and  fuel  oil,  ammunition  and 
hardware.  Most  Alaskan  Eskimos  are  in  a  far  better  situation 
than  the  Aleuts  or  the  Athabascan  Indians  of  the  Interior,  nei- 


48  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

ther  of  whom  have  sufficient  natural  resources  of  the  types 
needed  for  modern  industry.  For  example,  when  the  sea-otter 
disappeared  and  later  the  longhaired  furs  went  out  of  style,  the 
Aleut  economy  collapsed.  Furthermore,  the  Aleuts  could  not 
return  to  enough  of  the  old  hunting  and  fishing  complex  to  pro- 
vide even  an  adequate  diet,  because  they  had  lost  both  knowl- 
edge of  the  old  techniques  and  satisfaction  in  using  what  skills 
they  did  have.  Tuberculosis  and  undernourishment  have  nearly 
completed  the  destruction  of  a  formerly  numerous  and  capable 
people. 

If  people  understand  the  Eskimos'  experience  and  interests, 
which  stress  mechanical  ingenuity,  they  can  help  them  adapt 
to  the  new  occupations  and  can  adapt  the  occupations  to  local 
manpower.  Besides  raw-material  resources  and  local  transpor- 
tation, we  must  take  account  of  and  use  well  the  local  human 
resources:  aptitudes,  skills,  social  organization,  and  morale.  The 
alternative  is  a  dependent  people,  whom  all  of  us  will  have  to 
support.  Already,  chiefly  because  north  Alaska  "just  grew,"  the 
largest  native  case-loads  of  Social  Security  (Old  Age  Assistance, 
Aid  to  Dependent  Children,  etc.)  are  in  the  2nd  Division 
(Eskimos)  and  the  4th  Division  (Athabascans). 

Eskimos,  more  than  most  Indians,  were  mechanically-oriented 
before  the  Whites  came.  They  are  a  friendly,  observant,  adapta- 
ble people  who  imitate  new  ways  freely,  admire  ingenuity  and 
self-reliance,  and  are  moderately  competitive.  Present  diffi- 
culties appear  most  seriously  in  personal  relations  and  socio- 
economic organization.  There  has  been  in  many  areas  a  loss 
of  individual  morale  and  integrity,  a  break-up  of  families,  and 
community  disorganization.  We  already  understand  some  of 
the  causes  of  the  growing  dependency  of  Eskimos,  but  they 
need  more  intensive  study  immediately  to  see  just  what  has 
gone  wrong  in  many  Eskimo  villages.  The  explanation  cannot 
be  merely  economic  exploitation  and  lack  of  subsistence  (al- 
though that  has  occurred  at  times),  since  there  still  are  enough 
game  animals  and  fish  in  most  Eskimo  territory,  if  the  people 
are  interested  in  hunting  them.  It  is  not  merely  liquor.  Some- 
thing went  wrong  in  the  individual  before  he  took  to  drinking 


Present  Status  of  Alaskan  Eskimos— Lantis  49 

heavily  and  became  an  habitue  of  the  Nome  jail.  It  is  not  only 
tuberculosis  and  other  diseases,  although  these  are  important. 

We  must  consider  the  more  subtle  factors  of  prestige,  leader- 
ship, opportunity  for  social  advance,  and  economic  self-direc- 
tion. If  Eskimos  were  sufficiently  advanced  to  take  advantage 
of  new  techniques  when  given  reasonable  opportunity— which 
they  have  done—then  they  probably  were  too  advanced  to  be 
treated  as  child-like  dependents.  We  must  try  to  see  realis- 
tically how  Eskimos  and  Whites  have  reacted  to  each  other, 
and  how  they  can  work  together  in  a  society  that,  despite  its 
remote  location  and  scattered  population,  is  becoming  surpris- 
ingly urban  and  industrial  in  its  standards,  attitudes,  and  out- 
look for  the  future,  no  matter  what  are  the  present  physical 
conditions  of  living. 

Now  let  us  see  what  ethnological  and  social  anthropological 
information  is  available  on  Alaskan  Eskimos. 

Alaska's  west  coast  seems  to  have  had  a  longer  history  of  Es- 
kimo culture,  a  much  higher  development  of  this  culture  (in 
social  organization,  art,  ceremonial,  and  probably  other  aspects), 
a  denser  Eskimo  population,  and  a  greater  amount  of  local 
variation  than  any  other  region  in  the  whole  Eskimo  domain. 
It  should  have  attracted  many  students,  but  did  not.  After,  let 
us  say,  1880  it  was  not  nearly  so  difficult  to  reach  as  the  Victoria 
Island  region  north  of  Canada.  In  fact  a  large  fleet  of  whaling 
ships  was  going  there  regularly  25  years  before  1880.  It  was 
not  an  alien  country.  Bering  Sea  and  even  much  of  the  Arctic 
coast  north  of  Seward  Peninsula  were  not  so  cold  and  barren  as 
the  Canadian  Arctic  archipelago.  Yet  scientific  monographs  on 
Alaskan  Eskimo  culture,  including  language,  published  between 
1880  and  1930  can  be  counted  on  fewer  than  ten  fingers.  Per- 
haps someone  like  Sir  John  Franklin  should  have  got  lost. 
People  going  to  Alaska  to  find  him  might  incidentally  have 
found— scientifically— the  Eskimos.  Or,  better  still,  they  might 
have  undertaken  a  scientific  program  such  as  the  Danes  visual- 
ized and  supported  for  Greenland,  and  as  we  are  doing  here  at 
last. 

In  the  next  twenty  years,  Frederica  deLaguna,  Henry  Collins, 


50  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Froelich  Rainey,  Helge  Larsen,  Louis  Giddings,  and  a  very 
few  others  began  to  present  not  only  masses  of  personally  gath- 
ered field  data  but  also  organization  and  analysis  of  scattered 
material  from  earlier  observers,  and  finally  basic  interpretation. 
As  of  1950,  the  record  is  spotty.  Only  one  full  modern  lin- 
guistic study  has  been  undertaken,  by  Prof.  L.  L.  Hammerich 
on  Nunivak  Island,  but  not  yet  published.  Thorough  and  ex- 
tensive archaeology  has  been  done  at  Pt.  Hope,  on  St.  Lawrence 
Island,  in  caves  on  Seward  Peninsula,  at  Cape  Denbigh  and  in 
a  more  limited  way  at  Bristol  Bay  and  Cook  Inlet.  Archaeo- 
logical reconnaissance  has  been  done  more  widely,  especially 
along  rivers  and  where  gold-dredging  has  revealed  ancient  arti- 
facts. Although  archaeology  has  been  started  elsewhere,  there 
still  are  great  areas,  along  the  Kuskokwim  River  and  between 
the  Kuskokwim  and  Yukon  deltas  for  example,  that  are  rich  in 
sites  but  entirely  uninvestigated.  In  any  case,  although  archae- 
ology gives  important  culture  history,  it  does  not  tell  much 
about  the  present  situation  of  the  Eskimos. 

The  most  massive  ethnography  to  date  is  E.  W.  Nelson's 
description  of  his  journeys,  collections,  and  observations  in  the 
years  around  1880.  He  covered  the  lower  Yukon  and  the  coast 
northward  around  Norton  Sound  toward  but  not  so  far  as  Ber- 
ing Strait.  By  piecing  together  missionaries'  accounts,  some 
good  but  never  comprehensive  modern  ethnographic  papers, 
government  reports,  and  miscellaneous  notes,  one  can  get  the 
principal  elements  of  the  culture  of  the  larger  Eskimo  groups  1) 
from  Barrow  to  Kotzebue  and  the  Kobuk  Valley,  2)  Cape  Prince 
of  Wales  and  the  Bering  Strait  islands.  3)  the  Yukon  Delta,  and 
4)  Nunivak  Island.  For  other  localities,  we  have  only  bits  and 
pieces.  Even  in  most  of  the  larger  works,  material  culture  and 
graphic  arts  are  stressed  to  the  virtual  exclusion  of  social  organi- 
zation. Religion  and  folklore  have  received  some  attention  but 
not  the  more  individual  psychological  aspects  of  culture,  es- 
pecially outside  mythology  and  belief.  The  explanation  for 
anthropologists'  almost  complete  disregard  of  social  structure 
and  their  concentration  on  technology  may  be  due  to  their  own 
needs.   They  needed  and  appreciated  Eskimo  technics  in  order 


Present  Status  of  Alaskan  Eskimos— Lantis  51 

to  travel  and  work  in  the  Arctic.  Also,  Eskimo  material  culture 
was  so  beautifully  adapted  to  the  environment,  so  functional 
and  artistic  that  it  became  an  ethnographic  showpiece.  On  Es- 
kimo social  relationships,  the  anthropologist  did  not  have  so 
much  to  show  off  to  his  colleagues.  Now  we  are  perhaps  more 
sophisticated  and  ready  to  look  at  the  remainder  of  Eskimo 
culture. 

One  full  study  of  acculturation  has  been  undertaken,  by  Doro- 
thy Thompson  at  Nome;  and  M.  Lantis  has  started  studies  in 
government  administration  for  Eskimo  welfare  and  in  relations 
of  Eskimo  culture  and  personality.  Yet  again,  in  these  fields 
little  has  been  published.  Two  non-anthropologists,  Anderson 
and  Eells,  in  the  toco's  published  a  large  socio-economic  survey 
of  west  Alaska;  and  teachers,  physicians,  and  missionaries  have 
described  their  villages. 

On  the  whole,  the  fullest  and  best  work  has  been  done  in  pre- 
history. The  product  of  this  work  is  so  rich  and  exciting  that 
anthropologists  should  be  stimulated  to  see  what  they  can  learn 
about  modern  Eskimos  as  well  as  their  ancestors.  Certainly  the 
need  is  immediate  and  serious. 


PRESERVATION  OF  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  AND 
ETHNOLOGICAL  MATERIAL  IN  ALASKA 

Frederica  de  Laguna 

Associate  Professor  of  Anthropology 

Bryn  Mawr  College 

Bryn  Mawr,  Pa. 

In  discussing  the  problems  of  preserving  archaeological  sites 
in  Alaska  and  of  recording  native  folklore,  songs,  ceremonies  and 
other  ethnographic  material,  we  must  keep  in  mind  that  the 
archaeological  or  ethnological  situation  varies  enormously  as 
we  go  from  region  to  region  in  the  vast  Territory,  so  that  no 
single  formula  can  be  applied,  and  we  must  take  into  account 
differences  in  natural  environment,  in  the  character  of  the 
aboriginal  populations,  and  in  the  ways  in  which  the  white  man 
has  affected  them.  We  must  also  recognize  a  diversity,  even  a 
conflict  of  interests  between  groups  who  might  be  affected  by 
any  plans  for  anthropological  conservation. 

'An  Act  for  the  Preservation  of  American  Antiquities,"  ap- 
proved by  Congress  June  8,  1906,  prohibits,  under  penalties 
ranging  up  to  fines  of  $500  and  90  days  imprisonment,  the 
excavation,  injury,  or  destruction  of  historic  or  prehistoric  sites 
and  objects,  on  lands  owned  or  controlled  by  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment. It  permits  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
establish  by  proclamation  as  national  monuments  tracts  of  land 
on  which  such  objects  or  sites  are  located.  It  provides  also  for 
the  granting  of  permits  for  excavation  to  scientific  and  educa- 
tional institutions.  The  Secretaries  of  the  Interior,  of  Agricul- 
ture, and  of  War  are  charged  with  the  responsibilities  of  issuing 
such  permits  and  of  establishing  uniform  rules  and  regulations 
for  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  the  act  on  lands  subject  to 
their  jurisdiction.  These  uniform  rules  were  approved  on 
December  28,  1906,  and  still  apply  to  the  Territory  of  Alaska, 
although  the  Interior  Department  has  recently  added  a  few 
special  rules,  which  we  shall  mention  presently.    With  the  re- 

52 


Preservation  of  Archaeological  Sites— de  Laguna         53 

organization  of  the  armed  forces  it  may  be  desirable  to  have 
responsibility  transferred  from  the  Secretary  of  War  to  the 
Secretary  of  Defence,  since  this  would  provide  for  legal  pro- 
tection of  sites  within  Army,  Navy,  and  Air  Force  reservations. 
However,  the  legal  picture  will  again  be  changed  if  Alaska 
becomes  a  state.  Presumably  the  National  Forests  of  south- 
eastern and  southwestern  Alaska  would  still  remain  under  the 
control  of  the  Forest  Service  (Agriculture),  and  the  few  National 
Monuments  be  under  the  care  of  the  Park  Service  (Interior). 
As  we  know,  the  few  native  reservations  are  threatened  by  the 
present  statehood  bills,  but  even  were  they  preserved,  the  bulk 
of  the  Territory,  and  precisely  those  areas  where  archaeological 
sites  are  in  most  serious  jeopardy,  would  pass  from  Federal  juris- 
diction to  that  of  the  new  State.  In  that  event,  state  legislation 
would  have  to  be  devised  to  care  for  what  had  been  public  lands. 

However,  we  know  that  the  Antiquities  Act  has  not  been  en- 
forced, and  may  be  unenforceable.  It  is  even  unknown  to  the 
bulk  of  residents  in  and  visitors  to  the  Territory.  Paradoxically, 
it  is  only  professional  archaeologists  who  are  likely  to  fall  afoul 
of  the  law,  through  some  inadvertent  failure  to  conform  to  the 
detailed  regulations,  since  it  is  only  those  who  apply  for  per- 
mits who  come  to  the  attention  of  the  agents  of  the  government. 
To  patrol  and  protect  Alaska's  sites  against  the  depredations 
of  unauthorized  diggers,  would  require  a  far  larger  personnel 
than  the  Federal  agencies  now  responsible  can  supply,  and  might 
demand  a  greater  indifference  to  popular  local  feeling  than  we 
can  expect  of  law  enforcement  officers  who  need  public  support 
for  the  effective  performance  of  more  urgent  duties. 

Actually  it  is  only  the  site  which  is  still  unknown  that  is  com- 
pletely safe.  The  dense  forests  of  southeastern  and  parts  of 
central  and  southwestern  Alaska,  inaccessibility,  or  poverty  of 
spectacular  material  are  still  the  best  protection  for  archaeologi- 
cal remains.  On  the  whole  we  need  not  be  too  concerned  with 
the  destruction  of  sites  in  the  panhandle  and  interior  of  Alaska, 
except  possibly  in  the  vicinity  of  the  larger  towns.  But  it  would 
certainly  do  no  harm  if  all  members  of  the  Forest,  and  Fish  and 
Wildlife  Services  and  the  Geological  Survey  were  reminded  to 


54  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

be  alert  for  possible  vandalism.  Field  personnel  might  be  furn- 
ished with  light  weight  signs,  to  post  at  known  sites  within  their 
territories,  to  warn  against  vandalism.  The  public  could  be 
made  aware  of  the  provisions  of  the  Antiquities  Act  and  its 
importance  through  notices  in  all  territorial  Post  Offices. 

It  is  the  large  rich  sites  near  military  establishments  on  the 
one  hand,  and  those  on  the  Eskimo  coast  on  the  other  which 
are  in  the  gravest  danger,  and  many  of  these  have  already  been 
gutted  or  destroyed.  These  are  sites  on  Kodiak,  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  and  on  the  shores  of  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic  Ocean. 
During  the  war,  a  number  of  important  shell  heaps  were  wholly 
or  partially  destroyed  in  the  course  of  military  construction,  and 
their  loss  we  can  mourn  as  one  of  the  minor  sacrifices  demanded 
by  the  war.  However,  further  damage  was  and  is  still  being 
done  by  the  men  stationed  at  military  bases,  and  by  the  civilian 
employees  of  construction  companies  at  these  bases.  These  men 
regard  digging  for  curios  as  something  to  do  in  their  leisure 
time.  It  is  not  only  permitted  by  the  commanding  officers,  but 
in  some  instances  has  even  been  encouraged  as  an  antidote  to 
boredom  and  homesickness.  Surely  other  solutions  to  the  prob- 
lem of  morale  might  be  found,  even  though  commanding 
officers  might  be  loath  to  prohibit  what  to  them  may  seem  a 
harmless  Sunday  afternoon  amusement!  It  might,  we  must 
admit,  sometimes  be  difficult  to  make  such  a  prohibition  effec- 
tive, for  the  demand  for  curios  would  create  a  lucrative  black 
market  for  objects  dug  up  by  the  natives. 

The  second  serious  source  of  damage  is  from  the  Eskimos, 
for  whom  the  great  archaeological  sites  in  their  country  are 
literally  mines  of  fossil  ivory,  and  this  they  indiscriminately  dig 
up  for  its  commercial  value.  In  the  past,  certainly,  archaeologi- 
cal collections  have  even  been  purchased  from  the  natives  by 
museums  and  this  has  also  encouraged  their  activities.  In  some 
villages  and  for  some  Eskimos  the  sale  of  ivory  carvings  repre- 
sents the  only  or  the  major  source  of  cash  income,  and  the  dark 
colored  fossil  ivory  fetches  a  higher  price  than  does  the  white 
ivory  of  newly  slain  walruses.  Before  the  Russians  closed  the 
borders  of  Siberia,  East  Cape  was  one  of  the  main  sources  of 


Preservation  of  Archaeological  Sites— de  Laguna         55 

fossil  ivory,  but  at  present  the  sites  on  the  American  side,  for 
example,  on  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Diomede  Islands,  are  the  only 
places  where  it  can  be  obtained,  and  the  destruction  of  some  of 
these  sites  is  virtually  complete.  An  attempt  to  prohibit  all 
digging  by  the  Eskimos  would  be  useless,  and  would  result 
simply  in  inflated  prices  and  poaching. 

Even  though  the  preservation  of  scientific  data  is  desirable,  we 
must  recognize  that  the  Eskimos  feel  that  they  have  a  claim  to 
exploit  the  garbage  heaps  of  their  ancestors.  The  sale  of  carv- 
ings, including  those  of  fossil  ivory,  has  been  encouraged  by 
the  Indian  Arts  and  Crafts  Board,  and  the  Eskimos'  interests 
in  fossil  ivory  protected  by  the  special  regulations  attached  to 
permits  granted  by  the  Interior  Department  to  archaeologists. 

Thus:  "All  materials  found  shall  be  deposited  in  the 

Museum,  with  the  exception  of  unworked  ivory,  fossil  or  more 
recent,  together  with  such  complete,  partially  worked,  damaged 
and  broken  artifacts  of  fossil  or  more  recently  worked  ivory 
which  the  Museum  does  not  require  for  scientific  study  or  dis- 
play. The  material  that  is  not  to  be  retained  by  the  Museum  shall 
be  disposed  of  under  agreement  with  the  village  concerned,  such 
agreement  to  be  subject  to  review  by  the  Superintendent  of  the 
Alaskan  Native  Service."  Unfortunately  there  is  not  enough 
authorized  archaeological  work  being  conducted  in  Alaska  to 
supply  the  native  carvers  with  such  ivory,  and  because  ivory  is 
traded  from  hand  to  hand  among  the  Eskimos  it  is  impossible 
to  know  the  source  of  any  piece,  so  that  it  would  in  any  case  be 
impossible  for  the  Indian  Arts  and  Crafts  Board  or  others  to 
purchase  only  the  carvings  made  from  ivory  obtained  from 
archaeologists. 

What  then  can  we  suggest  that  might  be  effective  and  fair? 
First,  all  Federal  and  Territorial  officials  should  be  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  Antiquities  Act  and  should  be  asked  to  report 
violators.  This  might  lessen  depredations,  some  of  which  are 
unfortunately  committed  by  these  officials,  but  Ave  must  not 
expect  that  school  teachers  in  isolated  villages  will  always  place 
law  enforcement  above  their  need  for  maintaining  friendly 
relations  with  local  residents,  fellow  workers,  or  visiting  superi- 


56  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

ors.   Dr.  Laughlin,  whose  knowledge  of  the  Aleutians  is  exten- 
sive, has  suggested  that  the  assistance  of  the  Coast  Guard  be 
enlisted.  Since  their  vessels  visit  many  of  the  isolated  settlements 
on  the  Aleutians  and  along  the  shores  of  Bering  Sea,  they  could 
keep  an  eye  on  some  of  the  important  sites  without  too  much 
difficulty,  and  the  knowledge  of  their  vigilance  would  act  as  a 
salutary  deterrent.    Certainly  the  commanding  officers  at  mili- 
tary establishments  should  be  made  aware  of  the  Antiquities 
Act  and  of  their  responsibilities  in  preventing  its  violation  by 
their  men  and  by  the  civilian  employees  at  their  bases.    It  is 
possible,  however,  that  an  amendment  of  the  Act  might  be 
necessary  to  secure  effective  action  by  officers  of  the  Coast  Guard, 
the  Air  Force  and  the  Navy.  The  interests  of  the  Eskimos  might 
advantageously  be  recognized  by  adopting  a  procedure  followed 
in  Denmark,  that  is,  of  exempting  from  the  provisions  of  the 
law  some  sites,  already  so  damaged  that  they  possess  little  or  no 
scientific  value,  and  officially  opening  these  for  native  exploita- 
tion of  fossil  ivory.   In  addition,  a  new  source  of  income  should 
be  encouraged  to  take  the  place  of  work  in  ivory,  such  as  the 
making  of  wooden  toys  or  artistic  carving  of  slate.  Where  actual 
construction  work  threatens  to  destroy  archaeological  remains 
it  is  surely  the  duty  of  the  government  agencies  responsible  for 
the  construction  to  make  every  effort  to  salvage  as  much  data 
as  possible,  although  we  realize  that  military  urgency  even  in 
peacetime  may  not  give  sufficient  time  and  there  may  be  no 
funds  to  secure  the  services  of  an  archaeologist.  Still,  the  princi- 
ple ought  to  be  recognized. 

Lastly,  we  should  not  suppose  that  all  damage  has  been  due  to 
violation  of  the  law.  There  have  been  a  number  of  unfortunate 
cases  in  which  permits  to  excavate  have  been  granted  to  institu- 
tions which  sponsored  the  activities  of  men  who  posed  as 
archaeologists  but  who  lacked  the  training  and  sense  of  responsi- 
bility of  the  profession,  or  to  institutions  that  sent  out  expedi- 
tions that  did  some  archaeological  collecting  on  the  side  without 
having  even  a  nominal  archaeologist  in  the  party,  though  the 
members  might  be  qualified  scientists  in  other  fields. 


Preservation  of  Archaeological  Sites— de  Laguna         57 

The  accelerated  rate  with  which  the  aboriginal  native  cultures 
are  being  transformed  before  our  eyes  makes  the  preservation 
of  ethnographic  and  linguistic  material  a  problem  to  be  solved 
within  the  next  ten— no,  five— years,  or  to  many  tribes  and  com- 
munities the  ethnographer  will  come  too  late,  for  the  knowledge 
of  ceremonial  ways  no  longer  practiced,  of  songs  and  stories  no 
longer  repeated,  of  beliefs  and  attitudes  no  longer  honored,  will 
die  with  a  few  old  men  and  women,  now  in  their  seventies  and 
eighties.  The  need  for  salvaging  this  information  is  most  acute 
in  those  communities  where  the  old  socio-economic  order  has 
been  disrupted  by  the  introduction  of  the  white  man's  money 
economy  (by  commercial  fishing  or  by  construction  projects), 
where  demoralization  has  resulted  from  the  presence  of  military 
establishments,  or  where  school  and  church  have  been  successful 
in  educating  and  reorienting  the  natives  towards  the  new  world. 

These  critical  areas  embrace  all  of  southeastern  Alaska,  which 
includes  the  northern  outposts  of  Haida  and  Tsimshian,  all  of 
the  Tlingit  peoples,  and  the  few  surviving  Eyak.  Dr.  Garfield 
has  outlined  the  situation  here  and  has  stressed  the  need  for 
coordinated  and  integrated  studies.  On  the  basis  of  my  own 
more  limited  experience  in  this  area,  I  can  only  urge  the  im- 
portance of  research  which  will  take  account  of  local  differences 
among  the  heterogeneous  Tlingit,  and  would  place  a  high  pri- 
ority on  studies  of  Eyak  linguistics  and  social  organization. 

The  second  area  includes  the  Eskimos  of  Prince  William 
Sound  and  Kenai  Peninsula,  the  Athabaskans  of  Cook  Inlet, 
the  Eskimos  of  Kodiak  Island  and  the  Aleut.  The  informants 
among  the  first-mentioned  mainland  groups  who  contributed 
to  the  pioneer  ethnographic  studies  made  fifteen  to  twenty  years 
ago  are  dead  and  we  do  not  know  what  opportunities  are  still 
left  for  research,  although  many  important  questions  remain 
unanswered.  Dr.  Laughlin  reports  a  still  fertile  field  in  Kodiak. 
He  has  for  some  time  been  conducting  coordinated  researches 
in  Aleut  ethnology,  linguistics,  physical  anthropology  and  ar- 
chaeology. Here  the  most  critical  community  is  Atka,  where 
deculteration  is  affecting  not  only  the  local  natives  but  the  Attu 


58  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

people  transplanted  among  them.  Valuable  material  can  still 
be  gathered  also  at  Belkovski  and  on  the  Pribiloffs. 

Dr.  Lantis  has  given  a  vivid  picture  of  the  situation  among 
the  more  northern  Eskimo,  and  this  has  also  been  discussed 
with  Drs.  Rainey  and  Giddings.  Aside  from  Point  Barrow, 
where  present  Naval  construction  cannot  but  produce  profound 
changes,  the  most  acculurated  communities  are  those  which 
have  grown  up  as  artificial  aggregations  of  formerly  separate, 
more  mobile  groups  about  some  mission,  school  or  trading 
center.  Here,  the  lack  of  an  integrated  community  organization 
and  of  cultural  patterns  adjusted  to  year-round  settled  life  have 
contributed  to  a  breakdown  of  the  old  culture.  As  examples, 
we  can  name  Deering,  Teller,  Nome,  Golofnin,  Shaktolik,  Elim, 
Unalakleet,  Hooper  Bay  and  Nunivak.  Most  of  these  lie  within 
the  relatively  little  studied  Bering  Sea  area. 

I  cannot  report  on  the  situation  in  the  interior,  except  to 
mention  that  already  fifteen  years  ago  deculturation  and  de- 
moralization of  the  Athabaskans  was  progressing  rapidly.  De- 
spite valuable  pioneer  studies  in  some  areas,  chiefly  on  the  Yu- 
kon, how  little  we  know  about  the  cultural  and  linguistic 
differences  upon  which  tribal  classifications  have  been  sketched, 
or  about  the  language,  folklore,  social  organization  of  the 
peoples  of  the  Copper  River,  Tanana,  Middle  Yukon,  or 
Kuskokwim! 

Each  of  these  four  major  areas  presents  its  own  peculiar  prob- 
lems for  fieldwork,  not  simply  theoretical  but  practical  prob- 
lems, and  furthermore  each  settlement  poses  its  own  version 
of  these  problems.  Effective  salvaging  of  records  of  native  life 
involves  the  formulation  of  at  least  four  areal  programs,  and 
for  some  of  these  areas  such  plans  cannot  be  drawn  up  now 
without  preliminary  surveys.  These  should  consider  for  each 
area  what  are  the  possibilities  in  the  various  villages;  who  are 
the  best  informants  and  what  they  can  offer;  what  cooperation 
or  opposition  can  be  expected  from  native  leaders,  native  or 
white  missionaries,  teachers,  and  other  personalities;  what  are 
the  attitudes  towards  the  ethnologist  or  linguist;  what  time  of 
year  is  best  for  fieldwork;  is  electric  power  available  for  wire- 


Preservation  of  Archaeological  Sites— de  Laguna         59 

recorders  or  photo-flood  lights  and  would  these  be  tolerated; 
how  does  one  travel,  where  can  one  live,  what  equipment  is 
necessary;  and  lastly,  how  much  money  is  needed  for  the  job. 
Can  such  fieldwork  be  entrusted  to  relatively  inexperienced 
students,  or  is  the  situation  such  that  it  demands  the  veteran? 
For  we  must  emphasize  that  the  acculurated  communities  gen- 
erally require  the  most  patient  and  tactful  approach  and  often 
long  or  repeated  visits  before  confidence  is  established.  The 
question  of  small  teams  representing  both  sexes  and  different 
professional  specialities  versus  the  less  disruptive  visits  of  single 
workers  can  only  be  decided  upon  the  basis  of  local  knowledge. 
We  should  also  consider  the  value  of  intensive  studies  at  richer 
and  less  acculturated  settlements  as  a  balance  to  rapid  and  more 
superficial  salvaging  of  data  at  other  localities  within  the  same 
tribal  area. 

In  short  we  need  one  or  two  central  clearing  houses  where 
information  can  be  pooled,  plans  drawn,  and  work  coordinated. 
The  Arctic  Institute  of  North  America  and  the  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology  are  obviously  such  centers  and  could 
render  invaluable  service  in  coordinating  the  research  programs 
of  private  institutions  and  individuals.  Time  cannot  be  bought, 
but  were  the  Congress  to  realize  the  urgency  and  importance  of 
preserving  the  records  of  our  native  Alaskan  heritage  and  make 
available  Federal  funds  with  which  to  establish  firmly  the  new 
Arctic  Institute  and  to  strengthen  and  envigorate  our  world- 
honored  Bureau,  they  could  help  us  to  make  full  use  of  the 
little  time  that  is  left. 


PRESERVATION  OF 
ARCHAEOLOGICAL  REMAINS  IN  CANADA 

Diamond  Jenness 

Former  Chief,  Division  of  Anthropology 
National  Museum  of  Canada 

I  have  been  asked  to  supplement  Dr.  de  Laguna's  paper  by 
outlining  the  efforts  that  Canada  has  made  to  protect  her  Es- 
kimo remains,  and  the  success  that  has  attended  those  efforts. 

First  of  all,  it  is  very  important  to  remember  that  Canada's 
Arctic  and  sub-Arctic  regions  are  not  organized  into  self-govern- 
ing provinces  similar  to  Ontario  and  British  Columbia,  but  are 
administered  directly  from  Ottawa  by  the  federal  government 
itself.  The  head  of  the  administration  is  a  federal  cabinet  min- 
ister whose  Deputy  bears  for  this  purpose  the  title  "Commis- 
sioner of  the  North  West  Territories  and  Yukon."  The 
Commissioner  is  assisted  by  a  government-appointed  Council, 
all  of  whose  members  were,  until  recently,  senior  civil  servants, 
one  a  high-ranking  officer  of  the  Royal  Canadian  Mounted 
Police.  Acting  on  the  advice  of  this  Council,  the  Commissioner 
issues  ordinances  for  the  regulation  of  trade,  mining  and  other 
activities  within  the  region,  ordinances  which  the  Royal  Cana- 
dian Mounted  Police  then  enforces  through  its  numerous  out- 
posts. These  ordinances  have  no  validity  outside  the  Arctic 
and  sub-Arctic,  because  farther  south  the  provinces  control 
their  own  natural  resources.  They  do  not  apply  even  to  the 
Labrador  Peninsula,  because  that  region  also  is  divided  between 
two  of  the  provinces,  Quebec  and  Newfoundland.  Although 
there  are  many  Eskimo  (and  Indian)  remains  in  the  peninsula, 
neither  of  those  provinces  pays  any  attention  to  them.  The 
federal  government,  however,  has  instituted  a  strict  watch  over 
the  remains  in  the  North  West  Territories,  which  fortunately 
contains  by  far  the  largest  number. 

60 


Preservation  of  Archaeological  Sites-Canada— Jenness      61 

In  the  middle  of  the  decade  1920—1930  I  was  greatly  per- 
turbed by  the  spoliation  of  Eskimo  ruins  in  the  Hudson  Bay 
region,  not  by  white  persons  so  much  as  by  the  Eskimos  them- 
selves, who  were  finding  a  profitable  and  growing  market  among 
traders,  missionaries,  and  the  handful  of  tourists  who  travelled 
on  the  vessels  that  carried  supplies  each  summer  to  the  posts  of 
the  two  trading  companies  then  operating  in  the  region,  Revi- 
llon  Freres  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  In  one  year,  it 
was  reported  to  me,  14  boxes  of  archaeological  specimens  were 
collected  and  shipped  from  two  islands  alone,  Coats  and  Man- 
sell,  just  inside  the  entrance  to  Hudson  Bay.  Now  it  so  hap- 
pened that  during  this  same  period  an  archaeological  committee 
appointed  by  the  old  League  of  Nations  had  drawn  up  a  series 
of  regulations  for  the  protection  of  archaeological  remains,  and 
the  League  was  recommending  their  adoption  by  its  various 
member  nations.  The  eyes  of  the  committee,  it  is  true,  had  been 
focussed  largely  on  the  Mediterranean  area,  and  its  regulations 
were  especially  designed  for  countries  like  Greece  and  Egypt. 
However,  with  minor  modifications,  they  seemed  applicable  to 
Canada  also;  and  I  therefore  recommended  their  adoption  by 
the  Canadian  government.  Thus  came  into  being  Canada's 
"Ordinance  Respecting  the  Care  and  Protection  of  Archaeologi- 
cal Sites  in  the  North  West  Territories,"  an  ordinance  whose 
wording  has  been  altered  a  little  since  it  was  first  promulgated 
twenty  odd  years  ago,  but  whose  substance  has  remained  prac- 
tically unchanged.  It  represents  an  attempt  to  protect  all  archae- 
ological, and  historical,  remains  throughout  northern  Canada 
from  its  Arctic  Alaskan  boundary  to  Hudson  Bay;  but  being 
a  federal  government  ordinance,  it  offers  no  protection,  as  I 
have  already  stated,  to  Eskimo  and  Indian  remains  in  the  Labra- 
dor Peninsula. 

I  will  not  read  the  whole  ordinance.  Its  meat  is  contained  in 
five  sections,  3,  12,  13,  14,  and  16.  Section  3  reads; 

No  person  shall  excavate  or  investigate  any  archaeological  site 
in  the  Territories  or  export  from  the  Territories  or  collect  any 
archaeological  specimens  unless  he  is  the  holder  of  a  permit. 


62  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Section  12: 

(1)  At  the  close  of  each  season's  field  work,  every  holder  of  a  per- 

mit shall  furnish,  in  duplicate,  to  the  Commissioner  a  re- 
port on  the  work  performed. 

(2)  A  report  under  subsection  one  shall  contain 

(a)  full  details  of  the  work  performed  including  details  of 

any  stratification  or  other  chronological  evidence  en- 
countered; 

(b)  a  descriptive  catalogue  of  all  specimens  collected; 

(c)  copies  of  all  photographs   taken,   land  maps   and   plans 

made  in  connection  with  the  work,  together  with  ex- 
planatory notes;  and 

(d)  such  other  information  as   the  Commissioner  may  pre- 

scribe. 

Section  13: 

Any  archaeological  specimen  that  is  taken 

(a)  by  a  person  who  is  not  the  holder  of  a  permit,  or 

(b)  by  a  person  contrary  to  this  Ordinance  or  the  regulations 

or  the  terms  of  a  permit 
may  be  seized  by  a  person  authorized  by  the  Commissioner  to 
seize  such  specimens  and  may  be  disposed  of  as  the  Commis- 
sioner thinks  fit. 

Section  14: 

(1)  All  archaeological  specimens  collected  by  the  holder  of  a  per- 

mit shall  be  submitted  by  him  to  the  Commissioner  for 
examination  by  the  archaeological  officers  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  Canada. 

(2)  The  Commissioner  may  direct  that  any  specimens  submitted 

under  subsection  one  be  turned  over  to  the  National  Mu- 
seum of  Canada  or  Public  Archives  of  Canada,  and,  upon 
such  direction  being  made,  the  specimens  so  directed  be- 
come the  property  of  His  Majesty. 

(3)  Where  specimens  are  not  directed  to  be  turned  over  to  the 

National  Museum  of  Canada  or  Public  Archives  of  Canada, 
the  Commissioner  may  return  such  specimens  to  the  holder 
of  the  permit  on  condition  that  the  holder  undertakes  to 
deposit  them  permanently  in  some  public  institution  where 


Preservation  of  Archaeological  Sites-Canada— J enness      63 

they  will  be  available  for  study  or  the  Commissioner  may 
otherwise  dispose  of  them  as  he  thinks  fit. 
(4)  The  Commissioner  may  allow  the  holder  of  a  permit  to  retain 
the  specimens  collected  under  a  permit  during  such  period 
as  the  Commissioner  may  approve  for  the  purposes  of  pre- 
paring a  scientific  report  before  they  are  submitted  for 
examination  and  disposal  under  this  section. 

And,  finally,  Section  16: 

A  person  who  violates  the  provisions  of  this  Ordinance  or  the 
regulations  is  guilty  of  an  offence  and  is  liable  on  summary  convic- 
tion to  a  fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars  or  to  imprisonment 
for  a  term  not  exceeding  six  months  or  to  both  fine  and  imprison- 
ment. 

Just  as  important  as  the  wording  of  any  ordinance  is  the  spirit 
that  actuates  it,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  administered.  I 
need  hardly  state  that  the  Canadian  government  has  never 
wished  to  discourage  archaeological  work  in  any  way,  but  only 
to  ensure  that  it  is  carried  out  scientifically  and  the  specimens 
preserved  where  they  can  be  examined  by  other  archaeologists. 
Foreigners  are  as  welcome  to  dig  in  its  northern  territories  as 
Canadians,  but  both  alike  must  be  accredited  by  recognized 
museums  or  other  scientific  organizations.  Up  until  1941,  when 
I  was  detached  from  the  National  Museum  of  Canada  for  war 
work,  the  North  West  Territories  administration  used  to  con- 
sult me  whenever  it  had  any  doubt  about  a  man's  credentials. 
At  the  present  time  it  seeks  the  advice  of  Dr.  Alcock,  the  Curator 
of  the  National  Museum. 

Some  of  you  may  regard  as  unnecessarily  severe  those  clauses 
of  the  ordinance  that  require  every  investigator  to  present  a 
detailed  report  of  his  discoveries  to  the  Canadian  government 
at  the  end  of  each  field  season  and  to  submit  for  its  examination 
all  his  specimens.  In  actual  practice,  however,  they  have  oper- 
ated quite  smoothly  and  created  little  or  no  vexation,  apart 
from  one  or  two  exceptional  cases.  The  administration,  under- 
standing that  it  takes  an  archaeologist  months  and  sometimes 
years  to  digest  his  material  and  prepare  a  full  report,  has  been 


64  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

satisfied  with  only  a  general  outline  of  his  field  work  and  dis- 
coveries, an  outline  such  as  might  be  given  to  Science  or  the 
Journal  of  American  Archaeology.  No  genuine  scientist  will 
ever  object  to  submitting  a  preliminary  report  of  this  nature, 
especially  since  without  it  the  Canadian  government  could  not 
maintain  an  adequate  record  of  archaeological  work  within  its 
Arctic. 

More  debatable  than  the  clause  requiring  the  presentation 
of  a  report  are  those  dealing  with  the  examination  and  dispo- 
sition of  the  specimens.  When  first  laid  down  this  regulation 
had  in  view  two  purposes:  first,  to  check  the  peddling  for  sale  of 
archaeological  specimens  and  to  ensure  their  preservation  in  a 
public  institution;  and,  second,  to  retain  within  Canada,  if  pos- 
sible, objects  of  exceptional  scientific  or  historical  value— or  at 
least  replicas  of  those  objects.  The  authorities  had  no  intention 
of  adopting  a  dog-in-the-manger  policy,  of  letting  any  ultrana- 
tionalism  run  away  with  them.  On  the  contrary,  they  hoped  by 
these  clauses  to  encourage  closer  cooperation  among  Canadian 
and  foreign  archaeologists,  recognizing  that  the  scientist  who 
is  sponsored  by  a  reputable  institution  works  for  the  benefit  of 
every  one.  In  interpreting  the  clauses,  therefore,  they  have  tried 
to  exercise  tact  and  common  sense,  to  follow  the  spirit  of  the 
ordinance  rather  than  its  literal  wording.  My  impression  is  that 
they  have  succeeded  very  well,  on  the  whole,  and  I  think  Dr. 
Collins  and  others  will  agree  with  me. 

The  penalties  laid  down  for  infringement  of  the  ordinance 
are  certainly  severe— a  fine  of  up  to  $1000  and  (or)  imprison- 
ment up  to  six  months.  As  far  as  I  am  aware,  these  penalties 
have  never  been  imposed,  nor  has  any  charge  of  infringement 
been  actually  carried  to  the  law  courts.  Yet  the  liability  to  such 
penalties  has  certainly  been  a  powerful  deterrent  to  unauthor- 
ized excavations.  One  still  hears,  occasionally,  of  an  ancient 
house  ruin  being  dug  into  by  a  casual  curio  hunter,  nearly 
always  an  Eskimo;  but  the  wholesale  destruction  of  archaeologi- 
cal sites  that  seemed  to  be  impending  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago 
has  been  definitely  averted. 

The  history  of  your  own  Antiquities  Act  has  shown  that  it  is 


Preservation  of  Archaeological  Sites-Canada— Jenness      65 

futile  to  threaten  a  lawbreaker  with  penalties  unless  you  have 
the  force  to  back  up  your  threats  and  are  prepared  to  use  it. 
The  force  behind  the  Canadian  archaeological  ordinance  is  the 
Royal  Canadian  Mounted  Police,  which  has  established  its  out- 
posts far  and  wide  throughout  the  Arctic.  The  men  who  have 
manned  these  outposts  have  been— until  recently  at  least— hand- 
picked  individuals,  adventure-loving  and  ambitious,  who  have 
found  in  the  north  land  their  readiest  avenue  to  rapid  promo- 
tion. Their  duties  are  many  and  varied;  but  since  the  popula- 
tion of  the  territory  is  very  small— only  about  half  that  of  north- 
ern Alaska— they  have  little  difficulty  in  keeping  close  watch  on 
the  movements  and  activities  of  every  person  within  the  bound- 
aries of  the  Canadian  Arctic. 

Alaska  lacks  this  close  supervision  by  a  federal  police,  and 
the  strict  enforcement  of  its  Antiquities  Act  has  proved  quite 
impossible.  I  have  sometimes  wondered,  therefore,  whether  it 
would  be  possible  (and  profitable)  to  enlist  the  help  of  the 
educational  authorities,  and  to  circulate  among  Alaskan  Eskimo 
schools  a  small  brochure  outlining  what  we  have  already  learned 
about  the  archaeology  of  northern  Alaska,  explaining  that  only 
the  most  painstaking  excavations  under  skilled  direction  can 
throw  any  further  light  on  Eskimo  prehistory,  and  asking  the 
Eskimos  themselves  to  cooperate  in  protecting  the  sites  that  still 
remain  undamaged.  It  would  be  helpful,  also,  if  the  same  or  a 
similar  brochure,  strengthened  by  a  foreword  from  some  high 
military  official,  were  circulated  among  Alaskan  military  estab- 
lishments, and  would-be  archaeologists  in  those  establishments 
recommended  to  write  to  the  University  of  Alaska  or  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  for  advice  and  guidance. 


CONTEMPORARY   PROBLEMS    IN    THE 
ANTHROPOLOGY  OF  SOUTHERN  ALASKA 

W.  S.  Laughlin 

Assistant  Professor  of  Anthropology 
University  of  Oregon 

Consideration  of  the  anthropological  problems  of  the  Aleu- 
tian Islands  and  of  southern  Alaska  can  best  be  approached 
with  the  realization  that  much  evidence  acquired  in  the  last 
few  years  suggests  an  early  homeland  for  the  Eskimos  in  south- 
western Alaska.  The  linguistic  and  archeological  evidence  in 
particular  point  to  over  4,000  years  of  Eskimo  occupation  in 
this  area.  Similarly,  population  figures  and  ecological  data 
clearly  indicate  that  this  area  was  a  climax  zone  for  the  Eskimos. 
The  rich  natural  resources,  including  many  kinds  of  marine 
animals  such  as  sea-lion,  hair-seal,  fur-seal,  sea-otter,  whale, 
and  fish,  in  addition  to  land  animals  and  birds,  made  possible 
the  growth  of  a  large  population  nowhere  else  attainable  by 
the  Eskimos  or  the  Alaskan  Indians.  Large  quantities  of  drift- 
wood compensated  for  the  absence  of  standing  timber  in  the 
Aleutian  area.  Many  shell  fish  and  edible  sea  weeds  on  the 
reefs,  together  with  a  number  of  edible  roots  and  land  plants, 
enabled  the  survival  of  communities  when  other  food  supplies 
ran  short.  The  presence  of  nearly  a  third  of  all  Eskimos  on 
the  Pacific  Ocean  coasts— 27,300  Aleut,  Koniag,  Chugach,  and 
Ugalak,  out  of  a  total  Eskimo  population  of  89,700  at  the  period 
of  European  contact— reflects  not  only  the  ecological  wealth, 
but  also  indicates  that  this  area  was  an  important  source  for  the 
elaboration  and  subsequent  diffusion  of  many  traits.  We  may 
therefore  expect  to  find  that  some  of  the  traits  shared  in  com- 
mon by  Eskimos  and  Indians  were  diffused  from  the  earlier  and 
more  populous  Proto  Aleut-Eskimo  population.  The  early 
growth  of  relatively  large  communities  has  many  implications 
with  reference  to  the  genetic  stability  of  a  large  population. 

66 


Anthropology  of  Southeastern  Alaska— Laughlin         67 

Equally  important  to  the  anthropological  problems  of  south- 
ern Alaska  is  the  existence  of  rich  archeological  sites,  stratified 
as  the  result  of  centuries  of  continuous  occupation  and  con- 
taining large  numbers  of  skeletons.  Accessibility  of  many  of 
the  native  speakers  of  the  various  languages  enhances  the  possi- 
bility of  ethnological  and  linguistic  studies.  Thus,  this  is  not 
only  a  significant  area  but  one  which  also  affords  excellent 
opportunities  to  all  the  disciplines  of  anthropology. 

Linguistics 

In  the  field  of  linguistics  one  of  the  most  puzzling  problems 
is  the  origin  of  the  Aleut  language  and  of  the  abrupt  division 
between  it  and  the  other  Eskimo  languages.  According  to 
present  linguistic  studies  the  Eskimo  linguistic  stock  is  divided 
into  three  branches:  Inupik,  Yupik  and  Aleut.  Inupik  includes 
all  those  dialects  from  the  northside  of  Norton  Sound,  around 
the  north  coast  of  Alaska  and  Canada  to  Greenland  and  Labra- 
dor. Yupik  includes  all  those  dialects  spoken  from  the  south 
side  of  Norton  Sound,  including  East  Cape  of  Siberia  and 
St.  Lawrence  Island,  down  the  west  coast  of  Alaska  and  the 
south  coast  of  Alaska  to  Cordova,  including  Kodiak  Island. 
Aleut  was  spoken  from  roughly  the  160th  meridian  west  longi- 
tude, which  transects  the  Alaska  Peninsula  west  of  Kupreanof 
Point,  and  the  Shumagin  Islands,  westward,  including  all  the 
Aleutian  Islands.  Within  each  of  these  branches  there  are  three 
to  five  dialects.  Though  the  Inupik  and  Yupik  branches  are 
mutually  intelligible,  with  some  difficulty  as  originally  noted 
by  Knud  Rasmussen,  Yupik— Inupik  and  Aleut  are  not  mutually 
intelligible.  How  and  why  this  split  came  into  being  will 
throw  much  light  upon  the  relationships  of  these  southern 
Alaskan  inhabitants.  An  index  to  the  degree  of  this  difference 
is  provided  by  the  positive  correspondence  of  36.5%  of  the 
words  in  a  selected  vocabulary  of  modern  Eastern  Aleut  and 
Proto  Eskimo,  Proto  Eskimo  here  referring  to  the  period  before 
the  Yupik  and  Inupik  split.  From  this  percent  of  words  held 
in  common  by  these  two  divisions  Marsh  and  Swadesh  estimate 
that  the  separation  of  Aleut  from  Proto  Aleut-Eskimo  took 


68  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

place  4,000  years  ago.  This  division  in  itself  indicates  a  much 
longer  period  of  Eskimo  occupation  in  southern  Alaska  than 
in  any  other  area  from  Alaska  to  Greenland.  The  separation 
of  Yupik  and  Inupik  is  provisionally  estimated  by  Swadesh  to 
have  taken  place  some  1500  years  ago. 

Corollary  to  the  problem  of  the  Aleut-Eskimo  separation  is 
that  of  the  dialect  diversity  in  the  Aleutian  Islands.  There  are 
at  present  three  major  dialects.  The  Eastern  dialect  includes 
the  Aleuts  of  the  Alaska  Peninsula,  the  Fox  Islands  as  far  west 
as  Umnak  Island,  and  the  Pribilof  Islands  where  the  Aleuts 
were  first  transplanted  in  1786  by  the  Russians.  The  Central 
dialect  takes  in  the  region  of  the  Andreanof  and  Rat  Islands. 
The  Western  dialect  includes  only  the  Near  Islands.  The 
differences  between  these  dialects  are  primarily  lexical,  with 
minor  variations  in  phonology  and  morphology.  As  a  conse- 
quence they  are  mutually  intelligible.  The  Western  dialect, 
spoken  by  the  people  from  Attu  Island,  now  living  in  Atka 
Village,  is  most  in  need  of  study.  Little  is  known  of  sub-dialects 
which  exist  within  the  area  of  each  of  the  major  dialects  and 
for  which  evidence  can  still  be  secured  from  native  speakers. 
Most  Attu  speakers  now  live  on  Copper  Island  and  most  Atka 
speakers  on  Bering  Island  of  the  Commander  group  where  they 
were  transplanted  in  1826.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  there  has 
been  less  dialect  mixture  there,  a  study  of  them  would  be 
highly  informative.  Similarly,  a  study  of  Aleut  on  the  Pribilof 
Islands  would  be  useful  though  dialect  mixture  has  gone  on 
there  for  many  years. 

Linguistic  information  is  not  only  of  use  for  the  study  of 
language  itself,  and  for  the  study  of  the  cultures  for  which  it  is 
indispensable,  but  for  the  light  which  it  throws  on  the  past 
movements  of  the  people.  Thus,  the  linguistic  evidence  from 
the  Aleutian  Islands  confirms  the  westward  movements  of  the 
Aleuts  which  have  been  deduced  from  other  forms  of  evidence. 
The  earliest  accounts  of  dialect  divisions  indicate  the  west  side 
of  Unalaska  belonged  to  the  same  dialect  as  Umnak  Island  and 
that  in  the  time  of  Bishop  Veniaminov  (1825-35)  tne  Umnak 
people  spoke  the  Central  dialect  rather  than  the  Eastern  dia- 


u 

o 


2 
■3 


3 


V 

V 


d 

C 


3 


be 

C 

'$ 

o 
45 

a, 

OS 


o 


69 


70  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

lect  which  they  speak  today.  In  addition,  it  has  been  found 
that  all  Aleut  place  names  for  the  northern  half  of  Umnak 
Island,  insofar  as  they  are  identifiable,  still  keep  Central  dialect 
forms.  Thus,  the  westward  movement  of  the  Eastern  dialect 
appears  to  have  progressed  within  historic  times,  continuing  a 
trend  already  in  operation  long  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Russians. 

Another  way  in  which  linguistic  studies  have  thrown  light 
on  the  westward  movement  of  the  Aleuts  is  found  in  the  his- 
torical legend  of  Chiming,  told  by  the  Attu  Aleuts.  This  legend 
tells  of  the  arrival  of  Umnak  Aleuts  and  of  the  subsequent  mix- 
ture of  the  former  Attu  dialect  with  the  Umnak  dialect.  Cer- 
tain structural  resemblances  between  the  Eastern  and  Western 
dialects,  as  contrasted  with  the  Central  dialect,  confirm  the 
historical  value  of  this  legend. 

Comparative  data  are  lacking  for  many  of  the  southern  Eski- 
mos such  as  the  Koniags  of  Kodiak  Island,  the  Ugalak  and  the 
Chugach  Eskimos.  Many  native  speakers  of  Koniag  still  survive 
and  informants  for  a  study  of  the  other  dialects  might  still  be 
found.  Similarly,  linguistic  studies  of  the  Indians,  such  as  the 
Eyak  and  the  Kenai,  and  of  other  Indians  adjacent  to  the  Eski- 
mos, remain  to  be  done.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  younger 
speakers  of  these  languages  or  dialects  are  not  as  conversant 
with  the  linguistic  structure,  and  not  only  have  smaller  vocabu- 
laries but  also  less  knowledge  of  the  areas  occupied  by  various 
speakers,  it  is  important  to  conduct  linguistic  studies  while  the 
older  informants  are  still  alive. 

Physical  Anthropology 

A  new  perspective  is  necessary  in  order  to  deal  successfully 
with  the  problems  of  physical  anthropology.  It  is  necessary  to 
realize  that  the  Eskimo  stock  as  a  whole  consists  of  many  indi- 
vidual breeding  isolates,  each  varying  from  all  others  in  some 
respects.  Therefore,  it  is  not  permissible  to  assume  that  any 
one  contemporary  breeding  isolate  of  the  Eskimos  represents 
more  accurately  the  "Eskimo  type"  than  any  other  isolate.  The 
Eskimos   provide   an   exceptional    opportunity   for   studies    in 


Anthropology  of  Southeastern  Alaska— Laugh lin         71 

human  biology  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  occupy  perhaps  the 
greatest  linear  expanse  of  any  people  in  the  world,  ranging 
from  Attu  Island  in  the  west,  and  Cordova  in  the  south,  along 
the  coastline  of  North  America  and  over  into  Greenland.  Each 
breeding  isolate  has,  with  few  exceptions,  remained  in  contact 
with  neighboring  Eskimos  and  has  exchanged  genes  with  them 
rather  than  with  Indian  groups  living  inland.  This  means  that 
each  population  or  isolate  of  Eskimos,  identified  as  such  by 
dialectical,  cultural  and  geographical  factors,  may  be  expected 
to  differ  from  others  genetically  as  manifested  in  such  things 
as  the  morphology  and  blood  groups.  The  various  groups  of 
Eskimos  therefore  provide  ideal  opportunities  for  the  study  of 
population  genetics,  as  well  as  for  the  movement  of  the  various 
populations  in  the  past. 

The  population  size  of  these  Eskimos  is  of  primary  im- 
portance and  possesses  many  implications  for  the  culture  as 
well  as  for  the  morphology.  Thus,  the  large  population  size  of 
these  southern  Eskimos,  viz.:  16,000  Aleuts,  6-8,000  Koniags, 
means  that  these  populations  were  genetically  more  stable  than 
the  smaller  populations.  Small  groups  can  change  more  rapidly 
than  large  populations,  as  a  result  of  drift  and  of  mixture. 
Change  due  to  genetic  drift  takes  place  more  rapidly  in  small 
breeding  isolates,  as  neatly  demonstrated  by  the  loss  or  reduc- 
tion of  blood  groups  A  and  B  among  the  Polar  Eskimos.  Co- 
incident with  this  is  the  fact  that  the  effects  of  racial  mixture 
are  more  manifest  in  a  small  population,  due  solely  to  the  rela- 
tive proportions  of  the  traits  being  introduced.  The  significance 
of  these  considerations  for  southern  Alaska  lies  in  the  old  alle- 
gation that  the  Eskimos  of  southern  Alaska  are  mixed  with 
Indians  and  do  not  represent,  therefore,  pure  Eskimos  when 
compared  with  various  isolates  of  eastern  or  Greenland  Eskimos. 
It  is  obvious  that  a  population  of  8,000  could  not  be  as  easily 
mixed  to  any  appreciable  degree  as  could  the  much  smaller 
groups  of  eastern  Eskimos,  as  for  example,  the  Caribou  Eskimos. 
The  differences  between  southern  Alaskan  Eskimos  and  eastern 
Eskimos  are  not  primarily  due  to  mixture  with  Indians  but  to 
the  fact  that  the  Eskimos  represent  a  polymorphic  stock.    This 


72  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

variability  is  seen  most  clearly  in  the  head  form.  The  inter- 
gradation  is  apparent  when  each  of  these  isolates  is  compared 
with  its  neighbors  rather  than  with  Eskimos  hundreds  of  miles 
removed.  In  effect,  each  of  these  Eskimo  groups  is  most  similar 
to  its  neighbors.  To  understand  their  relationships  to  each 
other  it  is  necessary  to  acquire  the  genetic  and  anthropometric 
data  for  each  group.  At  present  there  is  actually  very  little  data 
available  for  the  southern  Eskimos,  and  even  less  for  the  neigh- 
boring Indian  populations. 

The  importance  of  knowing  the  contemporary  populations 
in  order  to  augment  the  information  gained  from  the  skeletal 
populations  recovered  by  archaeology  is  seen  in  the  discovery 
of  the  two  breeding  isolates  of  the  Aleuts.  Though  it  has  long 
been  customary  to  speak  of  the  Aleuts  as  a  single,  homogeneous 
population,  it  was  evident  from  the  reports  of  early  Russian 
observers  that  there  were  distinguishable  differences  between 
eastern  and  western  Aleuts.  The  previous  finding  of  two 
skeletal  populations  by  Dr.  Ales  Hrdlicka  also  indicated  the 
probability  that  traces  of  the  early  population  of  Paleo-Aleuts 
would  be  found  in  the  western  Aleutians.  An  anthropometric 
study  of  living  Aleuts  revealed  a  number  of  differences  between 
the  Aleuts  of  Attu  and  Atka,  forming  one  breeding  isolate,  and 
those  of  the  eastern  islands  forming  another  isolate.  Some  of 
these  differences  corresponded,  in  the  case  of  the  western  Aleuts 
to  the  Paleo-Aleut  skeletal  population,  and  in  the  case  of  the 
eastern  Aleuts  to  the  Neo-Aleut  skeletal  population.  The  fact 
that  the  Neo-Aleuts  had  not  reached  the  western  islands  in 
sufficiently  great  numbers  to  obliterate  the  previous  Paleo- 
Aleut  population  is  in  consonance  with  the  linguistic,  evidence 
of  the  recency  of  the  westward  movement  of  the  dialects.  So 
far  as  the  Aleutians  are  concerned,  one  of  the  most  fruitful 
studies  would  be  the  examination  of  the  skeletal  populations 
of  each  island  to  detect  the  island  variations  from  east  to  west 
in  the  Aleut  populations.  Similarly,  studies  of  the  various 
Eskimo  and  Indian  populations  of  southern  Alaska,  with  par- 
ticular reference  to  their  geographical  divisions,  may  be  ex- 


Anthropology  of  Southeastern  Alaska— Laughlin         73 

pected  to  throw  much  light  on  the  prehistoric  and  early  historic 
movements  of  these  people. 

The  blood  group  studies  of  various  southern  and  western 
Eskimos  such  as  the  Aleutian  Eskimos  and  the  Kuskokwim 
Eskimos  clearly  identify  them  as  belonging  to  the  Eskimo  stock 
as  a  whole  and  serves  to  distinguish  them  from  the  Indians. 
When  relatively  unmixed  with  Europeans  the  Eskimos  appear 
generally  to  have  more  group  A  than  O  and  to  have  amounts 
of  group  B  ranging  from  2%  to  12%.  The  few  figures  for 
Alaskan  Athabascan  Indians  indicate  a  much  higher  propor- 
tion of  O  than  of  A  and  no  group  B.  Blood  group  data  will 
therefore  be  useful  in  future  studies  to  demonstrate  the  differ- 
ences between  Indians  and  Eskimos  and  various  degrees  of 
mixture  if  this  has  taken  place.  The  use  of  the  M  and  N  types 
and  of  the  Rh  factors  will  make  such  studies  even  more  dis- 
criminating and  therefore  more  valuable.  Blood  group  studies 
may  also  be  of  use  in  demonstrating  the  presence  of  gradients 
or  clines  among  the  Eskimos. 

Anthropometric  studies  of  the  southern  Alaskan  populations 
are  exceedingly  meager.  It  appears  from  available  data  that 
the  headform  of  the  Eskimos  becomes  increasingly  greater  in 
breadth  and  in  lowness  of  vault  as  one  passes  from  Bering 
Strait  south  to  Kodiak  Island  and  the  eastern  Aleutians.  Thus, 
it  is  not  possible  on  the  basis  of  present  information  to  draw  a 
sharp  line  between  any  two  contiguous  groups  of  Eskimos. 
The  practice  of  ignoring  contiguous  groups  and  of  comparing 
one  series  of  southern  Eskimos  with  a  series  of  eastern  Eskimos 
could  only  demonstrate  larger  differences  because  two  oppo- 
site ends  of  the  range  of  a  continuous  population  were  being 
compared.  Brachycephaly  and  low  vault  height  may  reach  their 
climax  among  the  Koniags  and  the  eastern  Aleuts  but  we  now 
know  that  the  western  Aleuts  are  all  relatively  longer  headed 
than  the  eastern  Aleuts  and  we  may  expect  differences  among 
the  Ugalak  and  Chugach  Eskimos. 

Though  large  skeletal  collections  have  been  assembled  for 
the  Aleutian  Islands,  Kodiak  Island  and  certain  sites  in  south- 
ern Alaska,   the  fundamental  problems  of  the  sequence  and 


74  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

relationship  of  populations  can  not  be  solved  owing  to  the  fact 
that  few  of  them  were  stratigraphically  excavated.  It  appears 
that  the  earliest  people  to  enter  this  general  area  was  a  long- 
headed Eskimo  population,  and  there  is  abundant  evidence 
that  this  earlier  population  was  superseded  by  a  roundheaded 
population  which  is  found  archaeologically  and  which  is  repre- 
sented in  the  living  populations  of  the  Aleutians,  Kodiak  Island, 
the  Kuskokwim  River  and  in  Bristol  Bay  where  studies  of  the 
living  have  been  made.  There  are  indications  that  this  expan- 
sion of  the  broad  and  low  vaulted  Eskimos  took  place  com- 
paratively recently.  At  Umnak  Island  in  the  Aleutians  they 
appear  to  have  arrived  within  the  last  few  hundred  years  of  a 
total  occupation  span  of  about  four  thousand  years  and,  as 
previously  mentioned,  did  not  succeed  in  obliterating  traces  of 
the  former  population  in  the  islands  to  the  west.  The  im- 
portance of  stratigraphically  excavated  skeletons  can  scarcely 
be  overemphasized.  Once  the  skeletons  of  the  earlier  popula- 
tion are  mixed  in  those  of  the  later  population  there  is  no  cer- 
tain way  of  sorting  them  out.  Though  both  Paleo-Aleut  and 
Neo-Aleut  skeletons  are  found  in  the  late  mummy  caves  of  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  their  recognition  would  not  have  been  pos- 
sible unless  it  had  been  demonstrated  that  they  corresponded 
to  two  populations,  one  overlying  the  other  in  the  excavated 
village  sites. 

One  of  the  major  results  of  the  continued  collection  of  strati- 
graphically excavated  skeletons  will  be  not  only  the  elucidation 
of  the  direction  and  sequence  of  population  movements  in 
southern  Alaska,  but  also  valuable  data  on  the  changes  taking 
place  within  populations.  It  has  long  been  customary  to  look 
for  an  outside  origin  for  any  newly  appearing  population  in  a 
given  area.  The  underlying  assumption  is  the  supposition  that 
evolution  takes  place  somewhere  else,  and  population  differ- 
ences are  therefore  explained  by  the  invasion  of  a  people  from 
some  other  area  where  studies  have  located  a  somewhat  similar 
people.  Thus,  Aleuts  have  been  compared  to  Tungus,  Apache 
Indians  and  Japanese,  but  seldom  to  the  neighboring  Eskimos 
of  Bristol  Bay  for  whom  there  are  as  yet  few  studies.   Hrdlicka, 


Anthropology  of  Southeastern  Alaska— Laughlin         75 

for  example,  found  what  he  believed  to  be  a  close  resemblance 
between  the  pre-Aleuts,  now  termed  Paleo-Aleuts,  and  the 
Sioux  Indians,  and  suggested  a  possible  relationship.  Again, 
in  his  study  of  the  pre-Koniags  he  made  comparisons  between 
them  and  a  pooled  series  of  western  and  eastern  Eskimos,  cor- 
responding naturally  to  no  particular  population,  with  the  in- 
evitable result  that  he  missed  their  closest  relationship  and  pos- 
tulated an  Indian  relationship.  Future  work  should  show  that 
the  possibilities  for  the  study  of  micro-evolution  are  excep- 
tionally good  in  this  area.  There  are  few  places  in  the  world 
where  a  4,000  year  span  of  continuous  occupation  combines 
with  the  excellent  preservation  of  large  numbers  of  skeletons  to 
present  the  raw  data  necessary  for  the  detection  of  internal 
changes  proceeding  within  a  population.  In  brief,  it  is  quite 
possible  that  the  round  headed  Eskimos  of  southern  Alaska 
arose  in  this  area  and  expanded  in  numbers  to  the  point  where 
they  dominated  the  earlier  and  more  widespread  long  headed 
population. 

To  account  for  the  presence  of  two  distinguishable  popula- 
tions arising  out  of  the  primary  population  it  is  first  necessary 
to  recognize  the  variability  or  polymorphy  of  the  early  Proto 
Aleut-Eskimos  who  entered  southern  Alaska.  Secondly,  it  is 
necessary  to  recognize  the  fact  that  it  is  possible  for  a  change 
or  genetic  difference  to  become  established  in  a  breeding  isolate 
by  means  of  genetic  drift,  the  chance  loss  or  fixation  of  genes. 
Thirdly,  it  is  thus  possible  for  one  isolated  subdivision  of  the 
larger  population  to  become  brachycephalic  solely  by  means  of 
genetic  drift.  Then,  given  ecological  factors  which  favor  the 
relative  enlargement  of  this  particular  isolate  over  its  neigh- 
boring relatives,  it  is  enabled  to  expand  into  the  area  of  these 
other  related  peoples  where  it  will  supersede  or  mix  with  and 
obliterate  the  physical  traits  characteristic  of  these  neighboring 
relatives. 

In  summary  it  may  be  useful  to  consider  the  possible  occur- 
rence of  something  approaching  a  population  explosion  in  this 
area  to  understand  the  high  population  density.  The  early 
peoples  coming  into  this  naturally  rich  area  were  able  to  build 


76  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

up  a  far  larger  population  than  in  the  less  favored  areas  to  the 
north.  After  the  necessary  cultural  innovations  and  adapta- 
tions, such  as  the  kayak,  had  been  made  they  were  able  to 
expand  out  into  the  Aleutian  Islands  and  into  other  relatively 
inaccessible  zones.  There  were,  in  all  likelihood,  many  contrac- 
tions and  expansions  of  the  populations,  depending  on  varia- 
tions in  the  food  supply,  climatic  oscillations,  disease  and  social 
disruptions. 

Archaeology 

In  the  early  1870's  Dall  while  with  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey 
conducted  excavations  on  various  islands  in  the  Aleutian  chain, 
representing  the  first  archaeological  work  in  this  area.  Though 
his  operations  were  haphazard  and  incomplete  he  concluded 
from  his  material  that  the  Aleuts  had  left  traces  of  three  stages 
or  periods  of  culture.  In  spite  of  the  inadequacy  and  failure 
of  this  style  of  analysis  to  correspond  to  the  actual  sequences, 
there  is  still  a  tendency  to  resort  to  the  traditional  three  period 
interpretation  of  these  archaeological  sequences.  This  kind 
of  analysis  is  enhanced  by  the  notable  lack  of  stratigraphically 
excavated  sites  in  southern  Alaska. 

Though  the  material  culture  of  the  Aleutians  is  basically 
Eskimo,  essential  questions  concerning  the  actual  sequences  and 
relationships  to  other  Eskimo  cultures  can  not  yet  be  dealt  with 
in  any  satisfactory  manner.  On  the  entire  island  of  Kodiak 
there  is  not  one  stratigraphically  excavated  site,  although  there 
are  many  large,  deep  and  easily  accessible  middens.  With  the 
exception  of  De  Laguna's  work  at  Cook  Inlet,  of  Larsen's  work 
in  Bristol  Bay  and  Unalaska,  and  of  Weyer's  at  Port  Moller, 
there  have  been  no  scientific  studies  east  of  Umnak  Island. 

The  significance  of  archaeological  research  in  southern  Alaska 
lies  partly  in  the  fact  that  there  is  substantial  evidence  of  great 
antiquity  and  also  in  the  suggestion  that  some  of  the  essential 
elements  of  Eskimo  culture  may  have  taken  form  here  before 
being  diffused  to  the  north.  From  our  excavations  at  the 
Nikolski  Village  site,  Umnak  Island,  Dr.  W.  F.  Libby  of  the 
Institute  for  Nuclear  Studies,  University  of  Chicago,  has  de- 


Anthropology  of  Southeastern  Alaska— Laughlin         77 

termined  the  age  of  3,000  years  for  radioactive  carbon  in  samples 
of  burned  wood  taken  from  one  meter  above  the  floor.  The 
floor  of  the  site  will  thus  be  several  hundred  years  older,  and 
earlier  sites  must  lie  closer  to  and  on  the  mainland  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  the  people  came  out  here  from  the  east.  On  the 
basis  of  known  carbon- 14  dates  from  sites  to  the  north  it  appears 
that  this  is  the  earliest  known  Eskimo,  or  Proto  Aleut-Eskimo 
culture.  It  is  therefore  imperative  that  archaeological  sites  in 
southern  Alaska  be  carefully  excavated  in  order  to  reveal  the 
complete  sequence  preceding  those  found  to  the  north.  A 
fundamental  problem  is  then  the  inventory  of  traits  possessed 
by  the  earliest  Proto  Aleut-Eskimo  culture. 

In  this  Paleo-Aleut  culture  of  3,000  years  and  more,  which 
is  a  part  of  or  close  to  this  basic  culture,  we  recognize  a  mini- 
mum inventory  of  stone  tools  consisting  of  lamps,  bowls,  adze 
blades  with  ground  edges,  drill  bits,  weights,  pecking,  pound- 
ing, and  grinding  stones,  abraders,  lamellar  flake  gravers,  knives, 
points  and  scrapers,  and  a  variety  of  chipped  knives  and  points. 
Among  the  bone  tools  are  three  kinds  of  harpoon  heads:  those 
without  stone  points,  some  used  without  a  socket;  those  with 
stone  points  inserted  in  an  end  slot;  and  toggle  harpoon  heads. 
The  small  two-piece  socket,  rib  tools,  wedges,  eyed  needles,  com- 
pound fish  hooks,  leister  prongs  and  the  shovel  are  found. 
Ivory  labrets  and  carved  human  figures  were  also  a  part  of  the 
earliest  culture.  It  is  obvious  that  they  also  possessed  boats  in 
order  to  have  reached  Umnak  Island.  The  possibility  that  the 
kayak  developed  from  the  umiak  in  southern  Alaska  should 
be  considered.  In  the  succeeding  4,000  years  the  manufacture 
and  use  of  kayaks  reached  a  high  degree  of  development.  It  is 
of  interest  to  note  that  the  Aleut  word  for  kayak  is  a  diminutive 
of  the  word  for  umiak.  When  the  extent  of  the  Proto  Aleut- 
Eskimo  culture  is  known  it  will  then  be  possible  to  deal  more 
adequately  with  the  problem  of  the  American  versus  the  Asiatic 
origin  of  many  Eskimo  traits. 

Throughout  the  Nikolski  site,  six  meters  in  depth,  there  is  a 
continuous  change  in  harpoon  head  styles  with  no  evidence  of 
any  marked  periods.   Some  of  the  latest  traits,  possibly  aided  in 


78  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

their  diffusion  by  the  Neo-Aleuts,  include  single  piece  sockets 
for  sea  otter  harpoons,  shallow  stone  lamps  and  the  ground  slate 
ulu.  Significantly,  the  single  piece  socket  retains  the  dual  ending 
in  its  name.  The  objects  found  in  the  mummy  caves  correspond 
to  those  found  in  the  upper  levels  of  the  village  sites.  The 
mummy  caves  in  themselves  constitute  an  excellent  source  of 
information  but  none  have  as  yet  been  scientifically  excavated. 

Another  basic  problem  is  the  location  of  lamellar  flake  in- 
dustries similar  to  those  found  further  north,  as  at  Cape  Den- 
bigh. A  core  and  blade  industry  existed  in  the  Aleutians  but 
it  is  not  yet  known  whether  it  preceded  the  Paleo-Aleuts  or 
was  only  part  of  their  culture. 

In  summary  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  our  knowledge  of 
Eskimo  archaeology  is  meager  for  this  area,  but  our  knowledge 
of  Indian  archaeology  is  even  less.  It  is  not  sound  to  categorize 
traits  as  Indian  or  Eskimo  solely  on  the  basis  of  their  con- 
temporary distribution.  To  understand  the  fundamental  re- 
lationship of  the  Indian  and  Eskimo  cultures  it  is  necessary 
to  know  the  history  of  each  trait.  Thus,  many  traits  now 
attributed  to  the  Indians  may  eventually  be  found  to  have 
diffused  to  them  from  the  older  Proto  Aleut-Eskimo  culture  of 
southern  Alaska. 

Ethnology 

The  ethnology  of  the  Aleuts,  Eskimos  and  Indians  is  poorly 
known.  For  many  of  the  villages  there  are  only  the  remarks  of 
early  European  visitors.  In  a  few  cases  the  Russians  have  de- 
scribed particular  areas,  for  example  Bishop  Veniaminov's 
excellent  account  of  the  Fox  Island  Aleuts.  Unfortunately, 
these  sources  have  not  been  exploited  owing  in  large  part  to 
the  absence  of  English  translations.  Though  the  cultures  of 
Bristol  Bay,  the  south  side  of  the  Alaska  Peninsula  and  the 
Aleutian  Islands  appear  to  present  a  continuum  in  many  re- 
spects, accurate  comparisons  can  not  be  made  until  the  primary 
information  is  secured.  Of  equal  importance  is  the  fact  that 
Eskimo-Indian  comparisons  can  not  be  made,  for  even  less  is 
known  about  many  of  the  pertinent  Indian  cultures.    Even  for 


Anthropology  of  Southeastern  Alaska— Laughlin         79 

the  comparatively  well  studied  Indian  groups  such  as  the 
Tlingit,  on  the  southern  border  of  the  Eskimo  distribution, 
there  is  no  time  depth,  so  that  it  is  not  possible  to  state  what 
traits  have  been  borrowed  by  the  Eskimos  from  the  Tlingit  or 
by  the  Tlingit  from  the  Eskimos.  The  great  time  depth  of  the 
Aleutian  culture  and  of  other  Eskimo  cultures  in  Alaska  sug- 
gests that  many  ideas  concerning  the  Indian  origin  of  certain 
traits  will  have  to  be  revised  or  abandoned  unless  greater  time 
depth  for  the  Indian  cultures  can  be  found.  Fortunately  there 
are  many  native  speakers  and  many  old  customs  still  practised, 
especially  in  the  more  remote  villages  where  the  economy  has 
not  been  completely  altered.  A  great  deal  can  be  accomplished 
purely  in  descriptive  anthropology  which  will  lay  the  necessary 
basis  for  more  abstract  analysis  at  a  later  date. 

To  illustrate  the  nature  and  significance  of  the  ethnological 
problems  which  can  be  dealt  with  it  is  useful  to  examine  the 
attitudes  toward  the  dead  and  the  corresponding  interest  or 
lack  of  interest  in  anatomy.  Among  many  northern  and  eastern 
Eskimos  there  is  a  fear  of  the  dead  and  elaborate  precautions 
are  taken  in  some  places  to  prevent  any  dangerous  association 
with  the  deceased  or  their  spirits.  There  is  a  notable  change  in 
western  Alaska,  and  in  the  Aleutians  quite  the  opposite  is  the 
case.  Here,  the  dead  were  preserved  by  means  of  mummifica- 
tion, were  visited  and  used  as  a  source  of  powerful  charms. 
Accompanying  this  is  an  incredible  interest  in  and  knowledge 
concerning  human  anatomy.  This  development  of  mummifica- 
tion was  apparently  an  innovation  of  the  Neo-Aleuts  and  did 
not  exist  among  the  earlier  Aleuts,  as  indicated  by  the  geo- 
graphical distribution  of  the  trait  and  also  by  the  statement  of 
an  Attu  informant  that  Attuans  did  not  believe  in  mummies. 
How  far  to  the  east  and  south  the  practice  of  mummification 
was  spread,  with  or  without  a  corresponding  study  of  anatomy, 
is  not  known.  The  practice  of  mummification  probably  arose 
from  the  use  of  many  of  the  parts  of  the  animals  they  killed  for 
fabricational  purposes,  and  their  dissection  of  sea-otters  in 
order  to  learn  about  the  anatomy  of  humans,  explaining  this 
kind  of  comparative  anatomy  by  their  belief  that  the  sea-otters 


80  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

were  originally  human  beings.  In  addition  the  Aleuts  possessed 
an  enormous  body  of  information  and  practices  concerning 
health  and  physical  education,  how  to  develop  a  "strong  man" 
and  how  to  treat  diseases.  Most  pertinent  to  this  development, 
they  autopsied  the  dead  in  an  effort  to  find  out  why  they  died, 
and  they  sometimes  dissected  those  killed  in  warfare.  Mummi- 
fication appears  to  have  developed  in  southern  Alaska  from 
this  orientation  toward  human  anatomy  and  then  to  have 
contributed  to  its  further  elaboration.  Certain  features  of  the 
ethnology  of  the  Aleuts  form  an  intelligible  picture  only  when 
it  is  realized  that  they  had  a  belief  in  a  supernatural  power 
which  resided  in  the  human  body.  This  power  was  maximized 
at  certain  critical  periods  such  as  puberty  and  widowhood,  and 
could  be  strengthened  by  observing  the  pertinent  practices. 
Thus,  the  joint  binding  of  pubescent  girls  and  of  widows  or 
widowers,  and  the  dismemberment  of  enemies  killed  in  combat 
can  only  be  understood  when  it  is  realized  that  this  power  in 
the  body  must  be  regulated  and  can  only  be  removed  from  an 
individual  by  dismemberment.  Conversely,  the  most  powerful 
amulet  known  to  the  Aleuts  was  a  "piece  of  dead  man,"  a  piece 
taken  from  a  mummy.  The  mummy  retained  its  potency  pre- 
cisely because  it  was  preserved  as  a  whole  body,  and  Avas  thus 
useful  for  many  purposes. 

The  western  distribution  of  this  anatomical  orientation  can 
perhaps  be  deduced  from  existing  data,  but  specific  inquiries 
are  necessary  to  find  its  extent  in  the  southern  and  eastern 
portions  of  southern  Alaska.  Similarly,  the  basic  problems  con- 
cerning the  cultural  adaptation  to  the  ecological  situation  need 
analysis.  It  is  evident  that  the  Aleut  people  of  the  mainland 
and  Unimak  Island  used  bow  and  arrow  for  hunting  land 
animals,  and  that  out  in  the  chain  the  throwing  board  and 
spears  were  almost  exclusively  used.  To  what  extent  was  inland 
hunting  an  alternative  method  of  securing  game  for  a  maritime 
people,  and  to  what  extent  did  it  provide  a  means  for  the  people 
to  leave  the  sea  and  move  inland  permanently?  The  distribu- 
tion of  games  is  another  one  of  those  many  areas  for  which  in- 
formation may  be  secured  from  living  informants.   Hand  games 


Anthropology  of  Southeastern  Alaska— Laughlin         81 

were  employed  on  Kodiak  Island  but  seem  to  have  been  absent 
from  the  Aleutians  where  there  were  few  or  no  games  of  chance. 
The  Aleuts  possessed  the  game  of  tossing  a  person  on  a  hide  as 
do  many  other  Eskimos,  but  the  distribution  and  the  internal 
meaning  of  it  are  unknown.  In  the  field  of  social  organization 
the  Aleuts  were  characterized  by  the  leadership  of  "strong 
men"  or  "owners"  who  dominated  their  villages  by  physical 
strength  and  wisdom,  but  again  the  extent  of  this  among  the 
other  southern  Eskimos  has  yet  to  be  determined. 

In  summary  it  must  be  emphasized  that  many  of  the  older 
native  speakers  are  still  alive  and  that  in  a  number  of  cases  they 
can  write  their  own  language,  Aleut  or  Koniag,  using  the 
alphabet  and  script  provided  them  by  the  Russians.  The  people 
are  friendly  and  knowledgeable  so  that  ethnological  studies  can 
be  carried  out  with  good  success. 

Applied  Anthropology 

The  immediate  problems  of  the  Eskimos,  Aleuts  and  to  a 
lesser  extent,  the  Indians  are  serious  and  in  need  of  detailed 
attention.  Perhaps  the  first  and  most  objective  criterion  is  that 
of  the  decline  of  population,  resulting  largely  from  disease  and 
starvation.  Where  the  village  of  Nikolski  had  some  120  in- 
habitants at  the  turn  of  the  century,  and  89  in  1938,  it  has  only 
59  at  present.  Destruction  of  the  original  economy  based  on 
the  hunting  of  sea-mammals  and  on  fishing,  has  provoked  a 
number  of  cultural  and  biological  problems.  Three  of  the  most 
important  problems  which  are  amenable  to  the  anthropological 
approach  are: 

1.  Education.  Most  of  these  people  have  a  very  poor  knowledge  of 
English.  In  the  village  of  Nikolski  there  is  one  competent  English 
speaker.  The  Aleuts  have  expressed  a  desire  to  have  an  interpreter 
to  explain  government  directives  and  they  are  also  anxious  to  ac- 
quire a  more  adequate  knowledge  of  the  English  language.  Methods 
similar  to  those  employed  by  the  Russians  and  by  the  Danish  Gov- 
ernment in  Greenland  which  have  succeeded  in  bilingual  instruc- 
tion for  the  Eskimos  would  appear  to  be  preferable  to  the  system 
which  ignores  the  linguistic  problems  and  provides  no  preparation 
of  the  teacher  for  the  particular  people  among  whom  he  is  to  work. 


82  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

2.  Social  and  Political  Relationships.  Among  the  Aleuts  the  old 
political  system  of  control  by  a  "strong  man"  was  transformed  by 
the  Russians  into  a  chain-of-command  government  with  first  chief, 
second  chief,  third  chief,  which  the  Aleuts  now  employ  alongside 
the  "tribal  council"  called  for  by  American  law,  with  4  elected 
officers  and  a  member  at  large.  In  Nikolski  the  Aleuts  keep  the  two 
structures  separate  and  distinct  but  in  Atka  Village  they  tend  to 
merge  with  the  first  chief  being  also  president  of  the  council.  The 
failure  of  the  latest  system  in  operation  can  be  traced  to  conflicting 
systems  of  authority  which  must  be  clarified  before  any  smooth 
functioning  can  be  expected.  All  members  of  Aleut  villages,  and 
this  applies  to  most  other  villages,  are  bound  together  by  various 
social  patterns  involving  reciprocity.  These  relationships  often  pre- 
vent individuals  from  giving  information  to  law  enforcement  officers 
or  school  teachers.  Other  attitudes  govern  their  relationships  with 
outsiders  as  distinguished  from  established  village  members.  Con- 
sequently members  of  different  villages  can  often  not  be  expected 
to  live  together  in  one  village  until  these  attitudes  have  been  altered. 
A  thorough  investigation  of  the  village  organization  and  patterned 
behavior  between  all  its  members  will  be  most  fruitful  in  imple- 
menting any  program  of  social  or  economic  rehabilitation. 

3.  Food  Supply.  With  diets  running  from  800  to  1400  calories  per 
day  for  long  periods  of  time,  it  appears  desirable  to  augment  the 
food  supply.  One  of  the  many  ways  in  which  this  can  be  done  is  to 
encourage  rather  than  to  permit  ridicule  of  the  use  of  native  foods, 
particularly  those  foods  such  as  cod  livers,  blubber,  and  a  large 
number  of  plant  foods.  Certain  industries,  such  as  those  connected 
with  sheep  raising  which  is  eminently  successful  in  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  can  be  introduced  and  will  serve  to  raise  the  cash  income  of 
the  people  to  the  point  where  they  can  purchase  foods  not  otherwise 
obtainable.  The  Russian  Aleuts  of  the  Commander  Islands  and  the 
American  Aleuts  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  present  a  remarkable  con- 
trast with  the  Aleutian  Aleuts  in  this  respect.  They  also  demon- 
strate the  efficacy  of  attention  to  the  problem  of  food  supply  in 
stimulating  population  growth  and  increasing  resistance  to  disease. 

In  conclusion  it  can  be  pointed  out  that  researches  into  the 
anthropological  problems  of  the  peoples  of  southern  Alaska 
will  provide  much  information  of  scientific  value  and  also  data 


Anthropology  of  Southeastern  Alaska— Laughlin         83 

that  will  be  of  use  if  these  formerly  numerous  populations  are 
to  be  reestablished  in  a  way  that  will  aid  the  rational  exploita- 
tion of  the  natural  resources  of  this  naturally  rich  area. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Alexander,  Fred.    A  medical  survey  of  the  Aleutian  Islands 

(1948).    New  England  Journal  of  Medicine,  240:  1035-1040. 

!949- 

2.  Collins,  H.  B.  Jr.  Review,  The  anthropology  of  Kodiak  Island, 

and  The  Aleutian  and  Commander  Islands  and  their  inhab- 
itants, by  Ales  Hrdlicka.  American  Journal  of  Physical 
Anthropology,  3  (4):  355-361-    *945- 

3.  De  Laguna,  Frederica.  The  Archaeology  of  Cook  Inlet,  Alaska. 

The  University  Museum.   Philadelphia.    1934. 

4.  Hrdlicka,  Ales.    Anthropological  survey  in  Alaska.    46th  An- 

nual Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology.    1931. 

5.    .   The  anthropology  of  Kodiak  Island.   Wistar  Institute 

of  Anatomy  and  Biology.    1944. 

6.    .    The  Aleutian  and  Commander  Islands  and  their  in- 


habitants.   Wistar  Institute  of  Anatomy  and  Biology.    1945. 

7.  Jochelson,  Waldemar.    Archaeological  investigations  in   the 

Aleutian  Islands.   Carnegie  Institution,  Washington.  1925. 

8.    .    History,   ethnology   and  anthropology  of   the  Aleut. 

Carnegie  Institution,  Washington.    1933. 

9.  Kroeber,  A.  L.    Cultural  and  natural  areas  of  native  North 

America.   Univ.  of  California  Press.    1939. 

10.  Lantis,    Margaret.    Alaskan    Eskimo   ceremonialism.     Mono- 

graphs of  the  American  Ethnological  Society,  77.    1947. 

10a.  .     The  Alaskan  Whale  Cult  and  its  Affinities.    Araer. 

Anthropologist,  40    (3):  438-464.    1938. 

11.  Larsen,  Helge.   Archaeological  investigations  in  Southwestern 

Alaska.  American  Antiquity,  75   (3):  177-186.    1950. 

12.  Laughlin,  W.  S.    Blood  groups,  morphology  and  population 

size  of  the  Eskimos.    In,  Origin  and  evolution  of  Man,  Cold 
Spring    Harbor    Symposium    on    Quantitative    Biology,    75. 

195°- 

13.    .  The  Alaska  gateway  viewed  from  the  Aleutian  Islands. 

In,  The  physical  anthropology  of  the  American  Indian.   The 
Viking  Fund,  Inc.    1951. 

14.  Laughlin,  W.  S.  and  G.  H.  Marsh.  A  new  view  of  the  history 

of  the  Aleutians.    Arctic,  Journal  of  the  Arctic  Institute  of 
North  America,  4   (2).    1951. 


84  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

15.  Marsh,  G.  H.  and  Morris  Swadesh.   Eskimo  Aleut  correspond- 

ences.   Internat.   Journal   of  American   Linguistics,    iy    (4). 

1951- 

16.  Veniaminoff,  I.    Notes  on  the  Islands  of  the  Unalaska  Divi- 

sion, 3  vols.,  St.  Petersburg.    1840  (In  Russian). 

17.  Weyer,  E.  M.  Jr.  Archaeological  material  from  the  village  site 

at  Hot  Springs,  Port  Moller,  Alaska.  Anthrop.  Papers,  Amer- 
ican Museum  of  Natural  History,  3/   (4).    1930. 


ANCIENT   BERING  STRAIT  AND 
POPULATION  SPREAD 

J.  L.  Giddings,  Jr. 

Department  of  Anthropology 
University  of  Pennsylvania 

An  analysis  of  the  Cape  Denbigh  materials  excavated  in  the 
Bering  Strait  region  during  the  past  three  seasons  will  neces- 
sarily entail  some  reappraisal  of  our  views  on  broader  anthro- 
pological problems.  Some  of  this  must  await  a  detailed  study. 
However,  one  or  two  problems  of  a  more  academic  nature  beg 
for  consideration  even  before  the  full  significance  of  the  site  is 
known. 

The  teacher  of  anthropology  is  faced,  year  after  year,  with 
the  task  of  creating  a  background  for  students  that  will  help 
to  explain  for  them  the  diverse  racial  and  cultural  structures  of 
the  New  World.  He  is  encouraged  to  speculate  broadly  in 
order  to  satisfy  this  basic  demand,  even  though  concrete  proofs 
may  be  lacking.  The  often-repeated  explanations  that  one 
learned  some  years  ago  in  college  do  not  fully  answer  his  own 
questions  about  recent  discoveries  and  techniques  in  anthro- 
pology and  how  they  fit  together  into  a  logical  pattern.  If  he 
is  therefore  obliged  to  question  certain  emphases  of  the  recent 
past  in  his  attempt  to  evaluate  horizons  emerging  in  the  far 
north,  and  to  seek  some  alternative  explanations  of  American 
cultures  and  peoples,  it  is  with  the  greatest  respect  for  the 
various  points  of  view  of  his  colleagues  and  those  others  whose 
findings  he  re-orients  to  his  own  purposes.  The  proposals  out- 
lined in  the  following  paragraphs  are  offered  in  this  spirit,  in 
hopes  that  they  may  be  later  held  up  to  more  detailed  scrutiny.1 

A  remarkable  paradox  in  American  archaeology  exists  in  the 
willingness  of  almost  all  students  of  the  New  World  to  accept 


i  The  author  is  grateful  to  Doctors  Henry  B.  Collins,  Jr.,  Loren  C.  Eiseley, 
and  Froelich  G.  Rainey  for  having  read  the  first  draft  of  this  article. 

85 


86  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Bering  Strait  as  an  early  doorway  out  of  Asia  in  so  far  as  a 
general  theory  is  concerned,  while  at  the  same  time  many  of 
them  wish  to  see  in  the  archaeological  facts  of  the  far  north  only 
a  pattern,  or  ideal,  called  "Eskimo." 

Perhaps  this  concentration  on  either  the  distant  past  or  the 
present,  with  no  discernible  middle  period,  is  traceable  to  the 
rather  distinct  and  separate  origins  of  studies  of  American 
Indian  prehistory  and  of  "early  man."  The  one  study,  directed 
towards  such  continuities  as  from  existing  Pueblo  tribes  back 
through  the  cliff  house  periods  to  the  Basket-makers,  has  a  local 
American  tradition.  Its  basic  concepts  and  terminology,  what- 
ever the  area,  can  be  traced  from  such  mound-searchers  as 
Thomas  Jefferson,  Caleb  Atwater,  and  Squier  and  Davis,  and 
geologists  such  as  John  Wesley  Powell,  on  to  the  Boasian  school 
of  ethnographic  detailers,  and  to  historical  stratifiers  of  eth- 
nography such  as  Kaj  Birket-Smith.  Students  of  Early  Man, 
on  the  other  hand,  whether  Abbott  or  Roberts,  have  been 
flint-consciously  oriented,  in  this  aspect  of  their  work,  towards 
western  Europe  and  to  earth-ordering  like  that  of  de  Mortillet. 
Their  frame  of  cross-reference  has  lain  horizontally  in  time 
when  it  has  concerned  Folsom  and  related  discoveries,  so  that 
comparisons  of  like  materials  have  tended  to  reach  across  wide 
areas.  Thus,  one  may  discuss  flints  from  Clovis  in  New  Mexico, 
Dent  in  Colorado,  and  Scottsbluff  in  Nebraska  as  though  they 
were  a  result  of  the  one  set  of  natural  agents  that  has  controlled 
the  earth  sediments  in  which  they  occurred.  The  same  investi- 
gators have  not  dealt  in  such  broad  areas  when  defining  house 
pits  and  villages,  however.  The  latter  kind  of  site  has  been 
referred  locally  upward  and  downward  in  time,  in  a  conscious 
effort  to  establish  the  regional  and  environmental  ties  demon- 
strated by  living  peoples.  The  emergence  of  Early  Man  as  a 
scientifically  proven  reality  after  1927  exaggerated  the  cleavage 
between  the  traditions. 

More  recently,  a  few  "cultural"  archaeologists  have  been 
reaching  back  determinedly  for  the  linkage  to  geologically- 
treated  "complexes"  of  flints  and  bone  fragments.  Radioactive 
carbon  dating  now  threatens  to  erase  the  barriers  between  the 


Bering  Strait  and  Population  Spread— Giddings         87 

two  traditions  and  to  help  prove  that  prehistory  in  America 
has  been  remarkably  connected  since  the  first  humans  set  foot 
in  the  New  World. 

Archaeology  in  Alaska  is  a  fairly  recent  matter  for  research. 
It  began,  and  has  continued,  as  an  offshoot  of  archaeology  in 
the  United  States  proper.  It  has  been  carried  out  mainly  by 
investigators  fresh  from  the  States,  or  from  Europe,  and  its 
interpretations  have  inevitably  reflected  the  current  methods 
and  thoughts  emanating"  from  universities  and  museums  far 
from  the  locus  of  operations.  Dall  interpreted  the  shell  heaps 
of  the  Aleutians  as  it  was  customary  in  the  1870's  to  interpret 
shell  heaps  of  the  eastern  United  States.  Jochelson  amended 
Aleutian  interpretation  to  conform  with  the  advances  of  the 
1920's,  and  now  Laughlin  is  finding  the  same  field  fresh  with 
opportunities  of  re-ordering  according  to  the  multi-discipline 
approach  which  he  and  his  Harvard  associates  have  put  to  a 
test.  Collins,  de  Laguna,  and  Rainey  turned  out  their  first 
major  works  in  a  period  of  re-birth  of  archaeological  interest 
stimulated  in  part,  some  twenty  years  ago,  by  Folsom  finds  and 
the  delineation  of  an  eastern  Thule  culture.  Threaded  through 
two  generations  of  researchers  was  the  commanding  person- 
ality of  Ales  Hrdlicka  and  his  marvellous,  statistics-based  con- 
servatism. 

The  Recognition  of  Early  Man  in  Alaska 

Until  1935,  little  attention  was  given  to  the  theoretical  prob- 
ability that  the  campsites  of  Early  Man  might  be  numerous  in 
Alaska,  and  less  to  the  actual  search  for  these  sites.  This  was 
partly  because  of  the  greater  urgency  to  explore  the  rich  se- 
quences of  coastal  sites  for  knowledge  of  Eskimo  backgrounds, 
and  partly  because  of  unrewarding  surveys  of  the  vast,  wooded 
inland  regions.  Analyses  of  Eskimo  culture  have  often  linked 
traits  and  complexes  with  those  of  other  parts  of  the  world. 
In  the  absence  of  detailed  archaeological  knowledge  of  either 
northeastern  Siberia  or  the  boreal  forests  of  North  America, 
this  kind  of  study  was  necessarily  dependent  largely  on  the 
inferential  evidence  of  ethnology.   Two  main  problems  existed 


88  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

for  those  who  dug— that  of  the  first  migration  to  America  some- 
where in  the  distant  past,  and  that  of  the  various  layerings  of 
culture  that  combined  in  Asia  to  give  rise  to  a  squeezing-out 
of  Eskimos  as  a  sort  of  frosting  over  the  coasts  of  the  American 
Arctic.  To  be  sure,  Jenness,  Hrdlicka,  and  others  were  con- 
cerned also  with  transporting  Indians  across  Bering  Strait,  but 
this  remained  primarily  a  theoretical  problem  connected  with 
language  dispersion  and  distributions  of  ethnological  traits. 

Eskimos  have  recently  lived  along  all  of  the  far-northern 
coast  line  of  America,  from  Prince  William  Sound  around  the 
greater  part  of  Alaska  and  eastward  to  Labrador  and  Green- 
land. They  still  maintain  a  great  continuity,  particularly  in 
language.  Towards  the  interior,  and  enclosed  by  the  great  arc 
of  Eskimo-speakers,  are  the  Athapascan-speaking  tribes  whose 
structure  of  culture  is  remarkably  uniform  throughout  all  but 
the  coastal  strip  of  their  western  domain.  The  latter  inhabit 
the  greater  part  of  the  American  boreal  forest.  These  facts 
have  long  been  recognized  and  integrated  with  ethnological 
theory.  In  spite  of  all  this,  volumes  have  been  written  on 
Eskimo  prehistory,  while  practically  nothing  is  known  about 
the  archaeology  of  the  northern  Athapascans.  The  information 
secured  from  the  inland  regions  has,  with  the  exception  of 
relatively  recent  sites  investigated  in  central  Alaska  by  Froelich 
Rainey,  and  along  the  lower  Yukon  River  by  Frederica  de 
Laguna,  shown  little  evidence  of  fitting  into  the  ethnographic 
picture  of  northern  Athapascan  material  culture.  Many  of 
these  finds  may  now  be  tentatively  placed  in  the  Early  Man 
category. 

The  most  striking  of  these  discoveries  was  placed  on  record 
in  1937  when  N.  C.  Nelson  published  on  an  assemblage  of  flints 
from  the  University  of  Alaska  campus,  and  compared  it  closely 
with  similar  associations  on  the  Gobi  Desert  of  Mongolia.  The 
significant  types  were  prepared  cores  and  lamelles  (variously 
described  as  lamellar  flakes,  microliths,  and  prismatic  flakes) 
and  a  thin,  delicate  form  of  end  scraper.  This  combination  is 
also  to  be  found  in  other  parts  of  the  Old  World,  and  may  have 
been  first  put  together  during  the  Capsian  period  of  the  Afri- 


Bering  Strait  and  Population  Spread— Giddings         89 

can  Paleolithic.  This  highly  significant  paper  of  Nelson's  has 
been  somewhat  underplayed,  however,  because  it  brought  into 
view  flint  techniques  that  were  not  yet  widely  known  or  stressed 
in  America.  One  had  to  go  to  individual  site  reports  to  find 
that  the  small  cores  and  blades  had  turned  up  in  such  widely 
separated  places  as  the  Antilles,  Ohio  and  other  areas  in  the 
East  and  Middle  West,  and  all  along  the  eastern  coasts  of  Canada 
and  Greenland.  Here,  in  the  micro-core  and  bladelet,  is  found 
a  flint  specialization  of  the  highest  order— one  that  is  as  little 
likely  to  have  been  independently  invented  as  is,  for  instance, 
the  Folsom  channel  groove. 

Later  investigations  in  the  far  north  have  shown  that  the 
Campus  Site  combination  is  basic  to  Dorset  Culture,  and  that 
it  has,  at  early  periods,  characterized  the  inland  areas  of  the 
Yukon  Territory  and  Alaska.  And  Collins,  drawing  upon  cur- 
rent reports  from  Eurasia  in  1943,  has  found  reason  to  connect 
the  earliest  Eskimo  to  Mesolithic  developments  in  the  north- 
westerly direction. 

Since  the  middle  1930's,  Rainey  and  succeeding  University 
of  Alaska  archaeologists,  and  some  others,  have  reported  on 
chance  finds  in  the  gold-fields  where  frozen  silts  containing  the 
bones  of  extinct  animals  are  removed  by  hydraulic  mining. 
These  include  several  examples  of  large  blades  and  fragments 
of  the  distinctive  outlines  and  flaking  styles  that  would  place 
them  in  the  "Yuma"  or  Plainview  categories  of  Early  Man 
work  if  they  were  to  be  found  in  the  southwestern  United 
States.  In  aggregate,  these  finds  look  impressive,  but  the  fact 
remains  that  each  is  subject  to  the  gravest  doubt  when  one  is 
faced  with  judging  its  provenience  in  the  disorderly  silt  de- 
posits, where  curious  conditions  of  ground  thawing  and  re- 
freezing  in  spots  and  over  long  periods  may  place  mammoth 
tusks  and  tin  cans  side  by  side  deep  below  the  surface.  Some 
of  the  artifacts  from  the  silts,  and  surface  artifacts  from  neigh- 
boring areas,  are  now  more  respectably  linked  with  early  times 
by  association  with  a  typology  now  emerging  from  a  series  of 
discoveries  of  the  past  five  years. 

In   1948,  R.  H.  Thompson  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey 


go  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

reported  on  the  finding  of  a  Folsom  point  at  a  chipping  station 
in  the  high  plateau  area  north  of  the  Brooks  Range,  south  of 
Point  Barrow.  Two  years  later,  another  survey  party  was 
accompanied  by  an  archaeologist,  Ralph  Solecki,  who  dis- 
covered many  chipping  stations  across  a  broad  expanse  of  the 
same  mountains  and  plateaus.  Among  Solecki's  finds  were  two 
flaking  stations  in  which  prepared  cores  and  blades  or  lamelles 
and  associated  materials  duplicated  in  large  part  the  Campus 
Site  "microlithic"  industry  previously  reported  by  Nelson  and 
Rainey. 

The  sites  that  were  to  help  tie  together  all  of  these  fragments 
of  evidence  were  those  excavated  at  Cape  Denbigh,  and  at  the 
Trail  Creek  caves  of  northern  Seward  Peninsula.  The  first  of 
these  was  a  stratified  site  containing  not  only  distinctive  flint 
artifacts,  but  great  numbers  of  artifacts,  representing  presum- 
ably the  range  of  flint  products  of  one  people  at  one  time. 

The  Cape  Denbigh  site,  called  Iyatayet,  lies  on  a  terrace 
some  50  feet  above  sea  level,  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  creek 
flowing  into  Norton  Bay.  Here,  during  the  years  1949,  1950 
and  1951,  were  explored  three  cultural  strata,  conveniently 
separated  from  one  another  in  parts  of  the  site  by  either  sterile 
layers  or  by  sod  lines  resulting  from  abandonment  for  some 
time.  The  uppermost  layer  at  Iyatayet  is  thick  near  the  terrace 
slope,  but  thin  elsewhere,  and  contains  in  well-preserved  form 
the  remains  of  "neo-Eskimos"  who  inhabited  the  site  for  an  esti- 
mated 500  years— between  1100  and  1600  A.D.  Beneath  this 
capping  lies  a  poorly-preserved  thick  stratum  containing  the 
basalt-flaked  artifacts,  thin,  well-fired  pottery  and  other  ma- 
terials of  the  "palae-Eskimos"  whose  material  culture  is  closely 
related  to  that  of  other  sites  recently  delineated  for  Point  Hope, 
to  the  north,  and  Bristol  Bay  to  the  south.  Two  published 
radiocarbon  dates,  one  from  the  top  and  one  from  a  lower  part 
of  this  deposit,  may  indicate  very  nearly  the  range  of  time  in 
which  this  occupation  took  place.  These  are  490  A.D.  and 
66  B.C.  While  the  term  "palae-Eskimo"  attributes  linguistic 
relationships  about  which  we  have  no  knowledge  to  the  people 
who  left  these  remains,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  ma- 


Bering  Strait  and  Population  Spread— Giddings         91 

terial  culture  of  this  group  was  oriented  towards  the  same 
pursuits  of  partly-coastal,  partly-inland  hunting  that  presently 
characterize  some  of  the  populations  of  the  Bering  Sea  coasts 
of  Alaska. 

The  earliest  occupation  of  Iyatayet,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
represented  by  a  different  sort  of  workmanship,  and  a  different 
combination  of  artifact  types  from  those  of  other  known 
Alaskan  coastal  sites.  Contained  here  in  a  normally  pencil-thin 
layer  on  top  of  peri-glacial  sterile  deposits,  and  covered  by 
sterile  silt-loam  and  a  peaty  layer,  are  found  types  of  artifacts 
familiar  to  us  from  distant  places,  but,  with  few  exceptions, 
unlike  those  in  neighboring  coastal  areas.  More  than  half  of 
the  collection  of  1500  artifacts  uncovered  in  place  are  lamelles, 
cores,  and  retouched  lamelles  in  a  variety  of  delicate  micro- 
lithic  forms.  A  quarter  of  the  collection  represents  several 
forms  of  a  flint  tool  that  was  recognized  here  apparently  for  the 
first  time  in  the  New  World— the  burin  ("graver"  in  the  Euro- 
pean sense),  known  best  from  its  important  status  in  the  Upper 
Paleolithic  of  Europe.  Other  forms  include  a  channeled  (Fol- 
som)  point,  several  fragments  of  large  obliquely-flaked  "Yumas" 
like  those  of  the  American  Southwest,  and  other  flint  types 
known  from  either  Europe  and  Asia  or  more  southerly  parts  of 
America. 

Geologically,  the  site  manifests  features  that  clearly  relate  to 
climatic  changes.  These  features  are  to  be  the  subject  of  a 
paper  by  David  M.  Hopkins,  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey, 
who  visited  the  site.  We  may  only  say  now,  in  the  absence  of 
radiocarbon  dates  or  Mr.  Hopkins'  final  conclusions,  that  the 
"Denbigh  Flint  Complex,"  as  we  designate  the  oldest  materials, 
was  probably  laid  down  by  as  much  as  6000  years  ago. 

With  the  Cape  Denbigh  sequence  as  a  yardstick,  we  may  then 
place  other  manifestations  containing  less  definite  stratigraphy, 
and  fewer  artifacts,  into  a  probable  time  perspective.  The  Trail 
Creek  caves,  not  yet  described  in  full,  have  been  indicated  by 
Helge  Larsen  to  contain  a  scattering  of  artifacts  near  the  bottom 
of  the  deposit  that  recall  aspects  of  the  Denbigh  Flint  Complex, 
with   a   capping  of  palae-Eskimo   and   neo-Eskimo   materials. 


92  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

The  stratigraphy  of  these  caves  does  not  permit  a  close  isolation 
of  the  sorts  of  artifacts  used  at  one  time,  as  does  that  of  Cape 
Denbigh,  nor  is  the  aggregate  of  materials  secured  there  com- 
parable in  size  to  that  of  the  latter  site.  A  radiocarbon  date  has 
been  reported  at  about  6000  years  ago  for  charred  organic 
materials  collected  from  an  older  level  of  one  of  the  cave  de- 
posits. An  absence  of  burins  of  the  several  types  of  the  Denbigh 
Flint  Complex  may  mean  a  later  age  for  all  of  the  cave  de- 
posits, or  it  may  simply  mean  that  the  caves  were  occupied 
sporadically  by  hunters  who  had  no  need  of  burins  on  their 
inland  excusions. 

Sites  were  discovered  during  1950  along  the  exposed  ridges 
of  the  Brooks  Range  and  in  a  divide  at  the  head  of  Anaktuvuk 
River,  that  yielded  in  the  one  case  apparently  a  pure  site  of  the 
Denbigh  Flint  Complex,  and,  in  the  other,  channeled  points 
and  other  objects  relatable  as  an  aggregate  to  the  same  source. 
Work  on  one  of  these  sites  is  in  progress  by  the  discoverer, 
Wm.  Irving,  as  this  is  written  in  August  of  1951. 

One  sees  at  this  time  a  relative  time  scale  forward  that  would 
reduce  the  importance  of  the  older  techniques  (those  demon- 
strably old  in  terms  of  Old  World  and  Southwestern  prehis- 
tory), or  that  would  remove  these  farther  from  the  Bering 
Strait.  This  is  to  say,  the  focal  position  of  Bering  Strait  at  a 
point  where  ideas  from  two  continents  are  blended  would  tend 
to  reflect  dynamically  on  culture.  Innovations  of  the  Neolithic, 
such  as  ground  tools  and  pottery,  would  replace  older  tech- 
niques here  and  elsewhere  along  currents  of  strong  diffusion, 
while  a  lag  in  replacement  might  be  expected  in  peripheral 
areas.  The  degree  of  replacement,  expressed  statistically,  might 
be  expected  to  clarify  factors  of  both  time  and  distance.  In 
order  to  apply  this  tentative  scale,  however,  we  need  to  re- 
examine two  basic  concepts  of  American  archaeology. 


Bering  Strait  and  Population  Spread— Giddings         93 
Migrations 

The  first  concept  to  be  considered  is  that  so  often  advanced 
in  the  literature  as  "migration."  -  The  first  Americans  "mi- 
grate" from  Asia.  Languages  are  transported  from  Asia  (leav- 
ing no  trace  in  their  homeland!)  by  means  of  "migrations." 
What  is  meant  by  this  magic  aid  that  we  have  all  used  so  freely 
in  the  past?  What  are  its  mechanics  at  the  Bering  Strait  gate- 
way itself? 

Logical  though  the  movement  of  groups  of  mankind  across 
either  a  former  land  bridge  or  the  present  navigable  waterway 
may  seem  from  the  vantage  ground  of  a  distant  classroom,  such 
movements  become  nebulous  in  the  extreme  when  one  tries  to 
invoke  them  while  in  the  Alaskan  field.  Let  us  see  what  might 
have  led  to  the  movements  that  may  have  populated  America 
down  through  the  millennia.  A  list  of  common  assumptions 
might  be  as  follows: 

1.  Man  follows  his  game  animals— caribou,  mammoth,  bison. 

2.  Man  seeks  more  room  in  a  new  land— escapes  the  pressures 
behind. 

3.  Man  searches  for  a  milder  climate— seeks  a  route  southward. 

One  can  have  no  argument  with  any  of  these  propositions 
if  he  leaves  out  all  the  qualifiers  of  pre-direction,  pre-determi- 
nation— removes  the  "seek,"  and  "search,"  and  "follow,"  and 
substitutes  "finds"— and  allows  an  infinitude  of  time.  But  does 
he  not  then  have,  instead  of  migration,  a  mere  population 
spread?  "Migration"  usually  connotes  more  than  a  spread. 
Spilled  molasses  does  not  "migrate"  across  a  table  top.  Let  us 
then  examine  the  propositions  cited  as  though  they  retained 
an  element  of  purposefulness. 

The  nomadic  hunter  does  not  follow  his  game,  if  we  may 
judge  from  ethnographic  evidence— he  intercepts  it.  The  ani- 
mal migrates— man  intercepts.  Thus  the  caribou  annually 
gather  in  herds  in  northern  Alaska  and  move  northward  to- 


2  The  following  remarks  are  directed  towards  the  more  theoretical  approaches 
to  the  subject,  rather  than  to  those  of  Arctic  specialists,  whose  reconstructions 
of  movements  at  Bering  Strait  are  defined  by  specific  cross-relationships. 


94  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

wards  the  barren  grounds,  but  in  late  August  and  September 
they  return  in  herds  to  the  forested  interior,  crossing  the  Yukon 
River  and  the  mountain  range  to  the  south,  to  disperse  later 
into  small  bands  scattered  among  the  valleys  and  plateaus  for 
winter  foraging.  Their  crossings  of  the  rivers  and  mountains 
while  in  large  herds  are  so  strictly  patterned  in  the  spring  and 
fall  that  Athapascan  hunters  have  been  able  to  gather  together 
and  repair  their  diverting  "fences"  with  full  assurance  that  the 
caribou  would  come  to  them.  The  Athapascans  are  nomadic  in 
the  sense  of  moving  their  customary  hunting  sites  when  the 
caribou  change  their  crossings,  but  they  are  not  nomadic  in 
the  sense  of  following  the  herds  from  one  seasonal  range  to 
another.  In  the  off  season,  the  hunters  depend  upon  fish,  birds, 
small  game  and  vegetable  products.  They  also  know  how  to 
preserve  meat  when  the  supply  is  plentiful. 

It  is  difficult  to  picture  a  human  society,  either  in  Paleolithic 
Europe  or  today,  that  is  dependent  on  one  source  of  food,  and 
one  alone.  Although  we  lack  evidence  on  which  to  compare 
the  habits  of  caribou  to  such  extinct  animals  as  mammoths, 
it  is  even  more  difficult  to  picture  a  society  that  adapts  itself 
to  annual  migrations.  Therefore,  when  we  say  that  man  follows 
his  game  animals,  we  may  mean  simply  that  over  many  genera- 
tions the  locus  of  customary  seasonal  hunting  at  game  crossings 
can  slowly  change. 

This  process  of  slowly  accommodating  to  the  habits  of  game 
animals  can  be  inferred  from  the  archaeological  record  in  some 
parts  of  the  world,  and  in  one  or  two  cases  it  seems  to  have  been 
relatively  rapid— as  in  the  spread  of  a  thin  population  in  search 
of  whales  carrying  the  Thule  Culture  along  the  shores  of  the 
Arctic  Sea.  However,  we  see  little  evidence  for  the  mass  migra- 
tion within  one  generation  beyond  the  customary  range  of  band 
or  tribe. 

Again,  from  the  ethnographical  picture  in  thinly  populated 
areas,  there  appears  to  be  a  strong  tendency  for  stability  over 
long  periods  of  time.  Hunters  and  gatherers  who  command 
many  square  miles  per  unit  of  population  have  no  need  to  move 
because  of  invasions  by  hostile  groups— a  sparse  population  pre- 


Bering  Strait  and  Population  Spread— Giddings         95 

sents  no  united  front.  They  cherish  their  familial  and  other 
group  contacts  and  arrange  to  meet  in  groups  at  least  once 
within  the  span  of  a  year.  Under  what  circumstances  can  we 
visualize  residents  of  the  northern  forests  as  falling  under  any 
population  pressures  that  would  force  them  to  search  for  more 
land?  The  individual  moves  within  a  fixed  radius  of  space 
within  his  lifetime.  His  children  establish  their  own  circles 
of  range  beyond.    But  this  is  not  migration! 

Finally,  we  must  consider  the  possibility  that  something  in 
the  biological  nature  of  man  causes  him  to  seek  warmer  cli- 
mates, as  a  sunflower  faces  the  sun.  It  is  obviously  impractical 
to  attempt  to  investigate  such  an  innate  longing  in  the  animal 
himself.  If  we  may  judge  by  the  developments  of  culture,  how- 
ever, there  has  been  a  tendency  over  a  very  long  period  every- 
where for  man  to  adapt  himself  to  colder  and  colder  climates. 
This  can  be  as  readily  seen  as  a  desirable  development  as  it  can 
as  a  makeshift  arrangement  based  on  necessity.  Surely  Europe 
was  not  so  populous  in  late  Paleolithic  and  early  Mesolithic 
times  that  man  could  not  support  himself  without  pushing  into 
the  Scandinavian  peninsula.  Nor  would  it  have  been  difficult 
for  the  Central  Eskimos  recently  to  have  moved  southward 
into  the  forests,  or  even  into  the  northern  great  plains,  had  they 
so  desired.  Of  course  peoples  in  thinly  populated  areas  live 
where  they  do  not  because  they  are  pushed  there,  nor  may  not 
find  land  elsewhere,  but  because  by  tradition  and  cultural 
adaptation  they  find  their  particular  environment  and  locale 
the  ideal  ones  in  all  the  universe. 

The  coastal  Eskimo  does  not  move  into  the  forest,  even 
though  friendly  Eskimos  may  live  there,  since  he  does  not  wish 
to  leave  the  excellent  place  that  he  believes  is  his  on  the  coast. 
He  does  not  care  to  catch  fish  in  traps  under  the  winter  river 
ice  as  long  as  it  is  possible  to  hunt  seal  at  the  open  leads.  While 
it  is  quite  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  family  might  shift  its 
home  many  miles  within  its  own  environmental  zone,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  understand  how  a  migration  could  take  place  in  any 
such  purposive  way  as  to  lead  to  warmer  regions. 

It  is  clear  from  each  of  the  preceding  arguments  that  we 


96  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

do  indeed  assume  spatial  rearrangements  of  populations  from 
one  general  period  to  another.  Eskimo-speaking  groups  actually 
do  live  both  on  the  coast  and  along  the  forested  rivers.  Our 
problem,  then,  concerns  the  relegation  of  this  phenomenon  to 
migration  or  to  some  other  factor.  We  shall  return  to  this 
question  later. 

"Eskimo" 

The  second  concept  that  we  have  long  been  accustomed  to 
use  without  often  defining  is  "Eskimo."  It  is  used  to  designate 
a  people,  a  pattern  of  life,  and  a  language  stock.  How  are  we  to 
define  the  term  when  it  incorporates  all  three  aspects  together? 
And  how  far  back  in  time  can  we  safely  apply  it? 

One  is  on  fairly  solid  ground  in  speaking  of  "the  Eskimo 
language."  The  Eskimoan  dialects  are  easily  distinguished 
from  Athapascan  and  Chukchee  languages.  However,  the 
Aleuts  are  by  no  means  the  only  Eskimo-speakers  who  experi- 
ence difficulty  in  conversing  with  their  nearest  neighbors.  When 
Knud  Rasmussen  journeyed  by  sledge  all  the  way  from  Green- 
land to  Alaska,  he  had  no  trouble  in  conversing  with  peoples 
along  the  way  until  he  reached  the  Kotzebue  Sound  area.  While 
at  Nome  later,  he  found  it  very  difficult  to  take  notes  from  visit- 
ing Bering  Sea  Eskimos.  The  fracturing  of  peoples  of  the  Ber- 
ing Sea  coast  and  of  Seward  Peninsula  into  many  dialect  groups 
has  long  interested  investigators,  although  none  has  questioned 
the  appelation  "Eskimo"  for  any  of  these.  It  is,  nevertheless,  sig- 
nificant that  nearly  half  of  the  Eskimo-speakers  of  the  world 
live  in  this  area  where  there  is  the  greatest  difficulty  in  mutual 
understanding.  In  terms  of  age-area  criteria,  perhaps  the  term 
"Eskimo"  should  be  applied  first  in  this  region,  and  only 
secondarily  far  to  the  east. 

Is  an  individual  an  Eskimo,  then,  because  of  his  bodily  form? 
The  "Eskimo  physical  type"  that  has  become  firmly  entrenched 
in  the  text-books  appears  to  have  congealed  in  the  central  and 
eastern  Arctic  before  a  great  deal  of  work  had  been  done  in  any 
area.  Hrdlicka  has  pointed  to  the  great  departure  of  most 
western  Eskimos  from  the  long-headed,   keel-crowned,  short- 


Bering  Strait  and  Population  Spread— Giddings         97 

legged  archtype,  and  Shapiro  has  later  stressed  this  point  and 
suggested  Algonkian  parallels  for  Eskimos  of  both  east  and 
west.    Very  recently  Laughlin  has  summarized  as  follows: 

The  majority  of  Eskimos  lived  in  the  western  portions  of  Alaska 
and  are  brachycephalic.  This  brachycephaly  distinguishes  them 
from  the  longheaded  eastern  Eskimos  who  have  previously  been 
considered  the  classic  or  original  Eskimo  type  owing  in  large  part 
to  the  historical  priority  of  studies  on  them,  rather  than  upon  their 
numbers  or  archaeological  antiquity.  Future  archaeological  studies 
may  be  expected  to  demonstrate  the  entry  of  Eskimos  of  various 
morphological  types  from  Asia.  (Wm.  S.  Laughlin,  The  Alaskan 
Gatexuay  Viewed  from  the  Aleutian  Islands,  p.  124,  in  The  Physical 
Anthropology  of  the  American  Indian,  Viking  Fund,  1951.  New 
York). 

Culturally  speaking,  we  may  point  out  that  generally  the 
Eskimoan  peoples  practice  sealing  with  toggle  harpoons  where 
seals  occur,  they  whale  at  peninsular  areas  where  whales  pass 
by  regularly  in  abundance,  they  practice  ice  hunting  where  ice 
conditions  are  right,  and  their  women  all  use  a  semi-lunar 
knife.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  describe  the  material  cul- 
ture of  one  area  and  then  apply  it  universally.  Neither  the 
snow  house  nor  the  soapstone  pot  appears  in  the  Bering  Strait 
area.  Nor  has  dog  sledding  left  incontrovertible  evidence  that 
it  even  existed  in  the  west  more  than  250  years  ago.  These  par- 
ticulars are  not  chosen  to  minimize  the  many  similarities  be- 
tween east  and  west,  but  to  indicate  that  the  things  used  or 
thought  by  Eskimos  in  one  area  are  not  necessarily  the  parts  of 
a  universal  formula. 

If  it  is  then  difficult  to  categorize  Eskimo-speaking  peoples 
as  a  whole  today,  what  are  the  criteria  that  we  may  apply  freely 
to  the  information  gained  from  archaeological  sites  to  set  apart 
"Eskimo"  prehistoric  cultures  from  all  others?  Archaeology 
near  Bering  Strait  shows  little  evidence  of  "static  survival"  of  a 
single  culture,  but  records  continual  change  within  the  limits 
imposed  by  environment.  The  Thule  Culture  appears  to  be 
valid  as  a  concept  both  in  the  east  and  the  west,  but  the  Old 
Bering  Sea  Culture  has  thus  far  appeared  as  such  only  on  the 


98  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Asiatic  side  (assuming  St.  Lawrence  Island  to  have  long  been  a 
cultural  extension  of  Asia  rather  than  of  America).  At  what 
point  in  time  did  the  Eskimo  language  first  emerge  at  Bering 
Strait?  If  this  question  is  unanswerable,  as  it  appears  to  be,  we 
shall  have  to  depend  upon  mutual  agreement,  rather  than  upon 
factual  information,  for  that  point  in  prehistory  when  we  cease 
to  deal  with  "Eskimos." 

If  we  now  agree  that  both  the  concepts  of  "migrations"  and 
"Eskimos"  are  largely  theoretical  when  applied  to  arctic 
American  prehistory,  we  are  free  to  consider  a  specific  mechan- 
ism by  which  it  is  possible  to  account  not  only  for  the  present 
populations  and  cultures  of  the  Arctic,  but  for  the  peopling 
of  all  the  Americas.  This  mechanism  can  be  called  simply 
"population  spread." 

Population  Spread 

The  mechanics  of  population  spread  can  most  easily  be 
understood  in  terms  of  an  original  family,  or  small  group. 
If  we  may,  for  the  sake  of  clarity,  put  aside  the  possibility  that 
man  was  on  hand  when  an  early  land  bridge  existed  at  Bering 
Strait,  and  assume  a  first  crossing  by  water  from  Asia  to 
America,3  the  sequence  may  be  seen  more  or  less  as  follows: 

1.  Hunters  one  day  sail  or  paddle  their  craft  from  East  Cape 
to  Big  Diomede  Island,  in  the  middle  of  Bering  Strait.  They 
camp  there  for  a  few  days,  amassing  local  products.  They 
return  with  their  produce  and  report  to  the  villagers,  or 
campers,  at  East  Cape  that  hunting  conditions  are  good  on  the 
island.  We  may  assume  that  these  people  who  set  out  from 
East  Cape  in  the  first  place  are  equipped  to  live  under  the 
climatic  and  environmental  conditions  of  this  coast— that  they 
are  provided  with  adequate  cold-weather  housing,  warm  cloth- 
ing, and  means  of  heating  and  lighting  their  winter  dwellings— 
else  it  ivould  be  extremely  difficult  to  explain  their  presence  in 
that  latitude  and  area. 


3  The  author  has  no  strong  convictions  in  this  direction,  and  feels  that  the 
following  principles  would  apply  to  conditions  of  passage  over  either  land  or 
water. 


Bering  Strait  and  Population  Spread— Giddings         99 

2.  These  hunters,  with  their  family,  or  families,  return  year 
after  year  to  Big  Diomede  for  seasonal  hunting. 

3.  Some  members  of  this  or  a  later  generation  establish 
permanent  homes  on  the  island. 

4.  The  above  processes  are  repeated  towards  the  Alaska  main- 
land at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales. 

5.  Now  the  American  mainland  has  received  its  first  perma- 
nent population.  The  original  settlers  return  often  to  Asia, 
and  explore  the  local  land  areas  only  so  far  as  it  is  convenient 
to  extend  a  normal  hunting  and  gathering  range  in  terms  of 
their  long-established  cultural  pattern  for  these  activities. 

6.  Second  and  third  generations  of  these  peoples  remain 
near  the  original  settlement,  because  their  traditions  and  social 
activities  are  centered  there,  but  their  actual  dwelling  sites  and 
hunting  ranges  extend  in  wider  circles  both  inland  and  along 
the  coast. 

7.  With  the  normal  increase  of  population  of  a  group  over 
a  period  of  many  generations,  separate  bands  have  differenti- 
ated, some  placing  more  emphasis  on  the  far-inland  hunting 
of  caribou  and  salmon,  others  on  coastal  sealing.  Their  culture 
contains,  from  Asia,  the  elements  that  make  little  or  no  inven- 
tion necessary.  A  shift  of  emphasis  in  selecting  elements  from 
their  background  suffices  to  differentiate  a  land-hunting  group 
from  a  sea-hunting  group. 

8.  With  the  passage  of  many  generations,  local  bands  de- 
velop new  traditions,  new  emphases,  and  exploit  new  terrain 
and  climatic  zones.  Since  they  are  semi-nomadic  hunters  and 
gatherers,  their  populations  do  not  become  dense,  nor  greatly 
concentrated,  and  over  many  centuries  and  millennia  their 
normal  increase  of  population  extends  into  the  other  climatic 
zones  of  America.  The  population  controls  of  birth  and  death 
manipulation,  food  scarcity,  and  feuding  will  operate  in  the 
older  areas,  but  need  not  restrict  numbers  near  the  outer 
boundaries. 

9.  The  backward  direction  is  the  only  one  in  which  this 
population  spread  is  limited,  for  it  is  in  that  direction  that 
populations  have  developed  a  stability,  and  have  erected  tribal 
boundaries. 


ioo  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

10.  At  Bering  Strait  itself  there  is  a  continuous  moving  back 
and  forth  of  the  related  peoples,  but  no  migration.  Nor  is  there 
likely  ever  to  be  a  movement  of  foreign  peoples  across  the 
Strait  in  mass,  so  long  as  the  original,  culturally  adapted  popu- 
lation is  not  decimated  in  some  unlikely  way. 

11.  Ideas  and  devices  diffuse  freely  across  Bering  Strait  at 
all  later  times,  but  equally  in  both  directions.  Although  short- 
term  hostilities  may  create  temporary  barriers  that  dam  up  the 
stream  of  diffusion,  the  resulting  ponds  of  difference  break 
locally,  and  trading  of  ideas  and  goods  is  resumed. 

12.  Although  there  are  few  generations,  or  close  series  of 
generations,  for  which  there  is  violent  cultural  change,  the 
people  of  Bering  Strait  are  constantly  altering  their  culture 
through  diffusion.  Their  physique  changes  also,  through  free 
draft  upon  the  genetic  pool  of  their  greater  cultural  area  (and 
through  the  operation  of  "genetic  drift"  as  a  random  element 
of  small  population  change).  Their  language  modifies  through 
slow  innovation. 

13.  Although  we  might  not  have  associated  the  original 
families  with  the  term  "Eskimo"  to  any  appreciable  extent,  the 
direction  of  change  is  continuously  towards  that  ideal. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  this  view  there  is  no  room  for  vio- 
lent change,  nor  for  migrations,  nor  for  the  funneling  into 
America  of  whole  peoples  who  bring  with  them  the  character- 
istics now  found  in  isolated  parts  of  the  two  Americas.  Such 
differences  are  explained  by  diffusion  and  invention  working 
together,  and  by  rearrangements  of  the  genetic  pool  locally  into 
varieties  of  physical  norms.  If  there  is  no  particular  reason  for 
the  people  of  Bering  Strait  to  look  alike  from  one  millennium 
to  another,  drawing  freely  as  they  may  upon  genetic  combina- 
tions from  both  Asia  and  America,  there  is  similarly  no  reason 
for  all  of  the  culturally  differentiating  groups  farther  to  the 
south  to  cling  to  the  physical  prototype  of  the  first  arrivals  on 
American  soil. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  premise  in  this  highly  specu- 
lative approach  is  the  discounting  of  real  migration  of  hordes, 
and  any  of  the  other  unilinear  theoretical  explanations  of  the 


Bering  Strait  and  Population  Spread— Giddings        101 

peoples  of  America,  plus  the  assumption  that  diffusion  of 
both  ideas  and  genes  among  the  sparse  population  would  be 
equally  as  free  from  America  to  Asia  as  in  the  opposite 
direction. 

The  Relative  Sequence  of  Archaeology 

The  facts  of  recent  and  earlier  archaeological  finds  in  the 
American  Arctic  may  now  be  speculatively  woven  into  the 
background  of  population  spread. 

The  Denbigh  Flint  Complex  represents  a  site  of  peoples  who 
have  been  long  established  on  American  soil.  Here  are  com- 
bined the  microlithic  burins,  lamelles,  diagonal  flaking,  and  the 
like,  that  are  a  cultural  heritage  combined  of  Paleolithic  and 
Mesolithic  traits.  The  Paleolithic  forms  are  already  losing 
ground  to  new  developments  in  the  circumpolar  drift.  Along 
with  these  are  channeled  points  more  recently  developed  as  an 
American  by-product  of  the  blade-and-core  technique  (a  Folsom 
channel  is  the  scar  left  after  removal  of  essentially  a  parallel- 
sided  blade),  and  other  American  developments  such  as  the 
Folsom  "graver." 

As  time  goes  by,  more  of  the  Paleolithic  and  Mesolithic  ele- 
ments are  dropped,  and  Neolithic  substitutes  (such  as  ground 
stone  tools)  are  added.  Similarly,  backward  and  peripheral 
areas,  such  as  a  few  inland  groups  and  the  Dorset  people  of  the 
eastern  seaboard,  retain  old  elements  as  though  for  them  time 
had  stood  still.  Diffusion  proceeds  along  certain  mainstreams, 
however,  so  that  the  advance  guard  of  population  spread  to  the 
south  may  accept  more  new  ideas  from  behind  them  than  does 
the  adjusted,  peripheral  group  somewhere  to  the  rear. 

It  is  clear  that  certain  sea-hunting  elements  of  culture  that 
are  useful  in  Bering  Strait  will  have  been  dropped  by  the  popu- 
lations who  spread  far  inland,  and  that  dwellers  on  mid-conti- 
nental plains  will  have  either  minimized  or  modified  the  tech- 
niques that  may  still  be  used  far  to  the  north. 

The  futility  of  attempting  to  arrange  the  archaeological  sites 
of  the  Arctic  into  stratified  sequences  thus  becomes  apparent. 
We  must  deal  in  three  dimensions,  including  areal  spread  and 


102  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

the  forward  march  of  time.  We  can  say  that  Dorset  Culture 
retained  more  older  elements  longer  than  did  cultures  of 
Bering  Strait,  but  we  cannot  be  sure  that  small  groups  near  to 
Bering  Strait,  yet  to  be  discovered  archaeologically,  did  not  also 
retain  as  much  of  the  old  for  an  equally  long  time.  To  argue 
that  the  Campus  Site  and  the  lamelle-containing  sites  at  Lake 
Kluane  are  older  than  certain  coastal  sites  that  do  not  contain 
lamelles  is  in  vain  so  long  as  geological  or  more  specific  dating 
is  not  available  for  both.  Until  radiocarbon  and  tree-ring  dates 
appear  for  numbers  of  sites  throughout  the  area,  we  shall  have 
to  rank  cultural  manifestations  not  as  to  whether  one  is  older 
than  another,  but  as  to  whether  or  not  it  is  more  old  fashioned. 
And,  of  course,  we  must  reckon  in  those  elements  of  isolation 
and  distance  from  a  center,  or  mainstream,  of  diffusion. 

In  summary,  it  appears  that  Bering  Strait  has  never  been 
subject  to  wide-scale  migrations  of  peoples  from  Asia  to  America 
such  as  would  account  for  the  diversity  of  culture,  physique, 
and  language  among  American  Indians,  but  that  it  has  main- 
tained from  the  distant  past  a  locally  modifying  population  and 
culture,  based  upon  the  combined  food  resources  of  the  land 
and  sea,  and  has  served  as  a  narrow  conduit  through  which 
diffusion  has  freely  vibrated  in  both  directions  at  all  times. 


BOTANICAL  RESEARCH  IN  ALASKA 
William  C.  Steere 

Professor  of  Biology 
Stanford  University 

A  glimpse  at  the  history  of  botanical  research  in  Alaska 
reveals  immediately  the  lack  of  any  innate  or  guided  tendency 
toward  integration  or  coordination,  and  makes  very  clear  the 
necessity  for  our  present  Conference.  Georg  Wilhelm  Steller, 
in  1741,  "was  not  only  the  first  white  man  to  set  foot  on  Alaskan 
soil,  but  was  also  the  first  naturalist  to  collect,  study  and  de- 
scribe Alaskan  plants  and  animals  at  a  time  when  the  world 
did  not  even  know  of  the  existence  of  Alaska."  Born  and  edu- 
cated in  Germany,  Steller  was  naturalist  to  the  last  voyage  of 
exploration  of  Vitus  Bering,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Russian 
government.  Following  the  pioneer  work  of  Steller,  further 
botanical  studies  were  made  through  the  years  in  a  casual,  more 
or  less  accidental  way  by  other  expeditions  of  exploration- 
Russian,  Spanish,  English,  Scandinavian,  and  American.  The 
British  voyages  in  search  of  a  northern  ship  passage  above  the 
North  American  continent,  and  the  land  and  sea  parties  sent 
out  in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century,  were  all  productive  of  considerable  incidental  botani- 
cal information.  From  1867,  when  the  United  States  purchased 
Alaska  from  Russia,  until  now,  occasional  botanical  investiga- 
tions have  been  made  officially  and  unofficially  by  several 
agencies  of  the  United  States  government  and  at  the  expense 
of  the  government:  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  U.  S. 
Bureau  of  Fisheries,  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  the  Forest  Service  and 
several  other  agencies  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  the 
Coast  Guard,  various  branches  of  the  Geological  Survey,  and 
other  governmental  organizations.  During  World  War  II, 
many  Armed  Forces  personnel  made  botanical  studies  and  col- 
lections in  Alaska  quite  outside  the  line  of  duty.    At  the  mo- 

103 


104  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

ment,  the  most  active  and  extensive  botanical  researches  are 
being  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  Alaska  Terrain  and 
Permafrost  Section  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  as  an  essen- 
tial part  of  a  large  and  important  investigation  of  Pleistocene 
and  post-Pleistocene  geological  phenomena  in  Alaska.  In  this 
Section,  the  work  of  botanists  and  geologists  is  being  integrated 
in  a  wholly  admirable  manner.  Unfortunately  for  science,  how- 
ever, no  single  agency  has  been  authorized— or  given  funds— 
to  bring  together  the  vastly  important  botanical  knowledge 
about  Alaska  already  in  existence  or  to  proceed  with  an  in- 
tegrated research  program  on  a  large  scale.  In  truth,  most 
botanical  research  in  Alaska  or  on  Alaskan  materials  has  been 
carried  on  under  other  sponsorship  than  that  of  our  govern- 
ment, and  has  depended  in  large  part  on  the  financial  resources 
of  universities,  of  philanthropic  foundations,  and  even  of  indi- 
viduals. In  the  summer  of  1899,  Mr.  Edward  H.  Harriman  put 
a  party  of  25  scientists  in  the  field  in  Alaska  at  his  own  expense, 
and  the  extensive  reports  of  the  extremely  successful  Harriman 
Alaska  Expedition,  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
are  familiar  to  all  of  us.  It  is  a  misfortune  for  us  that  the  two 
volumes  reserved  for  an  account  of  the  flowering  plants  have 
never  been  published,  although  it  is  rumored  that  the  manu- 
script was  completed.  The  important  recent  publications  of 
the  distinguished  Swedish  botanist,  Dr.  Eric  Hulten  ("Flora 
of  the  Aleutian  Islands"  (1937)  and  his  still  incomplete  "Flora 
of  Alaska  and  Yukon,"  appearing  in  sections  since  1941  (in 
Lunds  Universitets  Arsskrift)  serve  to  fill  this  gap.  The  fact 
that  Hulten's  field  explorations  were  financed  from  Sweden 
and  that  his  publications  appeared  there,  although  in  English, 
is  a  further  direct  reflection  of  the  lack  of  official  interest  in  this 
country  in  the  botany  of  Alaska.  These  remarks  should  not  be 
interpreted  as  being  at  all  chauvinistic  in  intent,  since  it  is  per- 
fectly obvious  that  a  Canadian  or  Scandinavian  botanist  will 
naturally  be  more  familiar  with  the  northern  flora  than  most 
Americans.  However,  for  simple  reasons  of  convenience  and 
availability,  it  would  be  desirable  to  have  fundamental  works  of 
this  sort  published  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.   Fortunately  for 


Botanical  Research  in  Alaska— Steere  105 

us,  Mr.  J.  P.  Anderson  has  nearly  completed  an  excellent  and 
extremely  useful  series  of  well-illustrated  papers  on  the  "Flora 
of  Alaska"  which  makes  possible  the  identification  of  the  higher 
plants  of  Alaska.  Mr.  Anderson's  contribution  becomes  all  the 
more  valuable  when  we  realize  that  his  extensive  explorations 
and  collections  were  made  largely  at  his  own  expense,  during 
a  long  residence  in  Alaska. 

It  may  seem  to  you  that  I  have  put  undue  weight  on  taxonomy 
in  emphasizing  the  achievements  of  Hulten  and  Anderson,  yet 
it  seems  to  me  that  these  are  among  the  very  few  comprehensive 
publications  on  Alaskan  botany.  Furthermore,  an  inventory 
of  the  flora  is  the  backbone  of  all  botanical  research,  since  the 
solution  of  even  a  completely  nontaxonomic  problem  depends 
on  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  plant  materials  used.  Because  of 
the  high  physiological  and  ecological  specialization  of  different 
species,  improper  identification  of  materials  employed  by  physi- 
ologists, geneticists,  cytologists,  or  ecologists  may  result  in  con- 
clusions that  are  open  to  suspicion,  if  not  actually  misleading. 
The  extremely  practical  considerations  involved  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  aerial  photographs  in  order  to  determine  traffic- 
ability,  water  resources,  etc.,  depend  upon  a  thorough  under- 
standing of  flora  and  vegetation.  Many  phenomena  connected 
with  permafrost  may  be  very  closely  related,  either  as  cause  or 
effect,  to  definite  species  of  higher  plants  or  even  of  mosses. 

Since  most  if  not  all  of  the  other  participants  on  this  program 
are  especially  interested  in  higher  plants  as  research  material, 
it  would  seem  appropriate  for  me  to  touch  upon  the  need  for 
research  in  the  enormous  field  of  cryptogamic  botany  in  Alaska, 
insofar  as  my  time  allows.  Although  many  groups  of  seedless 
plants  far  outnumber  in  species  the  seed  plants  of  Alaska,  no 
comprehensive  study  of  any  major  cryptogamic  group  has  been 
published  since  the  reports  of  the  Harriman  Expedition  a  half- 
century  ago,  so  far  as  I  know.  The  series  of  researches  on  wood- 
rotting  and  other  higher  fungi,  both  in  the  field  and  in  the 
laboratory,  by  Professor  Dow  V.  Baxter  of  the  University  of 
Michigan  are  internationally  known.  Many  papers  on  Alaskan 
lichens  have  been  published  both  in  this  country  and  abroad, 


106  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

and  Dr.  George  Llano  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  en- 
gaged in  further  researches.  A  very  extensive  study  of  the 
known  distribution  of  mosses  in  Alaska  was  prepared  by  one  of 
my  students,  Dr.  A.  M.  Harvill,  Jr.,  now  at  the  University  of 
Alabama,  but  its  very  comprehensiveness  has  so  far  prevented 
publication.  The  marine  algae  of  Alaska  have  received  some 
attention,  especially  in  Setchell's  studies  on  Pacific  algae,  but 
the  fresh-water  groups  still  remain  relatively  unknown.  In  my 
opinion,  there  is  urgent  need  for  comprehensive  reports  on 
each  group  of  cryptogamic  plants  and  for  over-all  studies  on  the 
whole  field  of  cryptogamic  botany.  As  already  pointed  out,  a 
stock-taking  or  inventory  of  the  flora  is  a  basic  research  need, 
not  necessarily  as  an  end  in  itself,  but  especially  to  give  us  a 
knowledge  of  the  materials  available  for  research. 

Since  my  research  interests  center  primarily  about  the  bryo- 
phytes,  I  will  indicate  some  of  the  problems  in  which  they 
provide  useful  research  material.  Because  of  their  relatively 
small  size  and  complete  lack  of  roots,  in  a  strict  botanical  sense, 
mosses  and  liverworts  are  very  directly  affected  by  the  sub- 
stratum upon  which  they  grow.  Because  of  their  sensitivity  to 
the  nature  of  the  substratum  and  to  other  factors  of  the  physi- 
cal environment,  bryophytes  are  excellent  indicators  of  these 
factors. 

The  recognition  of  this  restriction  of  different  species  of 
bryophytes  to  specific  habitats  and  conditions  enables  us  to 
employ  them  in  a  very  practical  manner,  although  much  serious 
research  is  needed  in  this  relatively  unexplored  field.  Already, 
however,  we  can  say  in  a  general  way  that  the  distribution  of 
mosses  and  hepatics,  if  properly  interpreted,  will  give  us  much 
information  on  extremes  of  soil  temperature,  soil  texture,  the 
chemical  and  physical  nature  of  soils,  the  nature  and  composi- 
tion of  rocks,  and  the  water  supply.  Some  species  are  restricted 
to  highly  mineralized  rocks,  and  careful  research  on  this  rela- 
tionship might  give  practical  results,  since  the  members  of  the 
genus  Mielichhoferia  seem  to  indicate  the  presence  of  copper 
ion.  The  thick  mats  of  mosses  certainly  influence  the  thermal 
regime  of  the  underlying  soils  and  may  be  very  important  in 


Botanical  Research  in  Alaska— Steere  107 

questions  of  permafrost,  since  the  dry  mat  in  summer  serves 
as  excellent  insulation,  yet  when  frozen  radiates  heat  effectively. 
The  generally  undrained  condition  of  much  of  Alaska  is  caused 
in  large  part  by  accumulations  of  Sphagnum,  which  holds  an 
enormous  amount  of  water  and  prevents  runoff  of  surface 
water.  Even  on  fairly  steep  hillsides,  drainage  is  sluggish  if 
Sphagnum  is  present.  It  may  seem  odd  for  a  bryologist  to 
recommend  that  some  chemical  means  be  sought  for  the  eradi- 
cation of  Sphagnum,  and  that  much  research  on  this  problem 
is  indicated.  The  presence  of  a  truly  arctic  element  in  the 
Alaskan  moss  flora  is  of  real  significance,  especially  since  many 
of  the  species  are  larger  in  size  than  the  temperate  representa- 
tives of  the  same  genus,  indicating  complete  adjustment  to  the 
arctic  habitat  and  perhaps  reflecting  an  increase  in  chromosome 
number.  Mosses  and  liverworts  present  especially  favorable 
genetical  material,  since  the  conspicuous  plant  is  gametophytic 
or  haploid  tissue.  Any  mutation,  whether  recessive  or  domi- 
nant, will  be  expressed  at  once  in  the  phenotype,  since  it  can- 
not be  masked  by  the  presence  of  an  allemorphic  gene.  These 
will  serve  as  examples  of  the  more  significant  research  problems 
presented  by  bryophytes,  to  be  multiplied  many  times  if  all 
groups  of  cryptogams  are  taken  into  consideration.  I  have 
pointed  out  elsewhere  that  the  field  of  bryology  is  an  almost 
unstudied  one  in  the  whole  of  Arctic  America,  even  though  the 
bryophytes  form  an  impressive  part  of  the  vegetation,  both  in 
number  of  species  and  in  number  of  individuals. 

We  have  every  reason  to  be  grateful  for  this  opportunity  to 
begin  cooperative  discussions  on  the  problems  of  Alaskan 
botany,  even  if  all  the  objectives  set  for  us  are  not  fulfilled.  It 
is  my  most  sincere  hope  that  future  conferences  of  this  sort 
may  be  arranged  at  regular  intervals  in  order  that  reports  of 
progress  may  be  made  upon  current  research,  and  that  new 
problems  may  be  discussed.  The  most  serious  problem  facing 
past  and  present  botanical  investigators  in  Alaska  has  been  and 
still  is  the  lack  of  coordination  between  researches  in  the  first 
place  and  between  publications  in  the  second  place.  This  lack 
of   coordination    and    integration    may    be    attributed    rather 


108  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

directly  to  the  withholding  of  governmental  encouragement- 
including  funds— for  substantial,  comprehensive  research  on 
Alaskan  botany,  in  spite  of  its  extremely  practical  importance 
at  the  moment.  This  Conference,  for  the  first  time,  gives  us 
hope  that  this  situation  may  be  corrected,  through  the  educa- 
tional effect  of  the  recommendations  and  resolutions  drafted 
by  the  members  of  this  section,  who  represent  the  botanists 
most  active  in  Alaskan  research. 

All  of  us  here  should  feel  ourselves  obligated  to  strive  for  the 
coordination  of  researches  not  only  within  the  field  of  Alaskan 
botany  but  between  this  and  other  fields.  In  my  opinion,  this 
desirable  objective  may  be  attained  only  through  free  inter- 
change of  ideas  at  regular  and  not  too  infrequent  intervals. 
The  establishment  of  research  and  information  centers  in 
Alaska  and  the  United  States  would  greatly  further  the  integra- 
tion of  research,  on  a  year-around  basis.  I  have  already  ex- 
pressed a  pious  hope  that  further  Alaskan  science  conferences 
be  held.  Such  conferences  might  conceivably  develop  into  a 
self-propagating  organization  or  society  of  real  importance  and 
influence.  Under  any  circumstance,  my  final  suggestion  for  a 
successful  approach  to  the  problem  of  integration  and  coordi- 
nation of  research  in  Alaska— perhaps  conditioned  by  my  long 
experience  in  editorial  work— would  be  the  establishment  of  a 
journal  dedicated  exculsively  to  the  scientific  problems  of 
Alaska.  Such  a  journal  would  not,  of  course,  pretend  to  pub- 
lish all  original  papers  based  on  Alaskan  research  but  would 
render  its  greatest  service  through  the  publication  of  reviews, 
abstracts,  bibliographies,  outlines  of  research  projects,  and  a 
complete  coverage,  in  the  news  sense,  of  all  scientific  activities 
concerning  Alaska. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Anderson,  J.  P.   Flora  of  Alaska  and  adjacent  parts  of  Canada. 

Iowa  State  Coll.  Journ.  Sci.,  18-21;  23-24.   1943-50. 

2.  Bartram,  E.  B.    Mosses  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  Alaska.    Bot. 

Not.  1938:  244-256.    1939. 

3.  Baxter,  D.  V.  Occurrence  of  fungi  in  the  major  forest  types  of 

Alaska.  Papers  Mich.  Acad.  5/:  93-115.   1948. 


Botanical  Research  in  Alaska— Steere  109 

4.  Cardot,  J.,  and  I.  Theriot.  The  mosses  of  Alaska.  Proc.  Wash. 

Acad.  Sci.  4:  293-372.     (Harriman  Alaska  Expedition  5:253- 
307.    1910.)    1902. 

5.  Clark,  Lois,  and  T.  C.  Frye.    A  small  collection  of  Alaskan 

Hepaticae.   Bryologist  52:  58-61.    1949. 

6.  Dawson,  E.  Y.  A  guide  to  the  literature  and  distribution  of  the 

marine  algae  of  the  Pacific  Coast  of  North  America.    Mem. 
So.  Cal.  Acad.  y.  1-134.    1946. 

7.  Degelius,  G.    Lichens  from  southern  Alaska  and  the  Aleutian 

Islands  collected  by  Dr.  E.  Hulten.   Meddel.  f.  Goteborg  Bot. 
Tradg.  12:  107-144.    1937. 

8.  Evans,  A.  W.  Report  on  the  Hepaticae  of  Alaska.  Bull.  Torrey 

Bot.  Club  41:  577-616.    1915. 

9.  Frye,  T.  C.  and  Lois  Clark.    Hepaticae  of  North  America 

(north  of  Mexico).    1-1022  pp.  Univ.  of  Wash.  Press,  Seattle. 

1937"1948- 

10.  Grout,  A.  J.    et  al.    Moss  Flora  of  North  America,  north  of 

Mexico.   3  vols.   Newfane,  Vermont.    1928-1940. 

11.  Fink,  B.   The  Lichen  flora  of  the  United  States,   i-x;  1-426  pp. 

Univ.  Mich.  Press,  Ann  Arbor.    1935. 

12.  Harvill,   A.    M.,   Jr.    A   phytogeographic   study   of  Alaskan 

Mosses.   337  pages,  typescript.    (Unpublished  doctoral  thesis, 
University  of  Michigan;  available  by  microfilm)    1948. 

13.    .  Notes  on  the  mosses  of  Alaska.  III.  Some  new  or  other- 
wise interesting  records.   Bryologist  53:  16-26.    1950. 

14.  Holzinger,  J.  M.  and  T.  C.  Frye.    Mosses  of  the  Bureau  of 

Soils  Kelp  Expedition  to  Alaska.    Publ.  Puget  Sound  Biol. 
Sta.  y  23-64.   1921. 

15.  Hooper,  F.  F.    Plankton  collections  from  the  Yukon  and  Mac- 

kenzie River  systems.  Trans.  Amer.  Micr.  Soc.  66:  74-84.  1947. 

16.  Hulten,  E.   Flora  of  the  Aleutian  Islands.  397  pp.  Stockholm. 

J937- 

17.    .  History  of  botanical  exploration  in  Alaska  and  Yukon 

territories  from  the  time  of  their  discovery  to   1940.    Bot. 
Notiser  pp.  289-346.    1940. 

18.    .    Flora  of  Alaska  and  Yukon.    Parts  I-IX.    Lunds  Uni- 

versitets  Arsskrift,  N.  F.  37-45.    1941-1949. 

19.  Kol,  Erzsebet.  The  snow  and  ice  algae  of  Alaska.  Smiths.  Mus. 

Coll.  101   (6):  1-36    1942. 

20.  Magnusson,  A.  H.  Lichens  from  western  North  America,  mainly 

Washington  and  Alaska.  Ann.  Crypt.  Exot.  5:  16-38.    1932. 

21.  Merriam,  C.  H.  (as  editor).    Cryptogamic  Botany.    Harriman 

Alaska  Series  y.  1-424.    (Fungi:  Saccardo  &  Trelease;  Lichens: 
Cummings;    Algae:    Saunders;    Mosses:    Cardot   &   Theriot; 


no  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Sphagnums:  Trelease;  Liverworts:  Evans;  Ferns  &  Fern  Allies: 
Trelease.)    1910. 

22.  Persson,  H.  Further  notes  on  Alaskan-Yukon  bryophytes.  Bryol- 

ogist  50:  279-310.    1947. 

23.    .  Studies  in  the  bryophyte  flora  of  Alaska- Yukon.  Svensk 

Bot.  Tidskr.  43:  491-533.   1949- 

24.  Steere,  W.  C.    Bryophyta  of  Arctic  America.    I.  Species  from 

Little  Diomede  Island,  Bering  Strait,  Alaska.  Am.  Midi.  Nat. 

i9:  436"549-    !938- 

25.     .   Musci.   In  Polunin,  "Botany  of  the  Canadian  Eastern 

Arctic."  Nat.  Mus.  Canada  Bull,  py:  370-490.  1948. 

26.    .  The  distribution  of  Aloina  brevirostris  in  North  Amer- 
ica.  Bull.  Torrey  Bot.  Club  yy:  503-508.    1950. 

27.  Stejneger,  L.    Georg  Wilhelm  Steller:  the  pioneer  of  Alaskan 

natural  history,  i-xxiv;  1-623  PP-  Harvard  Press.   1936. 

28.  Thomson,  J.  W.,  Jr.    Some  additional  records  of  lichens  from 

Alaska  collected  by  Walter  J.  Eyerdam.    Bryologist  53:  9-15. 

195°- 


THE  FUTURE  OF  BOTANICAL  RESEARCH 

IN  ALASKA 

Ira  L.  Wiggins 

Scientific  Director 

Arctic  Research  Laboratory 

Point  Barrow,  Alaska 

In  Alaska,  as  in  all  other  parts  of  the  world,  it  is  necessary  to 
know  a  good  deal  about  the  kinds  of  plants  native  to  the  area 
before  investigations  on  the  vegetation  can  be  undertaken  or 
research  begun  on  the  physiology,  anatomy,  morphology,  cy- 
tology, or  genetics  of  the  discrete  units  within  the  flora.  This 
necessity  leads  to  exploratory  work  through  which  plants  are 
collected  and  preserved,  adequately  labelled,  and  forwarded  to 
herbaria  for  study  and  permanent  storage.  The  specimens  may 
be  Avorked  up  by  the  collector  himself,  or  very  frequently  at 
least  a  part  of  them  are  sent  to  specialists  who  make  taxonomic 
determinations,  describe  the  new  species  if  any  are  present  in 
the  lot,  and  publish  the  results  of  the  investigation.  The  dura- 
tion of  this  basic  phase  of  botanical  research  varies  greatly  from 
one  part  of  the  world  to  another,  but  the  general  pattern  of  its 
progress  is  much  the  same  everywhere.  This  exploratory  work 
may  be  carried  on  under  one  or  more  of  several  types  of  spon- 
sorship. It  may  be  done  largely  by  persons  who  do  the  field 
work  because  of  a  love  for,  and  an  intense  curiosity  about,  the 
plants  of  the  region.  It  may  be  done  by  individuals  or  field 
teams  carrying  out  government  assignments;  or  by  professional 
botanists  in  the  employ  of  universities,  learned  societies,  or 
other  organizations.  It  is  primarily  taxonomic  or  systematic 
activities  that  occupy  the  time  and  absorb  the  energies  of  people 
interested  in  plants  during  the  early  years  of  exploration.  Other 
phases  of  botanical  research  usually  enter  the  scene  at  a  latei 
date. 

Much  of  the  early  collecting  in  Alaska  was  done  by  men 
connected    with    government    commissions.     Exploring    ships 

in 


112  Alaskan  Science  Confereyice 

from  England,  Scandinavia,  the  United  States  and  Russia  paid 
visits  to  the  shores  of  Alaska  and  members  of  their  companies 
collected  many  of  the  native  plants.  The  collectors  often  had 
other  duties  which  had  first  claim  on  their  time,  the  botanical 
field  work  being  distinctly  secondary.  Some  collectors  were 
ships'  surgeons,  others  were  junior  officers  with  little  special 
training  and  a  corresponding  slight  interest  in  the  native  flora. 
The  former  type  of  collector  usually  took  keen  delight  in  the 
work;  the  latter  often  endured  it  as  one  of  the  unpleasant  but 
necessary  tasks  assigned  them  by  superiors.  But  whether  col- 
lected by  enthusiastic  medical  men,  by  professional  botanists 
attached  to  military  units,  or  by  junior  officers  performing  un- 
interesting duties,  large  numbers  of  specimens,  in  the  aggregate, 
were  collected,  returned  to  herbaria  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  and  information  about  the  floras  involved  published. 

These  results  were  usually  obtained  in  spite  of  obstacles  and 
discouragement  rather  than  because  of  their  absence.  Too 
often  the  botanist  going  ashore  had  only  a  few  minutes  or  a 
few  hours  in  which  to  secure  whatever  specimens  he  could.  He 
worked  frantically  to  get  as  many  as  possible  of  the  nearest 
plants  into  press.  In  so  doing  he  often  had  to  neglect  or  com- 
pletely ignore  the  smaller,  or  more  scattered  species.  In  high 
northern  latitudes  the  constant  concern  least  the  ship  be  caught 
in  advancing  ice  often  caused  a  captain  to  signal  immediate 
return  to  the  ship  whether  or  not  the  full  potentialities  of  the 
collecting  conditions  had  been  exploited.  One  botanist,  as  late 
as  1923,  was  thus  hurriedly  recalled  to  the  ship  before  he  could 
obtain  one-half  of  the  total  number  of  species  on  an  attractive 
stretch  of  arctic  Alaskan  coast.  Such  short  forays  ashore  were 
disheartening  in  the  extreme  to  enthusiastic  botanists.  But 
with  the  passage  of  time  the  collections  continued  to  accumulate 
until  now  they  represent  a  high  percentage  of  the  total  flora. 

A  departure  from  chiefly  government-sponsored  scientific  ex- 
cursions to  Alaska  began  toward  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. As  mining  operations  in  Alaska  and  adjacent  Canadian 
areas  increased,  more  and  more  individuals  interested  in  plants 
made  collections  and  wrote  about  the  vegetation  of  the  region. 


Future  of  Botanical  Research  in  Alaska— Wiggins      113 

At  about  this  time,  too,  non-governmental  expeditions  were 
organized  to  explore  the  coasts  and  interior  of  Alaska.  Ex- 
amples of  such  were  the  Harriman  Alaska  Expedition,  made 
up  of  twenty-five  scientists  and  a  number  of  preparators  and 
artists,  that  visited  Alaska  in  May  and  June  of  1899,  and  a 
similar,  although  smaller,  expedition  sent  out  by  the  University 
of  California  a  little  later  in  the  same  summer.  Collections 
larger  than  any  ever  gotten  together  by  a  single  Alaskan  expedi- 
tion prior  to  that  time  were  taken  out  by  each  of  these  groups. 
Critical  study  of  these  collections  resulted  in  the  appearance  ol 
a  number  of  important  publications  (2,  6,  19).  These  two  ex- 
peditions are  mentioned  at  the  neglect  of  others  chiefly  because 
each  resulted  in  a  marked  increase  in  knowledge  about  the 
flora  of  Alaska  and  stimulated  a  greater  interest  than  had  there- 
tofore existed  among  American  botanists.  The  botanical  re- 
wards from  these  explorational  forays  might  have  been  even 
greater  had  all  of  the  material  been  worked  up  expeditiously 
and  published  at  once. 

As  Alaska  attracted  more  permanent  residents  yet  another 
broadening  coverage  of  the  flora  developed.  Amateur  botanists 
(so  called  because  they  made  their  livings  at  other  pursuits), 
began  to  observe  the  plants  in  the  vicinities  of  their  homes  and 
to  write  about  them.  Some  of  these  "amateurs,"  as  in  the  con- 
tinental United  States,  were  remarkably  keen  and  accurate 
observers.  Their  collecting  was  usually  meticulous  and  their 
specimens  beautifully  prepared.  Among  the  more  outstanding 
of  them  in  Alaska  was  J.  P.  Anderson,  who  lived  in  the  Terri- 
tory from  1914  to  1941.  He  spent  as  much  time  as  he  could 
spare  from  his  business  in  careful  field  work  well  out  on  the 
Aleutian  chain,  in  remote  sections  of  interior  Alaska,  on  several 
islands  in  the  Bering  Sea,  and  northward  along  the  arctic  coast 
all  the  way  to  Point  Barrow.  His  patient  field  work  is  now 
nearing  complete  fruition  in  the  appearance  of  a  series  of  papers 
entitled  "Flora  of  Alaska  and  Adjacent  Parts  of  Canada"  (1), 
which,  I  believe,  is  within  one  number  of  completion.  This 
work  is  the  first  one  dealing  with  the  whole  Alaskan  flora  that 
includes  keys  to  the  genera  and  to  all  of  the  species  treated. 


ii4  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

The  keys,  descriptions,  and  the  outline  drawings  assembled 
into  plates  at  the  end  of  each  part,  constitute  a  book  that  can  be 
used  readily  and  fully  by  any  person  with  an  interest  in  plants 
and  modest  knowledge  of  botanical  terms.  This  product  of  a 
devoted  "amateur"  botanist  who  worked  patiently  and  dili- 
gently to  good  effect  may  well  serve  as  a  milestone  in  the  trend 
toward  the  general  utilization  of  technical  information  ably  and 
brilliantly  present  in  another  monumental  work,  Eric  Hulten's 
"Flora  of  Alaska  and  Yukon"  (9).  Some  may  hold  that  Dr. 
Anderson's  work  marks  the  close  of  a  period  that  dealt  primarily 
with  the  cataloguing  and  "keying  out"  of  the  known  species  of 
the  area.  I  contend  that  it  marks  the  beginning  of  an  epoch 
that  could  not  have  been  exploited  fully  until  such  a  work  was 
available.  For,  even  to  "professional"  botanists,  keys  and  accu- 
rate descriptions  are  often  useful  aids. 

Please  do  not  interpret  my  defense  of  the  "key  and  descrip- 
tions" type  of  botanical  treatment  as  indicating  a  belief  on  my 
part  that  critical  works  dealing  with  the  taxonomic,  phyto- 
geographic,  and  ecological  phases  of  botany  are  of  little  value. 
Such  I  do  not  believe  nor  wish  to  imply.  Such  work  as  that 
done  by  Hulten  and  by  other  phytogeographers  and  ecologists 
involves  meticulous  scrutiny  of  earlier  works,  the  detection  of 
flaws  in  interpretations  of  data,  and  a  reorganization  of  much 
of  the  information  produced  by  previous  workers.  It  also  brings 
forth  new  ideas  and  additional  data  essential  in  the  ultimate 
solution  of  problems  involving  all  sorts  of  botanical  viewpoints. 
I  wish  only  to  emphasize  that  the  tedious  task  of  constructing 
keys  and  writing  descriptions  are  among  the  first  steps  toward 
the  full  understanding  of  the  flora,  the  vegetation,  and  the 
individual  species  within  a  circumscribed  area. 

The  work  of  the  phytogeographer  involves  many  facets  in  the 
study  of  plants.  These  facets  were  so  numerous  and  attractive 
in  the  arctic  and  subarctic  botany  of  Alaska  that  Dr.  Hulten 
felt,  I  assume,  impelled  to  avoid  some  of  the  time-consuming 
task  of  writing  descriptions  and  building  keys  to  the  genera, 
in  order  that  he  might  devote  more  energy  to  the  studies  cen- 
tering around  details  less  frequently  covered  in  most  taxonomic 


Future  of  Botanical  Research  in  Alaska— Wiggins     115 

treatments.  The  wealth  of  material  in  his  book  marks  an  ac- 
complishment of  considerable  magnitude.  It  signals  the  em- 
barkation upon  a  study  involving  a  specialist's  interest  in  a 
particular  portion  of  the  earth  and  the  plants  that  it  supports. 
In  this  study  he  has  devoted  himself  to  the  taxonomic,  phyto- 
geographic,  and  ecological  problems  that  are  common  to  widely 
separated  areas,  which  have  a  high  degree  of  similarity  in  the 
types  of  habitats  available  to  plants.  He  has  kept  this  in  mind 
throughout  the  full  course  of  his  work  and  has  presented  evi- 
dence that  this  similarity  in  the  range  of  habitats  in  widely 
separated  areas  has  resulted  in  a  degree  of  similarity  in  the 
floral  make-up  among  them  that  is  greater  than  had  been  be- 
lieved by  most  botanists.  In  this  way,  the  botany  of  Alaska, 
under  the  hands  of  Hulten,  has  taken  on  an  international 
aspect  very  different  from  the  international  scope  of  the  botany 
involved  when  Hooker  and  Arnott  (7)  described  plants  col- 
lected in  Alaska  over  a  century  ago.  They— Hooker  and  Arnott— 
were  pioneering  in  the  early  phases  of  botany,  interested  in 
what  grew  in  particular  areas.  Our  Scandinavian  colleague, 
on  the  other  hand,  has  placed  the  emphasis  on  the  why  and 
the  hoiu  of  the  problems  of  plant  distribution  and  phylo- 
genetic  relationships.  Neither  type  of  emphasis  is  out  of  place. 
The  second  logically  follows  the  first.  The  main  differences  lie 
in  the  lapse  of  time  between  the  taxonomic  approach  and  the 
vegetational  approach,  not  in  the  absence  of  either. 

But  to  return  to  a  more  nearly  chronological  summary  of  the 
development  of  botanical  research  in  Alaska  may  I  go  back  to 
the  time  when  the  taxonomic  investigations  began  to  be  accom- 
panied by  those  involving  the  ecological  aspects  of  botany?  At 
this  time  the  floristic  approach  was  being  supplemented  by  the 
vegetational  slant.  The  differences  between  these  two  types  of 
botanical  research  were  succintly  summarized  by  Dr.  Polunin, 
who  wrote,  "The  flora  of  an  area  is  the  sum  total  of  different 
'kinds'  of  plants  inhabiting  it,  no  matter  whether  they  are  scarce 
or  plentiful.  The  vegetation,  on  the  other  hand,  is  concerned 
largely  with  the  question  of  relative  abundance,  being  the  total 
'display'  that  the  plants  make  collectively"  (14,  p.  1).  The  trend 


n6  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

toward  dealing  with  the  vegetation  as  well  as  with  the  classifi- 
cation of  the  components  of  that  vegetation  paralleled  the  up- 
surge in  support  of  plant  ecology  in  the  continental  United 
States  that  followed  the  work  of  Cowles  in  the  region  around 
the  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan  (5).  Some  of  the  early 
ecological  work  in  Alaska  was  done  by  W.  S.  Cooper,  whose 
interest  in,  and  report  about,  the  relationship  between  plants 
and  the  influence  of  glaciers  stimulated  others  to  investigate  vari- 
ous aspects  of  the  ecological  complex  in  Alaska  (4).  Cooper's 
interest  in  Alaskan  botany  continued  for  many  years  and  re- 
sulted in  repeated  trips  to  Alaska  and  the  publication  of  several 
papers  dealing  with  the  ecological  aspects  of  Alaskan  plants 
growing  near  glaciers.  Other  workers  have  continued  to  sup- 
port this  trend,  some  investigating  the  present  position  and 
composition  of  vegetational  complexes,  others  interesting  them- 
selves in  analyses  of  peat  deposits,  others  studying  the  ecological 
inferences  to  be  drawn  from  assemblages  of  fossil  leaves  in 
alluvial  and  lacustrine  deposits,  and  still  others  probing  the 
secrets  of  the  age  of  forest  trees  with  increment  borers  or  the 
relationship  between  plants  and  frost  action.  The  work  of 
Polunin  in  Canada,  resulting  in  the  publication  of  three 
volumes,  has  considerable  value  for  botanists  working  on  vege- 
tational problems  in  Alaska  (12,  13,  14).  For,  although  his 
work  was  on  the  Canadian  eastern  arctic,  many  of  the  plants 
with  which  he  dealt  occur  in  northern  Alaska  under  conditions 
that  make  his  observations  as  valid  in  our  area  as  they  are  a  few 
degrees  farther  east.  The  work  on  botanical  ecology  done  in 
boreal  North  America  was  ably  summarized  by  Raup  (15)  in 
1941,  his  own  work  in  northern  parts  of  the  continent  having 
added  a  great  deal  to  the  sum  total  of  knowledge  about  boreal 
and  sub-boreal  vegetation  on  our  continent. 

The  heavy  emphasis  placed  on  systematic  and  ecological  work 
involving  plants  of  Alaska  in  the  foregoing  discussion  has  been 
prompted  by  an  attempt  to  block  out  the  chief  aspects  of 
botanical  research  in,  and  relating  to,  the  territory  and  not 
because  of  any  belief  that  other  aspects  of  botany  are  unim- 
portant.   The  trends  in  research  dealing  with   the  cytology, 


Future  of  Botanical  Research  in  Alaska— Wiggins      117 

anatomy,  and  genetics  as  applied  to  Alaskan  plants  appeared 
only  recently  or  are  yet  to  appear  in  any  appreciable  degree. 
The  cytology  of  some  Alaskan  plants  was  touched  lightly  by 
the  work  of  Clausen,  Keck,  and  Hiesey  (3).  Their  transplant 
work  and  the  investigation  of  the  cytotaxonomy  of  Achillea, 
and  their  breeding  program  involving  various  grasses,  included 
Alaskan  material.  They  hope  that  the  use  of  plants  from  north- 
ern regions  may  help  solve  several  problems  in  the  cytotaxon- 
omy and  in  the  breeding  of  range  grasses  for  higher  and  more 
prolonged  yield  under  adverse  conditions.  Added  impetus  to 
the  work  in  the  cytology  and  cytotaxonomy  of  northern  plants 
has  been  furnished,  also,  by  the  researches  of  Askell  and  Doris 
Love,  in  their  papers  dealing  with  the  chromosome  numbers  in 
arctic  plants  and  in  critical  considerations  of  particular  species 
in  high  northern  latitudes  (10,  11).  Although  they  did  not 
work  in  Alaska  nor  directly  on  material  from  Alaska,  many  of 
the  species  on  which  they  reported  are  members  of  the  Alaskan 
arctic  and  subarctic  flora.  This  papers  will,  therefore,  be  of 
importance  to  botanists  wishing  to  check  the  cytotaxonomic 
characteristics  of  arctic  plants  of  the  North  American  continent 
with  those  bearing  the  same  names  but  growing  in  European 
areas.  Some  such  comparative  work  has  already  been  started 
in  an  attempt  to  determine  whether  certain  Alaskan  plants  are 
identical  with  those  bearing  the  same  names  in  the  European 
regions  or  merely  similar  in  external  appearances. 

Plant  breeding  experiments  carried  on  by  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  with  crop  plants  with  promise  for 
use  in  northern  areas,  and  similar  work  at  the  University  of 
Alaska,  indicate  a  healthy  trend  toward  the  utilization  of  proven 
techniques  and  new  methods.  No  doubt  the  workers  interested 
in  this  type  of  program  will  push  the  plant  breeding  work  and 
new  strains  well  adapted  to  Alaskan  conditions  will  result. 

Physiological  work  on  plants  in  Alaska  seems  as  yet  to  be  in 
its  infancy.  There  are  indications  that  activity  in  this  phase 
of  botany  may  soon  increase,  both  through  investigations  carried 
on  in  Alaska,  and  by  those  done  elsewhere  but  utilizing  Alaskan 
materials.    Numerous  problems  involving  growth  under  con- 


n8  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

ditions  of  low  temperatures,  fruiting  of  plants  within  the  short 
span  of  an  arctic  growing  season,  after-ripening  of  seeds  or  their 
ability  to  grow  immediately  after  maturing,  the  water  relations 
of  plants  with  their  roots  partially  in  contact  with  frozen  ground 
during  the  active  season— all  these  and  numerous  others  await 
the  attention  of  able  plant  physiologists. 

An  increased  interest  in  anatomical  and  morphological  prob- 
lems using  Alaskan  plants  has  been  in  evidence  recently.  A  few 
months  ago  a  graduate  student  in  an  Oregon  institution  in- 
quired about  the  feasibility  of  collecting  anatomical  and  mor- 
phological material  during  the  summer  months  in  Alaska,  then 
working  up  part  of  the  fixed  material  during  the  ensuing  col- 
lege year  and  distributing  the  bulk  of  it  to  interested  workers 
in  various  parts  of  the  world.  A  plant  anatomist  and  mor- 
phologist  in  India  requested  material  of  a  critical  genus  known 
to  occur  in  Alaska  in  order  that  comparative  studies  might  be 
made  in  his  laboratory.  Other  plant  anatomists  also  might  find 
numerous  intriguing  problems  and  a  wealth  of  material  in  the 
Alaskan  flora! 

Specialists  in  various  groups  of  plants  have  visited  Alaska  to 
collect  material  for  their  own  use  and  for  distribution  to  col- 
leagues and  research  laboratories.  Others  have  had  fewer 
opportunities  to  engage  in  the  field  exploration  but  have  uti- 
lized Alaskan  material  in  their  studies.  Bryologists  (8,  16,  17, 
18),  algologists,  lichenologists,  pteridologists,  and  specialists 
interested  in  only  one  or  two  genera  within  various  families  of 
plants  have  studied  Alaskan  material  within  the  past  decade  or 
two.  Requests  for  specific  items  come  to  the  Arctic  Research 
Laboratory  frequently,  indicating  a  continued  and  stimulating- 
interest  in  plants  of  the  Alaskan  arctic  and  subarctic  regions. 
One  person  desired  seeds  of  the  more  attractive  wild  flowers; 
another  wanted  cytotaxonomic  material  of  a  group  of  sedges; 
still  another  was  curious  about  the  chromosome  numbers  and 
configurations  in  the  anthers  of  the  Alaskan  Scrophulariaceae. 
This  list  need  not  be  prolonged,  but  the  steady  flow  of  requests 
for  material  and  information  indicates  an  awakening  conscious- 
ness of  the  opportunities  for  intensely  intriguing  research  on 
Alaskan  material. 


Future  of  Botanical  Research  in  Alaska— Wiggins      119 

The  possibility  of  utilizing  plants  as  indicators  of  under- 
lying geological  conditions,  or  their  relationships  to  permafrost, 
to  erosion  and  its  prevention,  has  caused  the  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey  to  employ  professional  botanists  to  cooperate  in  field 
and  laboratory  with  the  geologists.  This  marks  another  signifi- 
cant trend  in  botanical  research  in  Alaska— a  trend  toward 
teamwork  among  men  interested  primarily  in  widely  different 
disciplines.  The  acceleration  in  the  solving  of  different  re- 
search problems  when  lines  of  demarcation  between  disciplines 
are  crossed  and  the  puzzles  are  approached  collectively  with 
each  mind  focusing  on  a  particular  aspect  of  the  whole  was 
demonstrated  brilliantly  during  World  War  II.  There  is  no 
excuse  for  disregarding  the  lessons  taught  during  the  bitterness 
of  war.  Such  team  work  among  botanists  working  on  different 
phases  within  the  science,  and  among  botanists  in  association 
with  workers  in  other  areas  of  human  knowledge  inevitably 
will  bring  richer  results,  and  with  less  waste  of  time,  man  power 
and  energy,  than  could  be  realized  if  each  individual  continued 
to  work  in  seclusion.  Even  we  taxonomists,  who  at  times  are 
loathe  to  divulge  some  of  our  finds  to  colleagues,  prior  to  pub- 
lication, realize  the  value  of  inviting  the  aid  of  specialists.  One 
taxonomist  and  plant  geographer  wrote,  "In  works  comprising 
all  groups  of  vascular  plants  it  is  desirable  that  critical  genera 
should  be  worked  up  by  scientists  who  have  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  devoting  more  time  to  the  study  of  their  special  group 
than  is  possible  for  the  author  of  a  complete  flora"  (9). 

Another  trend,  one  which  possibly  may  be  as  significant  as 
any  other,  is  that  involving  a  careful  consideration  of  the  needs 
facing  research  in  any  particular  discipline  and  then  attempt- 
ing to  fill  that  need.  Some  of  the  needs  that  should  be  filled, 
if  the  future  of  botanical  research  in  Alaska  is  to  contribute 
fully  to  the  benefit  of  the  science,  the  nation,  and  to  the  people 
of  the  Territory  itself,  may  profitably  be  mentioned.  There  is 
a  need  for  realization  among  botanists  in  other  parts  of  the 
country  that  Alaska  and  its  flora  offer  rich  fields  for  botanical 
investigations  along  several  lines  of  specialization.  There  is 
need  for  more  tangible  support  for  botanical  science  in  Alaska. 


120  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

There  is  need  for  a  deeper  realization  of  the  importance  of 
doing  botanical  research  that  may  not  have  any  immediate 
practical  application.  These  needs  are  pressing  if  severe  neglect 
of  the  botanical  possibilities  is  to  be  avoided.  Support  can  take 
the  form  of  fellowships  and  grants-in-aid  that  will  enable  quali- 
fied botanists  to  do  field  work  in  Alaska.  It  can  take  the  form 
of  modest  laboratory  facilities  at  several  strategic  points  in 
Alaska,  where  visiting  scientists  can  work  in  close  proximity 
to  the  living  material  of  the  region  and  have  personal  confer- 
ences with  local  botanists  and  with  other  visiting  scientists. 
The  Arctic  Research  Laboratory,  sponsored  by  the  Office  of 
Naval  Research,  is  located  at  Point  Barrow  and  extends  facili- 
ties to  investigators  who  are  able  to  secure  contracts  covering 
their  research  projects.  But  this  one  laboratory,  situated  as  it 
is  several  hundred  miles  from  the  nearest  steamship  or  rail 
terminal,  is  not  enough.  Another  laboratory  at  or  near  Fair- 
banks, Anchorage,  or  Palmer  would  offer  greatly  increased  in- 
ducements to  "outside"  botanists  to  carry  on  programs  of  re- 
search on  Alaskan  material  within  Alaskan  territory.  Still  an- 
other form  that  support  to  botanical  work  can  take  is  that  of  a 
substantial  reduction  in  the  teaching  load  of  faculty  members 
at  the  University  of  Alaska.  Such  a  move  would  permit  faculty 
members  to  engage  in  research  in  their  own  specialties  and  at 
the  same  time  increase  the  prestige  of  the  University  through 
the  publication  of  the  results  of  that  research. 

Yet  another  need,  and  it  is  ever  present  in  every  science,  is 
enthusiasm  and  drive  on  the  part  of  botanists  interested  in 
Alaska  and  Alaskan  plants.  This  drive  must  be  the  kind  that 
carries  through  to  the  very  end  of  the  project— the  kind  that 
will  result  in  completed  investigations,  full  explanations  of 
methods,  techniques,  and  hypotheses,  forcefully  and  directly 
phrased.  Ideas  in  investigators'  minds  are  essential.  Without 
them  there  would  be  little  productive  research.  But  they  be- 
come permanently  valuable  only  after  they  have  been  translated 
into  action  and  the  results  of  their  application  made  available 
to  others  through  publication— less  frequently  by  word  of 
mouth.    If  we  combine  enthusiasm,  energetic  action,  coopera- 


Future  of  Botanical  Research  in  Alaska— Wiggins      121 

tion,  and  vision  with  persistence,  objectivity,  and  intellectual 
honesty,  future  botanical  research  in  Alaska  will  produce  im- 
portant, and  possibly  astounding,  results. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Anderson,  J.  P.   Flora  of  Alaska  and  adjacent  parts  of  Canada. 

Parts  I-VIII  (Pteridophytes— Campanulaceae).  Iowa  State 
College  Journal  of  Science.    1943-50. 

2.  Cardot,  J.,  and  I.  Theriot.   The  mosses  of  Alaska.   In  Harri- 

man  Alaska  Series,  Vol.  V.  Smithsonian  Institution  Publica- 
tion No.  1994:  253-328,    1910. 

3.  Clausen,  Jens,  David  D.  Keck,  and  William  M.  Hiesey.   Ex- 

perimental studies  on  the  nature  of  species,  I.  Effect  of  varied 
environments  on  western  American  plants.  Carnegie  Insti- 
tution of  Washington  Publication  No.  520.    1940. 

4.  Cooper,  W.  S.    The  Recent  ecological  history  of  Glacier  Bay, 

Alaska.  Ecology  4:  93-108,  223-46,  355-65.    1923. 

5.  Cowles,  H.  C.  The  ecological  relations  of  the  vegetation  on  the 

sand  dunes  of  Lake  Michigan.  Botanical  Gazette,  27:  95-117, 
167-202,  281-308,  361-91.    1899. 

6.  Cummings,  Clara  E.    The  lichens  of  Alaska.    In  Harriman 

Alaska  Series,  Vol.  V.  Smithsonian  Institution  Publication 
N0.1994:  67-149.  1910. 

7.  Hooker,  W.  J.,  and  G.  A.  W.  Arnott.    Botany  of  Captain 

Beechey's  voyage.    111-134.    1832. 

8.  Howe,  Marshall  A.  Contributions  to  the  botany  of  the  Yukon 

Territory.  1.  An  Enumeration  of  the  Hepaticae  collected  by 
R.  S.  Williams,  1898-99.  Bulletin  of  the  New  York  Botanical 
Garden,  2:  101-05.  19°1- 

9.  Hulten,  Eric   Flora  of  Alaska  and  Yukon.   Parts  I-X.    1941-50. 

10.  Love,  Askell,  and  Doris  Love.    Studies  on  the  origin  of  the 

Icelandic  flora.  I.  Cyto-Ecological  Investigations  on  Cakile. 
Iceland  Department  of  Agriculture  Reports,  Series  B,  No.  2: 
1-29.   1947. 

11.    •   Chromosome  numbers  of  northern  plant  species.   Op. 

cit.  No.  5:  1-131.   1948. 

12.  Polunin,  Nicholas.    Botany  of  the  Canadian  Eastern  Arctic. 

Part  I.  Pteridophyta  and  Spermatophyta.  National  Museum 
of  Canada  Bulletin  No.  92,  Biological  Series  No.  24.  1-408. 
1940. 

13.    .  Part  II.  Thallophyta  and  Bryophyta.  Op.  cit.,  Bulletin 

No.  97,  Biological  Series  No.  26.    1-573.    1947« 


122  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

14.    .  Part  III.  vegetation  and  ecology.  Op.  cit.  Bulletin  No. 

104,  Biological  Series  No.  32.    1-304.    1948. 

15.  Raup,  Hugh  M.    Botanical  problems  in  boreal  America.    Bo- 

tanical Review,  7:  147-248.    1941. 

16.  Steere,  W.  C.    Bryophyta  of  Arctic  America.    I.  Species  from 

Little  Diomede  Island,  Bering  Strait,  Alaska.  American 
Midland  Naturalist,  19:  436-439.    1938. 

17.    .    Bryophyta  of  Canadian  Arctic.    Collection  of  Father 

Artheme  Dutilly,  O.M.I.,  Naturalist  of  the  Arctic  Oblate  mis- 
sions. Habitat  of  the  Eskimo,  Flora  Arctica.  Scolasticat  Notre 
Dame,  Village  Richelieu.  P.  Q.,  Canada.    1-31.    1941. 

18.    .    Musci.  in  Botany  of  the  Canadian  Eastern  Arctic.    II. 

National  Museum  of  Canada  Bulletin  No.  97,  Biological 
Series  No.  26.  370-490.    1947. 

19.  Trelease,  William.    The  ferns  and  fern  allies  of  Alaska.    In 

Harriman  Alaska  Series,  Vol.  V.  Smithsonian  Institution 
Publication  No.  1994:  375-398,  pi.  XLIV.    1910. 


GLACIOLOGICAL  RESEARCH  IN  ALASKA 

William  O.  Field,  Jr. 

American  Geographical  Society 

Glaciological  Research  in  Alaska  and  the  adjacent  portions  of 
Canada  dates  from  1863  when  Professor  W.  P.  Blake  (5),  as  a 
guest  scientist  of  a  Russian  Naval  squadron,  visited  the  lower 
Stikine  River  and  reported  on  several  of  the  glaciers  in  what 
was  then  called  "Russian  America."  During  the  next  four 
decades,  the  location  and  approximate  extent  of  existing  glaciers 
were  determined.  Since  1940,  important  gaps  in  our  knowledge 
of  their  size  and  distribution  have  been  filled  by  means  of  aerial 
photography,  performed  as  part  of  the  mapping  operations  of 
World  War  II.  For  the  first  time,  therefore,  we  now  have  a 
record,  perhaps  95  percent  complete,  of  the  outward  appearance 
and  characteristics  of  the  glaciers  in  Alaska  and  adjacent  British 
Columbia  and  the  Yukon.1 

The  general  features  of  Alaskan  glaciation  were  known  by 
1900,  including  the  fact  that  Alaska  has  a  little  less  than  20,000 
square  miles  of  ice  with  perhaps  another  5,000  square  miles  in 
the  adjacent  parts  of  Canada.  Although  this  represents  some- 
what less  than  three  and  one-half  percent  of  the  land  area  of 
Alaska,  the  glaciers  are  nevertheless  among  the  largest  outside 
the  Polar  Regions,  with  only  those  in  Patagonia  and  the  Central 
Asiatic-Himalayan  Mountain  system  attaining  comparable  size. 
As  an  area  for  glaciological  research,  both  in  terms  of  glacial 
geology  and  the  study  of  existing  glaciers,  it  is  unsurpassed.  By 
comparison  with  the  Alps  and  Scandinavia  or  even  our  Pacific 
Northwest,  the  intensive  investigation  of  these  glaciers  is  more 
difficult  because  of  their  not  being  located  near  large  centers  of 
population,  but,  nevertheless,  it  may  be  said  that  no  glaciers 
of  comparable  size  are  as  accessible  for  purposes  of  detailed 

1  The  selected  bibliography  at  the  end  of  this  paper  lists  the  principal  pub- 
lished accounts  of  the  observations  of  individuals  and  expeditions  cited  in  the 
text. 

123 


124  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

study.  Alfred  H.  Brooks  wrote  in  1902,  "Southeastern  Alaska 
is  par  excellence  the  region  of  the  world  in  which  to  study 
glaciers.  .  .  ."  (6,  p.  31).  Later,  Ralph  S.  Tarr  and  Lawrence 
Martin  added,  "The  Alaskan  region  is  one  of  the  most  wonder- 
ful regions  of  glaciation  in  the  world,  both  from  the  standpoint 
of  number  and  size  of  its  glaciers,  and  from  the  extent  and 
variety  of  associated  phenomena;  and  a  thorough  study  of  any 
of  its  facts  is  certain  to  yield  important  scientific  results.  The 
phenomena  of  advance  and  recession  of  the  glacier  termini,  the 
former  extent  of  the  glaciers  and  their  deposits,  and  the  stu- 
pendous work  which  they  have  accomplished  in  sculpturing  the 
wonderful  series  of  fiords  are  among  the  phenomena  demanding 
attention.  The  features  exhibited  have  far  more  than  local 
importance  and  application,  for  the  fact  that  we  have  here  large 
glaciers  descending  to  sea  level  in  a  comparatively-warm,  humid, 
north  temperate  climate  gives  rise  to  phenomena  resembling 
those  of  the  wasting  margin  of  the  great  continental  ice 
sheets  of  North  America  and  Europe,  and,  therefore,  throw 
light  upon  and  furnish  aid  in  interpreting  these  phenomena." 
(55,  pp.  21-22). 

During  the  last  period  of  great  ice  expansion  in  North  Amer- 
ica, a  large  part  of  central  Alaska  apparently  remained  ice-free 
and  glaciers  appear  to  have  been  confined  largely  to  the  moun- 
tain areas  and  the  adjacent  lowlands.  Thus  we  have  the  apparent 
paradox  that,  while  New  England  and  our  Great  Lakes  area 
were  covered  in  places  to  a  depth  of  several  thousand  feet,  there 
was  no  general  ice  cover  in  many  parts  of  the  Yukon  Valley, 
some  20  to  25  degrees  farther  north. 

It  is  impossible  in  a  short  report  to  enumerate  all  those  who 
have  been  active  in  the  study  of  Alaskan  glaciers  and  glaciation. 
John  Muir  (34)  in  1879  and  1880  was  the  first  to  report  on  the 
glaciers  of  Glacier  Bay.  He  was  followed  by  G.  Frederick  Wright 
(62)  in  1886  and  by  Harry  Fielding  Reid  (39,  40)  in  1890  and 
1892.  The  latter,  with  his  mapping,  photography  and  detailed 
observations,  set  the  pattern  for  most  of  the  studies  of  existing 
glaciers  which  have  since  been  made.  Israel  C.  Russell  (41-43) 
visited  the  Malaspina  and  several  of  the  other  glaciers  of  the 


Glaciological  Research  in  Alaska— Field  125 

Yakutat  Bay  area  in  1890  and  1891.  The  Harriman  Alaska  Ex- 
pedition (21,  35)  of  1899,  which  numbered  among  its  scientists 
Grove  Karl  Gilbert  and  John  Muir,  visited  Glacier  Bay  and 
Yakutat  Bay  and  extended  detailed  studies  up  the  coast  to 
Prince  William  Sound  and  the  Kenai  Peninsula. 

Another  milestone  was  established  by  Tarr  and  Martin  (28- 
30,  48-55)  in  their  work  from  1904  to  1913,  mostly  undertaken 
for  the  National  Geographic  Society,  which  in  1914  published 
their  results  in  "Alaskan  Glacier  Studies,"  an  unusually  detailed 
and  beautifully  illustrated  volume.  Their  studies  covered  the 
glaciers  of  Glacier  Bay,  Yakutat  Bay,  the  lower  Copper  River, 
Prince  William  Sound,  and  parts  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula.  In 
Yakutat  Bay,  the  observed  spasmodic  advances  of  many  of  the 
glaciers  were  attributed  to  the  earthquake  of  September,  1899, 
and  a  hypothesis  was  proposed  which  was  termed  the  "earth- 
quake advance  theory  '  (55,  p.  168).  In  1906,  F.  E.  and  C.  W. 
Wright  (61),  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  made  a  detailed 
study  of  the  glaciers  of  Glacier  Bay,  and  C.  W.  Wright  followed 
this  up  with  a  second  visit  to  the  area  with  H.  F.  Reid  in  1931. 
These  two  observers  thus  returned  to  continue  observations 
which  they  had  begun  respectively  25  and  39  years  previously. 
Regretably,  only  summaries  of  Wright's  observations  have  been 
published.  In  1905,  1908,  and  1909,  U.  S.  Grant  and  D.  F. 
Higgins  (22),  also  of  the  Geological  Survey,  conducted  a  series 
of  observations  of  the  glaciers  of  Prince  William  Sound  and 
the  Kenai  Peninsula. 

In  1916,  William  S.  Cooper  (10-14),  °f  tne  University  of 
Minnesota,  began  a  long-term  systematic  study  of  plant  ecology 
in  the  areas  recently  vacated  by  the  ice  in  Glacier  Bay.  In  order 
to  work  out  the  schedule  of  vegetation  growth  and  plant  suc- 
cession, he  found  it  necessary  to  determine  the  chronology  of 
ice  recession.  This  contributed  much  to  the  study  of  glaciers 
as  well  as  to  plant  ecology.  His  periodic  visits  began  in  1916 
and  continued  to  1935  and  then  were  taken  up  by  his  associate, 
Donald  B.  Lawrence  (26,  27),  also  of  the  University  of  Minne- 
sota, in  1941,  1949,  and  1950.  This  unique  project,  now  in  its 
35th  year,  has  resulted  in  the  publication  of  several  very  signifi- 


126  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

cant  papers  of  interest  to  glaciologists  as  well  as  to  plant  ecolo- 
gists  and  climatologists. 

Other  important  contributions  were  made  by  Stephen  R. 
Capps  (7-9),  of  the  Geological  Survey,  whose  papers  on  Pleisto- 
cene glaciation  and  existing  glaciers  in  various  parts  of  Alaska 
are  outstanding.  From  1937  to  1940,  Bradford  Washburn  (56- 
58)  took  a  series  of  magnificent  aerial  photographs  of  Alaskan 
glaciers  which  constitute  a  unique  record  of  the  positions  of 
their  termini  and  other  features  of  glaciological  interest.  The 
U.  S.  Navy,  in  1929  and  again  in  1948,  carried  out  special  mis- 
sions to  photograph  the  glaciers  of  Southeastern  Alaska.  This 
aerial  record,  made  especially  for  glaciological  purposes,  to- 
gether with  the  trimetrogon  and  vertical  photography  under- 
taken by  the  Air  Force  and  Navy  for  mapping  purposes, 
constitutes  an  impressive  source  of  information  for  which  stu- 
dents of  Alaskan  glaciers  will  long  be  grateful. 

Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  valuable  data  on  glaciers 
and  glaciation  obtained  by  Geological  Survey  parties  which 
have  been  concerned  primarily  with  the  study  of  other  aspects 
of  geology  or  have  been  engaged  in  topographic  surveying;  the 
largely  unsung  work  of  Canadian  and  American  surveying 
parties  (25)  who  delimited  the  international  boundary  and 
mapped  surrounding  areas  from  1893  to  1912>  the  U.  S.  Coast 
and  Geodetic  Survey  parties  who  have  been  charting  the  coast 
of  Alaska  and  recording  the  position  of  many  of  the  glacier 
termini  which  descend  to  tidewater;  and  the  U.S.  Forest  Service 
which  has  sponsored  observations  of  the  glaciers  situated  within 
the  national  forests. 

During  the  last  seven  decades,  many  travellers,  ranging  from 
casual  visitors  to  field  parties  specifically  organized  for  the  pur- 
pose, have  obtained  data  on  the  variations  in  size  of  the  glaciers. 
The  information  obtained  by  them  has  contributed  significantly 
to  our  understanding  of  the  general  trends  of  glacier  variation 
and  the  resulting  changes  in  the  topography  and  growth  of 
vegetation.  Although  much  of  this  information  has  originated 
from  non-scientific  sources,  it  is  nevertheless  of  definite  value 
in  the  interpretation  of  glacial  phenomena. 


Glaciological  Research  in  Alaska— Field  127 

Until  the  1940's,  practically  all  glaciological  observations  in 
Alaska  were  conducted  in  the  terminal  areas  of  the  glaciers  or 
immediately  above  in  the  zone  of  wastage.  Largely  because  of 
the  difficulty  in  making  observations  at  higher  levels,  none  but 
mountaineering  or  surveying  parties  could  extend  their  activi- 
ties above  the  neve  line.  However,  during  the  past  few  years, 
more  comprehensive  studies  have  been  begun  which  can  be 
attributed  primarily  to  three  factors.  First  is  the  impetus  pro- 
vided by  developments  in  the  Alps,  Scandinavia,  and  the  islands 
of  the  North  Atlantic,  where  new  methods  and  concepts  of 
glaciological  research  have  been  worked  out  and  applied  in  the 
field  (2,  31).  A  new  comprehensive  approach  on  a  three,  rather 
than  a  two,  dimensional  basis,  and  involving  microclimatologi- 
cal  and  geophysical  techniques,  has  been  developed  to  challenge 
glaciologists  in  this  country.  A  second  factor  concerns  the  devel- 
opment of  aerial  techniques  which  have  made  possible  an 
expansion  of  the  scope  of  glacier  studies  in  Alaska  through 
aerial  photography;  aerial  supply  of  field  parties  by  parachute 
and  free-fall;  and  the  development  of  the  ski-wheel  plane, 
which  can  take  off  from  an  airport  on  wheels  and  land  on  a 
neve  on  skis,  for  transporting  personnel,  equipment,  and  sup- 
plies. In  the  future,  we  may  expect  that  helicopters  will  also 
be  used  to  reach  areas  on  glaciers  and  ice  fields  where  ski  land- 
ings and  takeoffs  by  airplanes  are  not  feasible.  New  sources  of 
support  and  cooperation  form  an  important  third  factor.  These 
derive  largely  from  government  sources,  primarily  from  the 
National  Military  Establishment,  which  have  made  possible 
comprehensive  studies  involving  more  equipment  and  person- 
nel than  have  previously  been  available  for  purely  glaciological 
undertakings. 

Largely  as  a  result  of  these  three  factors,  what  may  be  termed 
a  new  era  in  research  in  the  Alaskan  area  began  in  1948  when 
the  Arctic  Institute  initiated  Project  Snow  Cornice  under  the 
leadership  of  Walter  A.  Wood  (60)  with  Robert  P.  Sharp  (45) 
of  the  California  Institute  of  Technology  in  charge  of  the  gla- 
ciological studies.  The  work,  which  was  continued  in  1949, 
has  been  carried  out  on  the  Seward-Malaspina  glacier  system 


128  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

in  the  St.  Elias  Mountains,  partly  in  Yukon  Territory  and  partly 
in  Alaska,  and  appropriately,  by  parties  composed  of  both 
Canadians  and  Americans.  Detailed  observations  of  the  firn 
have  been  made,  including  thermohm  records  of  ice  tempera- 
ture at  depths;  studies  of  the  physical  character  of  the  neve  in 
pits  dug  down  to  50  feet;  density  profiles;  analyses  of  the  free 
water  content  of  the  snow  and  firn;  melt  water  percolation;  rate 
of  ablation  by  melting  and  evaporation;  and  rates  of  snow  ac- 
cumulation between  what  were  believed  to  be  annual  horizons. 
Measurements  were  also  made  of  ice  movement  at  the  surface 
and  of  ice  thickness  by  seismic  means,  gravimeter,  and  radar 
(36).  In  1949,  Henri  Bader  conducted  crystallographic  and 
structural  studies  on  the  ice  of  the  Malaspina  Glacier.  This  is 
probably  the  most  extensive  single  glacier  system  in  North 
America  and  in  the  Malaspina,  represents  the  largest  and  best 
example  of  a  piedmont  glacier  outside  the  Polar  Regions.  The 
Navy,  through  the  Office  of  Naval  Research,  and  the  Depart- 
ments of  the  Army  and  the  Air  Force  provided  major  support 
for  this  scientific  program.  A  third  field  season  is  now  planned 
for  1951. 

In  1948,  another  somewhat  similar  undertaking  was  begun 
by  the  American  Geographical  Society,  near  Juneau  on  the 
neve  of  the  Coast  Range,  which  for  convenience  is  referred  to 
as  the  Juneau  Ice  Field  (19,  26,  27,  32).  This  project  was 
continued  in  1949  and  1950  and  has  had  for  its  primary  objec- 
tive the  detailed  study  of  the  regimen  of  a  glacier  system,  the 
meteorological  factors  by  which  it  is  influenced,  the  structure 
of  the  neve  and  underlying  ice,  and  the  causes  of  its  variations 
in  volume.  Four  profiles  to  measure  the  thickness  of  the  Taku 
Glacier  were  made  by  seismic  means  in  1949  (37),  and  the 
following  year  a  drill  rig  was  set  up  on  the  neve  with  which 
cores  were  obtained  to  a  depth  of  nearly  300  feet.  A  pipe  was 
left  in  the  drill  hole  which  will  be  surveyed  periodically  to 
determine  its  displacement  and  which  will  provide  a  means  of 
measuring  the  temperature  of  the  interior  of  the  glacier.  This 
project  was  made  possible  by  the  cooperation  and  support  of 
a  number  of  federal  agencies.    Of  primary  importance  was  a 


Glaciological  Research  in  Alaska— Field  129 

Research  Contract  with  the  Office  of  Naval  Research,  air  lift 
provided  by  the  Air  Force  and  the  Navy,  equipment  supplied 
by  the  Signal  Corps,  Quartermaster  Corps,  and  Corps  of  Engi- 
neers, and  personnel  assigned  by  the  Air  Weather  Service.  Local 
facilities  in  Juneau  were  provided  by  the  Forest  Service,  and 
substantial  help  was  received  from  other  institutions,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  the  Arctic  Institute,  the  Geological 
Society  of  America,  and  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

Current  investigations  of  Alaskan  glaciers  are  along  three  dis- 
tinct lines:  first,  the  comprehensive  and  detailed  studies  at  high 
level  represented  by  Project  Snow  Cornice  and  the  Juneau  Ice 
Field  Research  Project;  second,  studies  at  low  levels  of  the 
terminal  portions  of  the  glaciers  and  the  moraine  patterns  re- 
sulting from  variations  in  the  recent  past;  and  third,  desk  work 
in  which  all  existing  data  gleaned  from  aerial  photographs, 
maps,  and  contemporary  and  historical  records  may  be  corre- 
lated with  current  studies  in  the  field.  It  should  be  emphasized 
that  periodic  visits  to  the  glacier  termini  have  not  been  super- 
seded by  the  more  specialized  studies  of  regimen,  structure,  and 
ice  mechanics  on  the  glaciers  themselves.  Actually,  there  is  a 
continuing  need  for  both.  The  spot  checking  of  the  behavior 
of  termini  indicates  the  local  and  regional  trends  of  glacier  vari- 
ations in  the  past  and  present,  while  the  more  intensive  studies, 
especially  at  higher  levels,  provide  an  opportunity  of  determin- 
ing the  various  causative  factors  involved  in  glacier  variation, 
as  well  as  affording  a  means  of  carrying  out  field  research  on 
the  mechanics  of  flow  and  other  characteristics  of  glacier  ice 
and  neve. 

As  Professor  H.  W:son  Ahlmann  has  stated:  "To  serve  its 
aims  glaciology  must  in  future  be  founded  in  the  first  place  on 
physics,  mechanics,  crystallography  and  meteorology  and  must 
belong  to  the  complex  of  sciences  that  in  certain  countries  go 
by  the  name  of  geophysics."  (1,  p.  4).  From  the  study  of  exist- 
ing glaciers  in  Alaska,  we  may  expect  to  broaden  our  knowledge 
of  climatic  change,  both  in  the  present  and  in  the  interval  since 
the  last  Ice  Age  on  this  continent;  further  information  may  be 
gained  on  the  delicate  balance  of  meteorological  factors  which 


130  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

combine  to  produce  conditions  favorable  to  the  existence  of 
glaciers  in  various  parts  of  the  world;  and  research  in  certain 
fundamental  problems  in  geology  and  geophysics,  such  as  the 
mechanics  of  rock  deformation  and  flow  and  the  manner  of 
recrystallization  of  mineral  components  under  stress,  may  also 
be  aided  by  a  study  of  ice. 

Glaciology  thus  has  broader  scope  than  merely  the  study  of 
ice  itself.  It  serves  the  fields  of  climatology,  geology,  physics, 
geophysics,  geomorphology,  and  plant  ecology.  In  looking  ahead, 
it  would  seem  desirable  to  continue  and  expand  current  field 
research  by  placing  special  emphasis  on  the  study  of  the  fol- 
lowing: the  structure  and  properties  of  glacier  ice  and  neve, 
including  the  mechanics  of  ice  flow;  glacier  regimen;  the  varia- 
tions of  glaciers  and  the  relationship  between  these  variations 
and  climatic  change;  the  character  and  extent  of  Pleistocene 
glaciation.  In  centers  of  learning  one  may  hope  that,  while 
field  research  goes  forward,  adequate  attention  will  also  be  paid 
to  the  work  of  systematically  describing  and  classifying  the 
glaciers,  correlating  existing  data,  compiling  detailed  base  maps 
of  existing  glaciers  as  well  as  Pleistocene  glacial  deposits,  and 
assembling  source  materials  and  bibliographies.  There  is  room 
here  for  activity  on  the  part  of  the  trained  scientist,  the  student, 
and  even  the  very  casual  traveller. 

At  the  same  time,  there  is  the  need  for  close  relationship  be- 
tween the  individuals,  institutions,  and  government  agencies 
active  or  interested  in  this  field  of  study.  We  must  ensure  that 
all  existing  records  will  be  preserved  for  future  generations  and 
that,  meanwhile,  we  may  maintain  maximum  facilities  for  co- 
operation and  an  interchange  of  information.  This  is  precisely 
one  of  the  functions  which  the  Alaskan  Science  Conference 
envisions,  whereby  each  of  us  may  know  what  other  individuals, 
institutions  or  Government  agencies  are  doing,  and  how  one 
another's  programs  may  be  integrated  for  our  mutual  benefit. 
Glaciology,  although  playing  a  relatively  minor  part  in  Alaskan 
scientific  research,  does  nevertheless  involve  the  activities  of 
many  diverse  groups.  The  relatively  long  list  of  government 
and  private  agencies  which  are  concerned  to  a  lesser  or  greater 


Glaciological  Research  in  Alaska— Field  131 

degree  with  Alaskan  glacier  studies  indicates  clearly  how  useful 
such  liaison  can  be.  Whatever  coordination  and  mutual  under- 
standing can  be  engendered  will  produce,  at  no  extra  cost  or 
expenditure  of  energy,  far  more  useful  results  than  can  other- 
wise be  attained.  It  is  also  important  for  those  active  in  the 
study  of  Alaskan  glaciers  and  glacial  phenomena  to  maintain 
close  relations  with  investigators  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
for  only  through  close  cooperation  and  correlation  of  results 
will  the  broader  aspects  and  basic  purposes  of  glaciology  be 
realized. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Ahlmann,  H.  W:son.    Foreword.   Journal  of  Glaciology,  /:  3. 

*947- 

2.  Ahlmann,  H.   W:son.   Glaciological  research  on  the  North  At- 

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3.  Bateman,  Alan   M.    Kennecott  Glacier  of  Alaska.    Bulletin 

Geological  Society  of  America,  55:  527-540.    1922. 

4.  Blackwelder,  Eliot.   Glacial  features  of  the  Alaskan  coast  be- 

tween Yakutat  Bay  and  the  Alsek  River.  Journal  of  Geology, 

'5'4!5-433-   iW 

5.  Blake,  W.  P.  The  glaciers  of  Alaska,  Russian  America.  Ameri- 

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6.  Brooks,  Alfred  Hulse.    Preliminary  report  on  the  Ketchikan 

mining  district,  Alaska,  with  an  introductory  sketch  of  the 
geology  of  Southeastern  Alaska.  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Pro- 
fessional Paper  No.  1.   1902. 

7.  Capps,  Stephen  R.  Glaciation  on  the  north  side  of  the  Wrangell 

Mountains,  Alaska.  Journal  of  Geology,  18:  33-57.   1910. 

8.  Capps,  Stephen  R.   Glaciation  of  the  Alaska  Range.  Journal  of 

Geology,  20:  4i5"437-    191^- 

9.  Capps,  Stephen  R.   Glaciation  in  Alaska.   U.  S.  Geological  Sur- 

vey, Professional  Paper  No.  170-A.   1931. 

10.  Cooper,  William  Skinner.    The  recent  ecological  history  of 

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!923- 

11.  Cooper,  William  Skinner.  A  third  expedition  to  Glacier  Bay, 

Alaska.  Ecology,  12:  61-95.    1931- 

12.  Cooper,  William  Skinner.  The  problem  of  Glacier  Bay,  Alaska: 

A  study  of  glacier  variations.  Geographical  Review,  27: 
37-62.  1937. 


132  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

13.  Cooper,  William  Skinner.  A  fourth  expedition  to  Glacier  Bay, 

Alaska.  Ecology,  20:  130-155.    1939. 

14.  Cooper,  William  Skinner.    Vegetation  of  the  Prince  William 

Sound  region,  Alaska;  with  a  brief  excursion  into  Post- 
Pleistocene  climatic  history.  Ecological  Monographs.  12  (1). 
1942. 

15.  Davidson,  George.    The  glaciers  of  Alaska  that  are  shown  on 

Russian  charts  or  mentioned  in  older  narratives.  Trans- 
actions and  Proceedings,  Geographical  Society  of  the  Pacific, 
Series  II,  3:  1-98.    1904. 

16.  Field,  William  O.,  Jr.    The  glaciers  of  the  northern  part  of 

Prince  William  Sound,  Alaska.  Geographical  Review,  22: 
361-388.    1932. 

17.  Field,  William  O.,  Jr.    Observations  on  Alaskan  coastal  gla- 

ciers in  1935.   Geographical  Review,  27:  63-81.    1937. 

18.  Field,  William  O.,  Jr.   Glacier  recession  in  Muir  Inlet,  Glacier 

Bay,  Alaska.  Geographical  Review,  37:  369-399.   1947. 

19.  Field,  William  O.,  Jr.  and  Maynard  M.  Miller.  The  Juneau 

Ice  Field  Research  Project.  Geographical  Review,  40:  179-190. 

1950. 

20.  Flint,  Richard  Foster.  Glacial  map  of  North  America.  Part  1, 

Map:  2  sheets,  scale  1:4,555,000;  Part  2,  Bibliography  and 
explanatory  notes.  Geological  society  of  America,  Special 
Papers,  No.  60.    1945. 

21.  Gilbert,  Grove  Karl.   Alaska:  Glaciers  and  glaciation.  Harri- 

man  Alaska  Expedition,  3:  Doubleday,  Page  and  Company. 
New  York.    1904. 

22.  Grant,  U.  S.  and  D.  F.  Higgins.    Glaciers  of  Prince  William 

Sound  and  the  southern  part  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula,  Alaska. 
Bulletin  American  Geographical  Society,  42;  721-738.  1910. 
43:  321-338,  401-417,  721-737.  1911.  Also  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey,  Bulletin  526.   1913. 

23.  Hance,  James  H.  The  recent  advance  of  Black  Rapids  Glacier, 

Alaska.  Journal  of  Geology,  45:  775-783.   1937. 

24.  Kerr,  Forrest  A.    Quaternary  glaciation  in  the  Coast  Range, 

Northern  British  Columbia  and  Alaska.  Journal  of  Geology, 
44:  681-700.    1936. 

25.  Klotz,  Otto  J.    Notes  on  glaciers  of  Southeastern  Alaska  and 

adjoining  territory.   Geographical  Journal,  14:  523-534.    1899. 

26.  Lawrence,  Donald  B.   and  Elizabeth   G.    Some  glaciers   of 

Southeastern  Alaska.   Mazama,  3/   (13):  24-30.    1949. 

27.  Lawrence,  Donald  B.    Glacier  fluctuation  for  six  centuries  in 

Southeastern  Alaska  and  its  relation  to  solar  activity.  Geo- 
graphical Review,  40:  191-223.   1950. 


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28.  Martin,  Lawrence.  The  National  Geographic  Society  researches 

in  Alaska.  National  Geographic  Magazine,  22:  537-561.   1911. 

29.  Martin,  Lawrence.  Alaskan  glaciers  in  relation  to  life.  Bulletin 

American  Geographical  Society,  ^5:  801-818.    1913. 

30.  Martin,  Lawrence.    Juneau- Yakutat  Section,  Guide  Book  No. 

10,  Excursion  C  8,  [International  Geological  Congress]  Geo- 
logical Survey,  Ottawa.  121-176.    1913. 

31.  Matthes,  Francois  E.    Glaciers,  Chapter  5  Hydrology,  Physics 

of  the  Earth,  edited  by  O.  E.  Meinzer,  9:  149-219.  McGraw- 
Hill  Book  Company,  Inc.,  New  York  and  London.    1942. 

32.  Miller,  Maynard  M.    Progress  report  of  the  Juneau  Ice  Field 

Research  Project,  1948.  American  Geographical  Society,  1949. 
(Mimeographed). 

33.  Moffit,  Fred  H.  Black  Rapids  Glacier,  Alaska.  U.  S.  Geological 

Survey,  Bulletin  g26-B:  146-157.    1942. 

34.  Mum,  John.    Travels  in  Alaska.    Houghton  Mifflin  Company, 

Boston  and  New  York.    1915. 

35.  Muir,  John.  The  Pacific  Coast  Glaciers.    Harriman  Alaska  Ex- 

pedition, /:  119-135.  Doubleday,  Page  and  Company.    1902. 

36.  Northwood,  T.  D.  and  F.  W.  Simpson.    Depth  measurements 

in  the  Seward  Ice  Field  by  sonic  echo-ranging,  National  Re- 
search Council  of  Canada,  Division  of  Physics,  Report  No. 
PS-300.    1948. 

37.  Poulter,  Thomas  C.  and  C.  F.  Allen  and  Stephen  W.  Miller. 

Seismic  measurements  on  the  Taku  Glacier.  Stanford  Re- 
search Institute,  Stanford,  California.    1949. 

38.  Ray,  Louis  L.  Some  minor  features  of  valley  glaciers  and  valley 

glaciation.   Journal  of  Geology,  ^3:  297-322.    1935. 

39.  Reid,  Harry  Fielding.    Studies  of  Muir  Glacier,  Alaska.    Na- 

tional Geographic  Magazine,  4:  19-84.    1892. 

40.  Reid,  Harry  Fielding.   Glacier  Bay  and  its  glaciers.   U.  S.  Geo- 

logical Survey,  16th  Annual  Report,  1894-95,  Part  I:  415-461. 
1896. 

41.  Russell,  Israel  C.    Mt.  St.  Elias  and  its  glaciers.    American 

Journal  of  Science,  3rd  Series,  43:  169-182.    1892. 

42.  Russell,  Israel  C.  The  Malaspina  Glacier.  Journal  of  Geology, 

/:  219-245.    1893. 

43.  Russell,  Israel    C.  Glaciers  of  North  America.     (Chapter  6, 

Glaciers  of  Alaska,  74-130).  Ginn  and  Company,  Boston  and 
London.    1897. 

44.  Sharp,  Robert  P.    The  Wolf  Creek  Glaciers,  St.  Elias  Range, 

Yukon  Territory.   Geographical  Review,  37:  26-52.    1947. 


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45.  Sharp,  Robert  P.    Project  "Snow  Cornice."    Engineering  and 

Science  Monthly,  November,  1948.  Published  by  California 
Institute  of  Technology  Alumni  Association. 

46.  Sharp,  Robert  P.   Studies  of  superglacial  debris  on  valley  gla- 

ciers. American  Journal  of  Science,  247:  289-315.    1949. 

47.  Smith,  Philip  S.   Glaciation  in  Northwestern  Alaska.    Bulletin 

Geological  Society  of  America,  25:  563-570.    1912. 

48.  Tarr,  Ralph  S.  and  Lawrence  Martin.  Glaciers  and  glaciation 

of  Yakutat  Bay,  Alaska.  Bulletin  American  Geographical 
Society,  38:  145-167.    1906. 

49.  Tarr,  Ralph  S.   Recent  advance  of  glaciers  in  the  Yakutat  Bay 

Region,  Alaska.  Bulletin  Geological  Society  of  America,  18: 
257-286.    1907. 

50.  Tarr,  Ralph  S.    The  Malaspina  Glacier.    Bulletin  American 

Geographical  Society,  35?:  273-285.    1907. 

51.  Tarr,  Ralph  S.   The  Yakutat  Bay  Region,  Alaska.   U.  S.  Geo- 

logical Survey,  Professional  Paper  No.  64,  11-144.    1909. 

52.  Tarr,  Ralph  S.  and  Lawrence  Martin.    The  National  Geo- 

graphic Society's  Alaskan  Expedition  of  1909.  National  Geo- 
graphic Magazine,  21:  1-54.    1910. 

53.  Tarr,   Ralph  S.    Glaciers  and  glaciation  of  Alaska.    Annals 

Association  American  Geographers,  2:  3-24.    1912. 

54.  Tarr,  Ralph  S.  The  Glaciers  and  glaciation  of  Alaska.  Science, 

New  Series,  35:  241-258.    1912. 

55.  Tarr,  Ralph  S.  and  Lawrence  Martin.  Alaskan  glacier  studies 

of  the  National  Geographic  Society  in  the  Yakutat  Bay, 
Prince  William  Sound  and  Lower  Copper  River  Regions. 
The  National  Geographic  Society.    1914. 

56.  Washburn,  Bradford.    Morainic  bandings  of  Malaspina  and 

other  Alaskan  glaciers.  Bulletin  Geological  Society  of  Amer- 
ica, 46:  1879-1890.    1935. 

57.  Washburn,  H.  Bradford,  Jr.,  and  Richard  P.  Goldthwait. 

The  Harvard-Dartmouth  Alaskan  Expeditions,  1933-1934. 
Geographical  Journal,  8y :  481-517.    1936. 

58.  Washburn,  Bradford,  and  Richard  Goldthwait.  Movement  of 

South  Crillon  Glacier,  Crillon  Lake,  Alaska.  Bulletin  Geo- 
logical Society  of  America,  48:  1653-1663.    1937. 

59.  Wentworth,  C.  K.  and  L.  L.  Ray.  Studies  of  certain  Alaskan 

Glaciers  in   1931.    Bulletin  Geological  Society  of  America, 

47:  879-933-    mQ- 

60.  Wood,  Walter  A.   Project  "Snow  Cornice."  Arctic,  /   (2):  107- 

112.    1948. 


Glaciological  Research  in  Alaska— Field  135 

61.  Wright,  F.  E.  and  C.  W.  The  Glacier  Bay  National  Monument 

in  Southeastern  Alaska:  Its  glaciers  and  geology  (unpublished 
manuscript  based  on  studies  in  1906  and  1931  in  the  files  of 
the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey);  See  also  Reid,  Harry  Fielding. 
Variations  of  glaciers  XII.  Journal  of  Geology,  16:  51-55. 
1908. 

62.  Wright,  G.  Frederick.  The  Muir  Glacier.  American  Journal  of 

Science,  Series  3,  33:  1-18.    1887. 

In  addition  to  these  references,  there  exist  many  valuable  sources 
of  information  in  the  unpublished  reports,  field  notes,  photographs, 
and  map  data  of  many  of  the  public  agencies  and  private  institutions 
which  have  been  responsible  for  conducting  research  in  this  field. 


SOME  GEOGRAPHIC  BASES  FOR  PLANNING 

NEW  ALASKAN  SETTLEMENT* 

Kirk  H.  Stone 

Department  of  Geography 

University  of  Wisconsin 

Additional  settlement  in  Alaska  appears  certain.  Whether 
spontaneous  or  induced,  by  individuals  or  groups,  in  disorgan- 
ized or  orderly  manner,  it  is  the  permanence  of  this  future 
population  that  commands  our  interest.  The  cheapest  insur- 
ance of  permanence  is  sound  planning.  This  must  be  based  on 
facts,  not  only  about  physical  features  but,  also,  cultural  topics. 
Of  the  latter,  one  is  the  determination  of  the  total  experience 
of  Alaskan  settlement.  Geographically,  the  subject  amounts  to 
the  questions:  who  settled  where,  when,  why,  upon  what  bases, 
and  how  permanently?  However,  the  main  question  is:  how 
much  knowledge  about  means  of  insuring  the  permanence  of 
settlement  may  we  carry  to  Alaska's  future  from  its  past?  The 
answer  at  the  present  time  is  too  little.  The  concern  here  is 
to  summarize  data  about  the  areas  of  Russian  and  English 
settlement,  where  specific  research  is  likely  to  yield  useful  data. 

In  general,  Russian  occupance  of  Alaska  was  exploitive  and 
relatively  brief.  Permanent  settlement  took  place  during  the  83 
years  prior  to  1867,  certainly  for  fur  purchasing  and  perhaps  as 
a  part  of  Russian  encirclement  of  the  northern  Pacific  Ocean. 
No  matter  the  motive,  nearly  800  Russians  lived  in  the  Terri- 
tory at  one  time.  These  people  located  on  or  near  the  southern 
and  western  coasts.  In  Southeastern  Alaska  Russian  fur  pur- 
chasing activities  were  overlapped  by  those  of  the  English  and 
the  two  were  combined  in  that  area  for  nearly  half  a  century. 
In  all,  about  45  sites  were  settled  by  Russians  and  three  by 
English,  of  which  about  two-thirds  of  the  total  have  been  occu- 
pied continuously  to  the  present  time. 


*  Based  upon  research  supported  by  the  College  of  Letters  and  Science  and 
the  University  Research  Committee  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 

136 


Geographical  Settlement  Planning-Alaska— Stone       137 

In  detail,  Russian  settlement  is  divisible  chronologically  and 
areally  into  three  periods.1  Only  the  last  two  periods  were  of 
permanent  occupance.  The  earlier  was  1784  to  1830,  a  period 
of  entirely  Russian  occupation.  The  latter  was  1830  to  1867,  of 
English  as  well  as  Russian  settlement.  Then,  in  1867,  Russian 
America  was  sold  to  the  United  States. 

Russian  Settlement:  1784-1830 

Known  permanent  settlement  in  Alaska  began  with  the  start 
of  organized  Russian  fur  purchasing.  The  first  village  was  es- 
tablished in  1784  off  the  southern  coast  of  Alaska  on  Kodiak 
Island  (fig.  1).  Founding  of  the  village,  at  Three  Saints  Bay, 
may  be  said  to  be  the  fourth  step  in  more  than  a  century  and  a 
half  of  Russian  expansion  eastward. 

First  of  the  preceding  three  steps  was  the  conquest  of  Siberia. 
This  expansion  began  at  the  western  edge  in  1580  and  went 
rapidly  eastward,  reaching  the  Pacific  shore  by  1700.  Increase 
of  the  Czar's  fur  trade  was  the  motive.  The  second  step  was  the 
discovery  of  Alaska,  credited  to  Bering  as  of  the  year  1741  and 
based  upon  the  Czar's  desire  to  learn  what  was  to  the  east  of 
Siberia. 

Then,  after  1741,  followed  the  third  step,  43  years  of  unorgan- 
ized fur  hunting  by  individuals  called  "promyshleniki."  This 
period  was  one  of  ruthless  exploitation  of  the  Aleutian  Island 
resources  and  people.  Probably  there  were  a  few  thousand 
promyshleniki;  they  sailed  from  island  to  island  and  stayed  on 
the  larger  ones  only  as  long  as  necessary  to  force  the  natives  to 
bring  in  large  quantities  of  furs.  Between  1741  and  1784  there 
were  80,000  sea  otter  and  280,000  fur  seal  pelts  taken.  Little,  if 
any,  settlement  was  undertaken  (other  than  a  temporary  occu- 
pation of  Iliuliuk,  on  Unalaska  Island  in  the  eastern  Aleutians) 


1  The  periods  were  defined  by  plotting  the  location  and  date  of  establishment 
of  each  settlement  founded  during  the  period  of  Russian  ownership  of  Alaska. 
Determination  of  the  dates  and  locations  required  a  survey  of  a  number  of  gen- 
eral and  specific  sources,  documentary  and  cartographic,  in  English  and  Russian, 
a  number  too  great  for  practical  listing  herein.  Several  of  the  dates  may  be 
interpreted  from  or  found  in  references  number  2,  3,  5,  6,  8,  9,  io,  14,  and  15. 
See  particularly  the  many  sources  noted  in  reference  number  12. 


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Alaskan  Science  Conference 


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Geographical  Settlement  Planning-Alaska— Stone       139 

as  is  shown  by  the  general  continuity  of  the  open  arrow  on 
figure  2.  Yet,  attention  was  focused  on  Russian  America.  Also, 
the  Kodiak  area  was  known,  in  the  early  1780s,  to  be  one  in 
which  the  fur-bearing  marine  animals  were  still  abundant  in 
contrast  to  the  badly  depleted  Aleutian  Chain.  Thus,  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  village  at  Three  Saints  Bay  was  a  logical  eastward 
step  for  organized  fur  purchasing  operations.2 

In  1792  the  site  of  the  first  settlement  at  Three  Saints  Bay  was 
abandoned  in  favor  of  that  at  Kodiak  village,  then  called  St. 
Paul.  There  timber  was  available  as  well  as  a  suitable  harbor. 
Thence,  representatives  of  two  fur  companies  went  northward 
into  the  Cook  Inlet  region  where  each  stymied  the  expansion 
of  the  other.  In  the  main,  however,  settlement  spread  eastward 
(fig.  2)  after  the  formation  in  1797  of  the  great  Russian  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company  whose  Alaskan  headquarters  were  at  Kodiak 
village.  The  movement  was  by  a  series  of  skips  along  the  coast 
to  Sitka  by  1800  and  Fort  Ross,  California  in  1812.  The  "back- 
eddy"  movement  westward  from  Kodiak  took  place  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  period. 

Two  forces  were  behind  the  eastward  advance  of  settlement 
after  1784.  One  was  the  desire  to  find  new  sources  of  sea  otter. 
They  were  the  most  important  resource  to  the  Russians  and  fur 
seal  were  second  (fig.  3).  By  about  1790  the  sea  otter  were 
becoming  scarce  in  the  Kodiak  area  and  westward.  Thus,  atten- 
tion was  directed  eastward  to  new  sources.  The  efforts  were 
worth  it;  annual  returns  in  this  period  were  the  greatest  in 
Alaskan  history. 

The  other  force  leading  to  settlement  was  the  will  of  Baranof, 
the  first  manager  of  the  Russian  American  Fur  Company.  The 
company  monopolized  Alaska  and  Baranof  sought  to  serve  the 
Czar  by  extending  Russian  holdings  through  his  managerial 
work.   Some  authorities  (Ref.  11,  p.  9)  suggest  that  the  Russian 


2  Two  additional  preliminary  stages  of  settlement  are  bare  possibilities.  The 
first  is  the  possible  discovery  of  Alaska  in  499  A.D.  by  a  Chinese  explorer.  The 
second  is  the  reported  migration  of  Russians  in  the  16th  century  from  the  lower 
Lena  River  in  Siberia  to  an  unknown  site  in  the  Territory.  Neither  requires 
analysis  at  this  time  because  each  occurrence  apparently  is  unrelated  to  the 
continuous  permanent  settlement  begun  at  Kodiak  Island. 


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Alaskan  Science  Conference 


Geographical  Settlement  Planning-Alaska— Stone       141 


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142  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

government  wished  to  encourage  expansion  in  the  Pacific  area. 
Kerner,  however,  maintains  that  Russia  was  not  interested  in 
expansion  in  the  early  1800's  but,  rather,  in  regaining  the  Amur 
River  valley  from  China  for  commercial  reasons  (Ref.  12, 
passim).  In  addition,  Russian  communications  with  Kodiak 
were  difficult  enough  over  the  6900  miles  from  Leningrad  to 
the  island  without  adding  750  miles  more  to  Sitka  and  still 
another  1400  miles  to  Fort  Ross.  Nevertheless,  Baranof  favored 
expansion.  The  founding  of  the  California  colony  (by  Rezanof) 
fit  Baranof's  desires  although  the  fort  was  intended,  and  served, 
to  prevent  starvation  of  the  Russians  in  Alaska.  Finally,  it  was 
from  Fort  Ross  that  Baranof's  deputy  made  an  abortive  attempt 
to   establish   a  settlement   on   the   Hawaiian    Islands    (fig.    1). 

Russian  American  villages  or  forts  were  always  on  water 
(fig.  4).  Usually  they  were  on  the  coast  rather  than  inland.  Also, 
the  predominant  function  was  fur  purchasing  in  the  settlements 
founded  before  1830  in  Southern  and  Southeastern  Alaska. 
Exceptions,  like  Yakutat,  were  stated  to  be  agricultural  centers. 
To  continue  this  practice  is  to  use  a  classification  employed  by 
Baranof  merely  to  secure  more  men  from  Russia.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  any  Alaskan  settlement  established  between  1784  and 
1830  was  truly  agricultural.  Certainly,  however,  at  least  the 
more  significant  centers,  shown  as  solid  symbols  on  figure  4,  were 
founded  as  permanent  centers  and  have  remained  such.  Also, 
some  of  them  were  multi-functional  rather  than  only  fur-pur- 
chasing centers. 

About  40  per  cent  of  the  villages  which  Russians  founded  in 
this  first  period  of  settlement  no  longer  exist.  Most  of  these  had 
a  maximum  white  population  of  less  than  10  people.  Also,  each 
of  the  abandoned  sites  was  in  a  location  of  little  value  to  later 
white  settlement. 

The  total  number  of  whites  in  Russian  America  during  this 
period  was  less  than  in  the  time  of  the  promyshleniki  (Refs.  4, 
6,  8,  9,  10,  and  14,  passim).  In  1786  a  few  more  than  150  Russian 
inhabitants  were  known  to  be  there  and  two  years  later  422 
were  reported  in  the  six  newly-founded  places.  As  time  passed 
the  number  of  settlements  increased  while  the  Russian  popula- 


Geographical  Settlement  Planning- Alaska— Stone       143 


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144  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

tion  was  stationary  at  about  400.  In  1818  about  200  of  them 
were  in  Sitka  and  75  in  Kodiak.  Thus,  the  average  Russian 
population  for  other  villages  at  that  time  was  about  five  while 
some  places  actually  had  but  one.  That  these  people  were 
mostly  men  may  be  assumed. 

Russian  and  English  Settlement:  1830-1867 

From  1830  to  1867  Russian  interest  in  Alaska  as  a  permanent 
possession  was  maintained  until  near  the  end  of  the  period. 
New  settlements  were  founded  until  1845  and  the  annual  "take" 
of  sea  otter,  fur-seal,  and  other  pelts  remained  steady. 

Settlement  spread  to  western  Alaska  in  this  period  (fig.  2). 
Like  in  the  previous  era  most  of  the  expansion  was  from  Kodiak. 
The  main  route  was  southwestward  around  the  Alaska  Penin- 
sula to  St.  Michael,  founded  northeast  of  the  mouths  of  the 
Yukon  River  area.  In  the  1830's  the  work  of  missionaries  of 
the  Russian  Orthodox  Church  became  significant  and  a  few 
new  settlements  were  primarily  religious  centers  (fig.  4).  Min- 
eral resources  were  investigated.  Traces  of  gold  and  copper 
were  found  and  coal  was  mined  temporarily  near  the  mouth  of 
Cook  Inlet  but  major  deposits  were  not  known.  Too,  a  decree 
in  1835  provided  for  the  establishment  of  agricultural  villages 
(as  the  cheapest  way  of  retiring  employees  of  the  fur  company) 
but  Ninilchik,  on  Cook  Inlet,  is  the  only  known  result.  In  spite 
of  these  varied  interests,  procuring  sea  otter  and  fur  seal  ap- 
parently was  still  a,  if  not  the,  major  motive  for  Russians  being 
in  Alaska.  This  contention  is  supported  by  the  Russian  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company's  continued  requests  for  extension  of  charter 
privileges  and  the  fact  that  annual  harvests  of  furs  during  this 
period  were  still  relatively  high.  After  1845,  however,  no  new 
settlements  were  founded  by  Russians  (fig.  2). 

A  general  increase  in  Russian  population  was  associated  with 
the  four  decades  before  the  sale  of  Russian  America  (Refs.  1,2, 
6,  10,  14,  and  16,  passim).  The  more  reliable  counts  indicate  a 
growth  from  about  400  in  1830,  to  650  in  1832,  to  730  in  1836, 
to  a  maximum  of  784  in  i860,  and  then  a  decrease  to  577.  This 
population  was  a  relatively  large  one  to  be  6500-7500  miles  from 


Geographical  Settlement  Planning- Alaska— Stone       145 

home,  in  a  mountainous  or  subarctic  area,  and  in  those  years. 
Apparently  it  is  unknown  how  many  Russians  remained  in  the 
Territory  after  the  sale  of  it  to  the  United  States;  Petroff  enu- 
merated 430  whites  in  Alaska  in  1880  but  his  accuracy  and 
completeness  have  been  questioned  and  United  States  fishermen 
had  arrived  in  Southeastern  Alaska  by  the  time  of  this  first 
census. 

While  Russian  settlement  progressed  in  Alaska  so  did  English 
occupation  move  westward  in  Canada  (fig.  1).  For  a  time  it 
appeared  as  if  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  Russian 
American  Fur  Company  would  clash  head  on  after  each  had 
circled  about  half  of  the  world's  northern  lands.  Such  was 
diverted  two  ways. 

The  first  diversion  was  the  English  following  natural  routes 
which  reduced  the  possibility  of  conflicting  interests.  From 
Hudson  Bay  some  of  the  traders  went  northwestward  into  the 
Mackenzie  River  valley  and  thence  to  the  Yukon  River  system. 
Posts  were  established  in  the  Liard  area,  near  Southeastern 
Alaska  (fig.  5),  but  expansion  did  not  continue  on  westward  the 
short  distance  through  the  coast  ranges  to  the  ocean.  Other 
English  fur  traders  went  from  the  Ft.  Churchill— York  Factory 
area  southwestward  to  what  became  the  northwestern  United 
States.  Thence  the  interests  of  these  men  were  northward  along 
the  coasts  of  British  Columbia  and  Alaska. 

In  this  maritime  area  long  negotiations  averted  Russian 
English  difficulties.  From  the  discussions  came  the  establish- 
ment  of  what  was  eventually  accepted  as  the  approximate  inland 
boundary  of  Southeastern  Alaska.  Also,  in  1840,  Southeastern 
was  leased  to  the  English.  They  administered  all  fur  trade  in 
the  area  from  then  until  1867. 

Two  Hudson's  Bay  Company  posts  were  established  immedi- 
ately in  1840  in  Southeastern  Alaska.  Each  was  short  lived, 
though,  because  the  area  could  be  more  efficiently  controlled 
from  British  Columbian  posts.  In  the  meantime,  the  traders 
moving  northwestward  reached  the  confluence  of  the  Porcupine 
and  Yukon  Rivers  and  established  Fort  Yukon  in  1847.  This 
action  began  continuous  permanent  white  settlement  in  Interior 


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Geographical  Settlement  Planning-Alaska— Stone       147 

Alaska  although  the  English  had  to  leave  two  years  after  the 
sale  of  Alaska  when  the  post  was  found  to  be  within  United 
States'  territory. 

Fort  Yukon  was  the  last  center  of  Russian  or  English  settle- 
ment to  be  established  in  Alaska.  After  1840  Southeastern 
Alaska  was  blocked  to  the  Russians  by  the  leasing  arrangement. 
Shortly  the  Russians  sold  Fort  Ross  to  John  Sutter  and  focused 
attention  on  western  Alaska.  Then,  in  1867,  the  circumstances 
of  the  isolated  and  distant  position  of  Alaska  from  St.  Peters- 
burg, recurring  losses  of  the  Russian  American  Fur  Company, 
the  aftermath  of  the  Crimean  War,  and  declaration  of  the  Mon- 
roe Doctrine  by  the  United  States  combined  to  bring  about  the 
sale  of  the  Territory. 

Conclusions 

Five  conclusions  may  be  recognized  from  analysis  of  Russian 
and  English  settlement  in  Alaska.  Some  require  further  re- 
search for  completeness.   They  are: 

1)  The  total  occupance  by  Russians  may  be  interpreted  areally 
in  terms  of  influence,  as  shown  in  figure  6  (based  on  Refs.  3, 
5,  6,  7,  9,  13,  14,  and  15,  passim).  The  term  influence  is  used 
because  much  of  the  effect  of  Russian  occupance  was  in  terms 
of  cultural  contacts  with  the  natives  rather  than  in  permanent 
change  of  the  landscape.  Thus,  the  solid  black  areas  of  the 
Kodiak-Cook  Inlet,  lower  Yukon-Kuskokwim,  and  Southeastern 
regions  are  the  best  places  for  the  concentration  of  research  on 
details  of  Russian  and  English  occupance  to  learn  experiences 
of  possible  use  in  planning  for  future  settlement.  These  three 
areas  are  the  ones  of  most  numerous  contacts  between  Russians 
and  natives  or  of  longest  Russian  occupance. 

2)  Villages  established  by  the  Russians  form  the  nucleus  of  the 
present  pattern  of  coastal  population  in  Southern,  Western, 
and  part  of  Southeastern  Alaska  although  fur  purchasing  is  no 
longer  the  major  occupation  in  those  areas. 

3)  English  occupance  of  Alaska  was  significant,  though  short, 
because  it  helped  bring  about  the  establishment  of  part  of  the 


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0 


Geographical  Settlement  Planning-Alaska— Stone       149 

Alaska-Canada  border.  In  addition,  the  English  started  perma- 
nent white  settlement  in  Interior  Alaska,  also  based  upon  fur 
trading  and  an  occupation  still  practiced  there. 

4)  The  Russians  may  not  have  discovered  the  Territory.  This 
fact,  when  proved,  might  be  a  blow  to  Soviet  morale  which  has 
been  supported  by  a  succession  of  claimed  "firsts"  and  the  com- 
plaint that  Alaska  was  not  legally  sold  to  the  United  States. 

5)  New  Alaskan  settlement  might  be  conceived  as  permanent 
on  a  basis  other  than  agricultural.  There  is  discordance  between 
the  pattern  of  permanent  Russian  settlements  and  areas  now 
classified  as  physically  suitable  for  agriculture.  This  lack  of 
agreement  suggests  that  agricultural  development  may  not  be 
the  climax,  as  so  often  is  implied,  or  even  a  stage  in  the  develop- 
ment of  at  least  parts  of  the  Territory. 

Finally,  we  are,  of  course,  greatly  in  need  of  facts.  Alaska 
has  been  occupied  under  United  States'  ownership  for  only  83 
years.  Even  the  total  history  of  white  men  in  the  Territory, 
more  than  200  years,  is  a  short  time.  Our  available  knowledge 
for  planning  new  settlement  is  too  scanty  to  permit  neglect 
of  any  information  or  hypotheses.  To  these  data  must  be  added 
those  from  geographic  analyses  of  the  Indian,  Eskimo,  Aleut, 
and  non-native  population  of  Alaska  between  1867  and  the 
present  time.  Through  this  research  program  it  is  possible  to 
acquire  some  of  the  facts  needed  in  order  that  the  inevitable 
growth  of  Alaskan  population  may  be  guided  so  as  to  take  place 
in  an  orderly  manner. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Anonymous.  The  population  of  the  Russian  American  colonies. 

Zhurnal    Ministerstva    Vnutrennykh,    Diel    13,     1834.      (In 
Russian). 

2.  Anonymous.   Statistical  outline  of  Russian  possessions  in  Amer- 

ica, in  Contributions  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Russian  Empire 
and  the  bordering  countries  of  Asia.    Zhurnal  Ministerstva 
Narodnago  Prosvieshcheniia,  37,  (2),  pp.  45-70.  January  1843. 
(In  Russian). 

3.  Alaskan  Boundary  Tribunal.    Atlas  of  Award,  British  Atlas, 

and  U.  S.  Atlas.   U.  S.  Senate  Document  No.  162,  58th  Con- 
gress, 2nd  Session,  Washington,  D.  C.  1904. 


150  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

4.  Andrews,  C.  L.  The  story  of  Alaska.  Caxton  Printers,  Caldwell, 

Idaho.    1938. 

5.  Baker,  Marcus.    Geographic  dictionary  of  Alaska.    U.  S.  Geo- 

logical Survey  Bulletin  299,  Washington,  D.  C.    1902. 

6.  Bancroft,  H.  H.  The  works  of  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft.  History 

of  Alaska,  1730-1885,  v.  XXXIII,  A.  L.  Bancroft  and  Co.,  San 
Francisco,  California.    1886. 

7.  Brooks,  A.  H.    The  geography  and  geology  of  Alaska.    U.  S. 

Geological  Survey  Prof.  Paper  No.  45,  pp.  104-132.  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.    1906. 

8.  Coxe,  William.    Account  of  the  Russian  discoveries  between 

Asia  and  America.  London.   1803  (4th  ed.). 

9.  Dall,  W.  H.  Alaska  and  its  resources.   Boston.    1870. 

10.  Lieutenant  Captain  Golovin.    Survey  of  Russian  colonies  in 

North  America.  U.  S.  House  of  Representatives,  40th  Con- 
gress, 2nd  Session,  Exec.  Doc.  No.  177,  pp.  109-112.  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  February  1868. 

11.  Gsovski,    Vladimir    and    others.     Russian    administration    of 

Alaska U.  S.  Senate,  81st  Congress,  2nd  Session,  Doc- 
ument No.  152,  Washington,  D.  C.  1950. 

12.  Kerner,  Robert  J.    Russian  expansion  to  America,  its  biblio- 

graphical foundations.  Papers  of  the  Bibliographical  Society 
of  America,  v.  XXV,  pp.  111-129.   1931. 

13.  W.  C.  Mendenhall.  A  reconnaissance  from  Resurrection  Bay  to 

the  Tanana  River,  Alaska,  in  1898,  in  Explorations  in  Alaska 
in  1898.  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  Twentieth  Annual  Report, 
Part  VII,  pp.  265-340.  Washington,  D.  C.    1900. 

14.  Petroff,  I.   Report  on  the  population,  industries,  and  resources 

of  Alaska  in  Tenth  Census  of  the  United  States,  1880,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.    1882. 

15.  Tebienkov,  Capt.  M.  D.    Atlas  of  the  North  West  shores  of 

America St.  Petersburg.    1852.    (In  Russian). 

16.  U.  S.  Department  of  the  Interior,  Census  Office.  Report  on 

Population  and  Resources  of  Alaska  at  the  Eleventh  Census: 
1890,  v.  8,  Washington,  D.  C.    1893. 


THE  HYDROLOGY  OF  ALASKA 

Arvi  O.  Waananen 

Hydraulic  Engineer,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Introduction 

Water  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  vital  natural  resources 
available  to  man— but  water  is  more  than  just  a  resource.  It  has 
played  a  major  role  in  geologic  history  because  rain,  running 
water  and  waves  are  the  principal  agencies  in  erosion  and  sedi- 
mentation; frost,  ice  and  glaciers  have  made  great  changes  in 
the  earth's  surface,  and  water  has  a  great  power  for  dissolving 
minerals. 

The  development  of  water  resources  requires  the  determina- 
tion of  certain  physical  conditions  such  as  the  head  available  for 
power-development,  the  favorable  sizes  for  dams  or  diversion 
works,  etc.,  but  appraisal  of  the  water  supply,  either  flowing 
in  the  streams  or  available  in  the  subsurface  reservoirs,  is  often 
a  problem  requiring  much  study,  particularly  when  adequate 
flow  measurements  are  not  available.  These  studies  must  in- 
clude such  items  as  distribution  of  precipitation;  mean,  maxi- 
mum and  minimum  flows  in  streams;  frequency  of  flood  occur- 
rence; volume  of  subsurface  storage;  evaporation  losses,  par- 
ticularly from  reservoirs,  that  may  be  considered;  transpiration 
losses  and  probable  ground  water  recharge  from  precipitation 
or  spreading  of  surface  waters. 

The  United  States  Geological  Survey  has  been  active  in  the 
investigation  of  our  water  resources  since  1888  and  makes  basic 
studies  of  the  occurrence,  availability  and  quality  of  both  sur- 
face and  ground  water.  The  Survey's  activities  have  included 
some  water  investigations  in  Alaska  in  the  past  and  further 
studies  are  in  progress  at  the  present  time. 

Resources  development  today  is  desirably  accomplished  fol- 
lowing extensive  scientific  study  and  evaluation  of  the  resources, 

151 


152  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

development  problems  and  techniques,  and  the  needs  lor  such 
development.  Recognition  of  this  principle  brings  current 
policy  into  sharp  contrast  with  that  in  an  earlier  period  of  our 
history  when  the  available  resources  were  exploited  without 
regard  to  their  extent,  conservation  or  best  utilization,  par- 
ticularly of  the  non-renewable  resources. 

In  the  United  States  we  have  the  foundation  for  efficient  and 
systematic  development  of  our  natural  resources  because  in 
recent  decades  much  information  regarding  the  extent  and 
utilization  of  these  resources  has  become  available.  The  re- 
sources inventory  program  is  still  far  from  complete  but  tre- 
mendous progress  has  been  made.  Much  of  the  early  develop- 
ment in  Alaska  resulted  from  mining  and  fishing  activities 
without  much  consideration  being  given  to  establishment  of  a 
permanent  type  of  economy.  Some  resources  investigations 
have  been  in  progress  for  many  years  although  factors  such  as 
the  rugged  terrain,  remoteness,  poor  transportation,  sparse 
settlement  and  lack  of  adequate  research  funds  have  limited 
these  studies  so  that  our  present  inventory  of  Alaska's  natural 
resources  is  far  from  complete  and  many  serious  deficiencies  are 
still  present. 

Natural  resources  investigations  cover  a  broad  field  of  scien- 
tific activity  and  include,  among  many  others,  studies  of  climate, 
topography,  geology,  geography,  botany,  biology  and  hy- 
drology. The  relation  of  the  science  of  hydrology  to  resources 
development  in  Alaska  is  of  particular  interest  to  us  today. 

According  to  the  widely  accepted  definition  hydrology  is  the 
science  that  treats  of  the  study  of  the  occurrence  and  distribu- 
tion of  water  over  and  in  the  earth's  surface,  and  of  the  accom- 
panying natural  laws  and  phenomena.  The  science  of  hydrology 
thus  deals  with  the  natural  phenomena,  mostly  quite  familiar, 
which  constitute  the  never  ending  cycle  in  which  water  evapo- 
rated into  the  atmosphere  from  the  oceans,  lands,  and  fresh 
water  surfaces  is  returned  to  the  earth  as  precipitation  and  then 
(1)  flows  over  the  surface  into  streams  and  thus  back  to  the 
ocean,  (2)  percolates  into  the  ground  to  join  the  ground  water 
reservoir,  returns  to  the  surface  through  springs  elsewhere  or 


Hydrology  of  Alaska— Waananen  153 

returns  to  the  atmosphere  by  transpiration  from  plants  and 
trees,  or  (3)  evaporates  directly  back  into  the  atmosphere.  Hy- 
drology is  still  a  relatively  new  science;  it  is  based  upon  meteor- 
ology, geology,  hydraulics,  soil  physics,  chemistry  and  ecology, 
and  on  the  constantly  increasing  store  of  data  obtained  by 
observation  and  measurement.  The  student  of  Alaskan  hy- 
drology thus  would  be  particularly  interested  in  studies  of  pre- 
cipitation, temperature,  snow,  glaciers,  permanently  frozen 
ground,  seas,  rivers,  underground  waters,  erosion  and  alluvia- 
tion  as  well  as  evaporation,  transpiration,  and  the  relations  of 
runoff  or  streamflow  to  rainfall,  snow  melt,  and  glacier  ice  melt. 
His  interest  would  also  extend  to  the  effects  of  geology,  land 
management  practices  and  vegetative  cover  on  runoff  and  floods. 

Hydrologic  studies  are  of  particular  significance  in  the  de- 
velopment of  water  resources.  Through  them  we  can  determine 
the  capacity  or  extent  of  our  water  supplies  for,  though  surface 
and  underground  reservoirs  may  be  drawn  down  or  emptied 
they  will  fill  again  if  rainfall  and  runoff  are  sufficient.  Adequate 
hydrologic  studies  are  the  means  for  determination  of  the  safe 
point  for  development  and  use  of  our  water  supplies. 

Observation,  measurement  and  appraisal  programs  in  the 
United  States  have  provided  a  large  number  of  hydrologic  data 
which  are  of  tremendous  help  to  the  hydrologist  studying  the 
occurrence  and  distribution  of  water  supplies,  frequency  and 
distribution  of  storms  and  floods,  and  related  studies.  Though 
there  are  important  deficiencies  the  hydrologist  nevertheless  is 
able  to  make  appropriate  interpretations  and  adaptations  of  the 
available  information  for  many  localities  and  so  work  out  rea- 
sonable and  acceptable  results.  In  Alaska  not  only  is  there  a 
great  lack  of  comprehensive  hydrologic  data  but  the  situation 
is  further  complicated  by  the  effects  of  glaciers  and  permafrost 
on  runoff  which  preclude  application  of  the  assumptions  and 
procedures  utilized  in  the  more  southern  latitudes. 

To  review  briefly  the  general  hydrology  of  the  Territory,  the 
climate  of  Alaska  may  first  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  Southeastern  Alaska  has  a  mild,  moist  climate  with  re- 
corded precipitation  ranging  from  annual  averages  of  about  26 


154  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

inches  at  Skagway  to  more  than  150  inches  in  the  Ketchikan 
area.  Temperatures  seldom  drop  below  o°F.  except  at  the 
higher  elevations,  or  rise  above  the  8o's.  The  extremely  rough 
topography  and  heavy  precipitation  produce  high,  rapid  run- 
off. Stream  flow  records  indicate  that  maximum  precipitation 
at  the  higher  altitudes  in  the  southern  portion  exceeds  250 
inches  annually.  Maximum  floods  usually  occur  during  the 
heavy  storms  of  autumn. 

2.  The  climate  of  the  coastal  region  west  from  Yakutat  is 
similar  to  that  for  southeastern  Alaska.  Recorded  precipita- 
tion averages  more  than  100  inches  along  the  Gulf  of  Alaska 
and  about  60  inches  in  the  Prince  Williams  Sound  region.  Pre- 
cipitation at  the  high  elevations  undoubtedly  is  considerably 
greater.  Winter  temperatures  are  lower  than  those  in  south- 
eastern Alaska.    Major  floods  may  occur  in  spring  or  fall. 

3.  In  the  Anchorage  area  and  the  region  between  the  Alaska 
Range  and  the  coastal  mountains  winter  temperatures  may 
drop  to  about  — 40°F.  with  summer  highs  about  900  F.  Pre- 
cipitation is  generally  low  in  the  valleys,  averaging  about  20 
inches.  Stream  flow  is  characterized  by  one  principal  flood 
annually  resulting  from  the  melting  of  snow  or  ice. 

4.  In  interior  Alaska,  the  region  between  the  Brooks  and 
Alaska  Ranges,  making  up  the  central  Yukon  Valley,  average 
precipitation  ranges  from  less  than  10  inches  to  not  more  than 
20  inches  annually  except  at  the  higher  altitudes.  Tempera- 
tures range  from  highs  approaching  ioo°F.  to  lows  in  the 
—  70's.  The  winter  season  is  long.  Annual  temperatures  aver- 
age about  25 °F. 

5.  The  Aleutians  have  high  precipitation  with  only  a  mod- 
erate range  of  temperature  but  the  winter  season  is  long. 

6.  The  Bering  Sea  coastal  region  has  precipitation  averaging 
from  about  12  to  24  inches  annually.  Summer  temperatures 
reach  the  8o's  while  winter  temperatures  drop  to  the  — 40's.  The 
winter  season  is  long  and  frost  may  occur  in  any  month.  Annual 
temperatures  range  from  20°F.  to  34 °F. 

7.  The  arctic  coast  region  north  of  the  Brooks  Range  has 
precipitation  averaging  generally  from  4  to  10  inches  though 


Hydrology  of  Alaska— W aananen  155 

the  precipitation  at  Shungnak  is  somewhat  greater.  Tempera- 
tures range  from  the  low  8o's  to  the  — 50's  with  sub-freezing 
temperatures  prevailing  over  most  of  the  year.  Annual  tem- 
peratures average  about  20°F. 

The  variations  in  climate  and  topography  and  the  effects  of 
permafrost  and  glaciers  make  the  hydrology  of  Alaska  highly 
complex.  Permafrost  is  present  in  interior  and  northern 
Alaska.  Though  permafrost  usually  acts  as  an  impervious  layer 
there  are  opportunities  for  storage  or  release  of  water  from  the 
active  layer  between  the  ground  surface  and  the  permafrost,  or 
changes  may  occur  in  the  permafrost  with  resultant  changes  in 
the  local  water  regimen.  Glaciers  may  store  part  of  one  year's 
precipitation  and  release  it  in  another  year  or  years,  thus  dis- 
torting the  usual  pattern  of  stream  flow  and  the  precipitation- 
runoff  relations. 

Surface  water  supplies  are  available  throughout  the  territory 
in  summer.  Minimum  flows  occur  generally  in  Avinter.  The 
streams  in  southeastern  Alaska  are  least  affected  by  winter  con- 
ditions. In  interior  and  northern  Alaska  the  smaller  streams 
are  usually  immobilized  in  the  winter  and  the  development  of 
such  streams  for  water  supplies  is  complicated  by  considera- 
tions of  storage,  heating  and  transmission.  In  many  areas,  how- 
ever, potential  surface  water  supplies  may  be  infeasible  because 
of  the  distances  from  desired  points  of  use. 

Ground  water  supplies  are  available  in  many  areas  but  up  to 
date  definite  information  has  been  obtained  for  only  a  few 
areas.  Ground  waters  may  provide  useful  sources  at  many 
locations,  particularly  where  surface  water  supplies  are  not 
within  easy  reach.  Little  is  known  yet  about  the  possibilities 
for  ground  water  development  in  Arctic  areas.  As  an  example 
of  the  problem,  Eskimos  in  northern  Alaska  sometimes  obtain 
their  summer  water  supplies  from  small  wells  dug  into  the 
permafrost  which  accumulate  water  from  melting  permafrost 
or  ground  ice.  The  subject  of  Alaskan  water  supplies  is  ably 
discussed  by  A.  J.  Alter,  Director,  Division  of  Sanitation  and 
Engineering,  Alaska  Department  of  Health,  in  an  article  "Water 


156  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Supply  in  Alaska"  in  the  June  1950  issue  of  the  Journal  of  the 
American  Water  Works  Association. 

Several  agencies  of  the  Federal  Government  collect  hydro- 
logic  data  in  Alaska.  The  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau  and  the  U.  S. 
Geological  Survey  are  the  principal  basic  data  collecting 
agencies,  but  the  Corps  of  Engineers,  the  Forest  Service,  and 
other  agencies  may  collect  limited  additional  pertinent  data  in 
connection  with  carrying  out  their  respective  responsibilities. 

The  Weather  Bureau  is  currently  collecting  climatological 
data  at  about  115  locations  well  distributed  throughout  the 
Territory,  usually  at  airfields  or  other  places  where  personnel 
are  available  to  make  the  necessary  observations.  Over  30  of 
these  records  have  been  collected  continuously  over  a  period 
of  more  than  25  years.  Records  at  Sitka,  Alaska,  are  available 
since  the  early  1840's  but  the  consistency  of  the  early  records 
with  the  present  Sitka  record  is  open  to  question.  Some  of  the 
findings  were  summarized  in  the  preceding  discussion  of  cli- 
mate. The  hydrologic  data  obtained  by  the  Weather  Bureau 
are  published  in  the  monthly  and  annual  Climatological  Data 
bulletins.  As  a  result  of  the  necessity  for  locating  weather  sta- 
tions at  points  where  local  observers  are  available  and  the  re- 
moteness and  inaccessibility  of  the  high  mountain  areas  the 
records  generally  do  not  reflect  the  extreme  conditions.  The 
Bureau  is  known  to  be  well  aware  of  this  shortcoming,  and  will 
establish  appropriate  additional  stations  as  rapidly  as  funds  and 
opportunities  permit. 

The  Geological  Survey  collects  stream  flow  records  regularly 
at  about  50  locations  and  miscellaneous  discharge  data  inter- 
mittently at  a  number  of  additional  points  in  southeastern, 
south-central  and  interior  Alaska.  The  Survey  started  surface 
water  supply  studies  on  the  Seward  Peninsula  in  1906  in  con- 
nection with  hydraulic  mining  operations.  These  were  ex- 
tended to  the  Yukon-Tanana  region  in  1907  and  continued 
until  1912.  In  1913  a  water  power  reconnaissance  was  made 
in  south-central  Alaska.  During  the  period  1915-21  surface 
water  supply  studies  were  conducted  in  southeastern  Alaska  in 
cooperation  with  the  Forest  Service  to  appraise  the  water  power 


Hydrology  of  Alaska— Waananen  157 

resources.  These  studies  were  continued  by  the  Forest  Service 
and  others  until  1946  when  the  Survey  started  its  present  pro- 
gram of  water  resources  investigations.  The  results  of  the  in- 
vestigations prior  to  1946  are  published  in  the  bulletins  and 
water  supply  papers  of  the  Geological  Survey  or  the  Forest 
Service— Federal  Power  Commission  publication  "Water  Powers 
of  Southeast  Alaska."  Records  since  1946  are  in  the  Survey's 
open  files  in  Washington,  D.  C,  or  at  Juneau  and  Palmer, 
Alaska.  A  few  records,  generally  of  an  intermittent  nature, 
have  been  collected  by  agencies  or  groups  other  than  the  Geo- 
logical Survey  or  the  Forest  Service. 

Stream  flow  records  indicate  that  mean  annual  runoff  in 
many  streams  in  southeastern  Alaska  commonly  exceeds  the 
precipitation  recorded  at  nearby  stations,  which  generally  are 
located  at  or  near  sea  level.  Mahoney  Creek  at  George  Inlet, 
near  Ketchikan,  for  example,  had  a  runoff  of  about  240  inches 
in  1948.  In  1949  the  runoff  of  many  streams  exceeded  200 
inches.  Records  of  stream  flow  in  interior  Alaska  are  insufficient 
to  define  the  rainfall-runoff  relation  adequately. 

Ground  water  investigations  by  the  Geological  Survey  have 
been  in  progress  since  1947.  Because  of  limited  funds  and  the 
extreme  paucity  of  data  from  drillings  or  existing  wells,  prog- 
ress has  been  slow.  However,  the  progress  to  date  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows: 

1.  Wells  in  the  Fairbanks  area  have  been  completely  inventoried 
and  some  exploratory  test  drilling  has  been  accomplished.  A 
report  on  the  well  data,  including  map  delineating  permafrost 
in  the  city,  is  in  the  Survey's  open  files  at  Washington,  Juneau 
and  Fairbanks. 

2.  Inventory  of  wells  in  the  Matanuska  Valley  is  about  complete 
and  a  map  and  summary  report  are  in  preparation.  Some  test 
drilling  has  been  accomplished  and  more  is  planned. 

3.  A  general  reconnaissance  of  water  supplies  for  small  communi- 
ties has  been  made  in  cooperation  with  the  Alaska  Department 
of  Health. 

4.  Test  drilling  carried  out  at  Kotzebue.  A  test  hole  drilled  to  325 
feet  produced  only  salt  water  and  permafrost  was  found  to  be 
present  to  the  238-foot  depth. 


158  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

5.  Test  drilling  and  inventory  of  wells  has  been  started  in  the 
Anchorage  area.  Experimentation  with  jet  drill  equipment  indi- 
cates possibilities  for  use  of  such  equipment  in  areas  underlain 
by  gravels. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  extensive  ground  water 
supplies  are  available  in  many  areas,  and  frequently  these  sup- 
plies may  be  developed  more  readily  and  economically  than 
nearby  surface  sources.  Because  there  are  very  few  existing 
wells  an  extensive  program  of  test  drilling  and  geologic  study 
is  necessary  to  define  the  major  occurrences.  Pumping  tests 
would  then  define  safe  withdrawal  rates.  The  availability  of 
equipment  and  transportation  problems  are  physical  problems 
that  must  be  met.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  many  communi- 
ties seeking  to  improve  their  water  supplies,  particularly  under 
the  Alaska  Community  Facilities  Act,  would  do  well  to  give 
serious  consideration  to  study  of  possible  ground  water  sources 
before  developing  remote  or  expensive  surface  water  supplies. 
Fairbanks,  Sitka,  Anchorage  and  Talkeetna  are  examples  of 
communities  in  this  category. 

At  present  the  Survey's  quality  of  water  investigations  in 
Alaska  relate  to  determinations  of  the  chemical  quality  of  sur- 
face and  ground  waters.  The  analyses  are  made  in  a  laboratory 
established  at  Palmer.  Sediment  sampling  is  to  be  included 
in  the  program. 

The  problem  of  sediment  discharge  of  streams  assumes  major 
proportions  in  connection  with  streams  draining  glaciers.  The 
channels  of  such  streams  are  usually  full  of  glacial  debris,  and 
construction  of  dams  and  reservoirs  is  complicated  by  con- 
siderations of  dam-foundation  problems  and  possible  early 
filling  of  reservoirs  by  sediments.  The  rock  flour  remaining  in 
suspension  even  after  long  periods  of  storage,  as  in  lakes,  may 
cause  rapid  wearing  of  waterwheels  and  turbines.  Further,  sedi- 
ment discharge  into  tidal  estuaries  affects  navigation.  In  order 
to  obtain  appropriate  basic  facts  for  use  in  the  study  of  these 
problems  the  Corps  of  Engineers  is  collecting  information  on 
sediment  discharge  at  a  number  of  locations. 

There  is,  of  course,  a  close  relationship  between  the  occur- 


Hydrology  of  Alaska— W aananen  159 

rence  of  ground  water  and  permafrost  in  those  regions  where 
permafrost  is  present.  Permafrost  is  being  studied  by  several 
groups,  including  the  Geological  Survey  and  the  Department  of 
the  Army.  Some  programs  are  concerned  with  means  of  identify- 
ing the  occurrence  of  permafrost,  while  others  are  concerned 
with  construction  problems  as  for  airfields,  buildings,  high- 
ways and  runways.  The  results  of  these  investigations  can  be 
of  material  assistance  to  the  hydrologist  in  narrowing  the  scope 
of  his  inquiry. 

Extensive  research  is  in  progress  in  the  United  States  to  de- 
termine further  ways  and  means  of  applying  hydrologic  data 
to  the  efficient  solution  of  development  problems  as  they  arise, 
as  well  as  to  provide  additional  helpful  information.  This 
research  includes  items  such  as  runoff  forecasting  procedures, 
extensions  of  records,  effects  of  long  term  variations  in  climate 
on  runoff,  erosion  and  sedimentation,  and  the  effects  of  land 
use  practices  and  watershed  management  on  water  supplies. 
In  Alaska  the  deficiencies  in  basic  data  have  precluded  any 
extensive  research  of  this  nature.  However,  current  investiga- 
tions by  agencies  such  as  the  Weather  Bureau  and  the  Geo- 
logical Survey  may  well  be  classified  as  research.  This  is  par- 
ticularly true  in  connection  with  ground  water  and  permafrost 
studies.  Studies  of  permafrost  or  arctic  and  subarctic  drainage 
conducted  by  the  Corps  of  Engineers,  and  glaciological  and  ice 
field  research  yield  much  pertinent  information. 

Future  research  in  Alaska  should  include  in  addition  to  the 
basic  data  studies,  study  of  such  items  as  (1)  evaluation  of  the 
type  and  extent  of  data  required  in  an  ideal  hydrologic  study 
program,  (2)  relation  of  runoff  to  snow  melt  and  glacial  ice 
melt,  and  (3)  effects  of  permafrost  on  streamflow  and  the  re- 
covery of  ground  water. 

Although  this  paper  is  entitled  "Hydrology  of  Alaska"  the 
discussion  has  related  principally  to  hydrologic  studies.  The 
various  uses  to  which  hydrologic  data  may  be  put  may  illus- 
trate most  effectively  both  the  need  for  such  data  and  the  present 
deficiencies.   A  few  of  these  needs  are  as  follows: 

1.  The  Bureau  of  Reclamation,  in  connection  with  prepara- 


160  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

tion  of  its  "Alaska"  report,  in  which  it  reviewed  water  power 
development  possibilities,  was  forced  to  make  extensive  esti- 
mates of  probable  yields  of  watersheds. 

2.  The  Corps  of  Engineers,  in  their  current  investigations  of 
water  resources  of  Alaska,  have  found  a  serious  lack  of  stream 
discharge  data.  As  a  result,  the  Corps  and  the  Geological  Sur- 
vey are  collaborating  in  stream-flow  studies  in  order  to  provide 
reasonably  adequate  bases  for  their  studies. 

3.  In  connection  with  development  of  water  supplies  under 
the  Community  Facilities  Bill,  many  communities  will  require 
appraisal  of  the  nearby  surface  and  ground  water  sources.  As 
indicated  previously,  the  availability  of  ground  water  deserves 
more  study. 

4.  In  the  construction  of  highways,  bridges,  and  railway 
structures  data  on  the  magnitude  and  frequency  of  floods,  par- 
ticularly the  flood  heights  at  proposed  bridge  sites,  would  per- 
mit more  economical  design.  Both  under-design  and  over- 
design  can  be  wasteful  of  material  and  funds. 

5.  The  Territorial  Department  of  Health  and  the  numerous 
small  communities  need  and  can  use  more  hydrologic  informa- 
tion to  work  out  the  best  solutions  to  their  water  supply,  sewer- 
age and  street  problems.  Arctic  water  supplies  are  a  particu- 
larly pertinent  problem. 

6.  In  areas  such  as  the  Matanuska  Valley,  agriculture  may  be 
benefited  by  supplemental  irrigation  in  those  years  when  pre- 
cipitation is  deficient.  Supplemental  water  may  be  of  consider- 
able value  because  of  the  short  growing  season.  Presumably 
much  of  the  water  so  used  would  come  from  ground  water 
sources  and  be  applied  by  sprinklers. 

The  deficiencies  in  hydrologic  data  have  been  met  usually  by 
application  of  estimates  or  criteria  developed  elsewhere.  In 
some  instances  specific  observations  have  been  made  to  provide 
data  of  a  reconnaissance  nature.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that 
some  of  the  deductions  have  been  faulty  but,  since  they  repre- 
sent the  best  possible  estimates,  they  have  served  a  useful 
purpose. 

The  more  significant  deficiencies  are  slowly  being  overcome 


Hydrology  of  Alaska— W aananen  161 

by  present  observational  programs.  However,  funds  presently 
available  do  not  permit  the  program  expansion  necessary  to 
provide  all  desirable  data  promptly  and  it  is  essential  therefore 
that  the  basic  data  collecting  agencies  and  the  action  agencies 
coordinate  their  activities  closely.  Such  is  already  being  done 
by  the  Weather  Bureau  and  the  Geological  Survey  insofar  as 
the  needs  of  the  Departments  of  the  Army  and  Air  Forces  are 
concerned.  Similar  closer  coordination  with  other  agencies  is 
anticipated  as  present  programs  become  more  stabilized  and  the 
relative  needs  can  be  evaluated. 

In  conclusion,  Alaska  is  still  a  forward  area  insofar  as  natural 
resources  investigations  are  concerned,  and  it  is  fortunate  that 
we  can  utilize  the  many  scientific  skills  that  are  available  to  us 
in  the  development  of  the  resources  of  the  Territory.  Water 
is  a  resource  without  which  man  cannot  survive.  It  is  recog- 
nized more  and  more  that  plentiful  supplies  of  water  are  a 
prime  requirement  of  our  modern  civilization.  Therefore,  it 
is  essential  that  data  be  collected  in  sufficient  quantity  and  sub- 
jected to  such  appraisals,  evaluations  and  studies  as  will  assure 
the  most  efficient  utilization  and  development  of  the  water 
resources  of  Alaska. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Alter,  A.  J.  Water  supply  in  Alaska.  Jour.  Amer.  Water  Works 

Assoc,  42:519-532.   1950. 

2.  Canfield,  G.  H.  Water-power  investigations  in  southeastern 

Alaska.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  Bulletins:  662,  pp.  100-154,  1916; 

692,  pp.  43"83>  !9!7;  71*'  PP-  53-9°'  1918;  1H>  PP-  »43-l87» 
1919;  and  722,  pp.  75-H3'  1920. 

3.  Cederstrom,  D.  J.   Basic  data  on  the  results  of  test  drilling  in 

the  Fairbanks  area,  Alaska,  in  the  fall  of  1948.    U.  S.  Geol. 
Survey  duplicated  report.    1949. 

4.  Dort,  J.  C.  Water  powers  of  southeastern  Alaska.    Report  to 

Federal  Power  Commission.    1924. 

5.  Ellsworth,  C.  E.,  and  R.  W.  Davenport.  Surface  water  supply 

of  the  Yukon-Tanana  region,  Alaska.    U.   S.   Geol.   Survey 
Water  Supply  Paper  342.   1915. 

6.  Ellsworth,  C.  E.,  and  R.  W.  Davenport.  A  water-power  recon- 

naissance in  South-Central  Alaska.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  Water 
Supply  Paper  372.    1915. 


162  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

7.    Henshaw,  F.  F.,  and  G.  L.  Parker.    Surface  water  supply  of 

Seward  Peninsula,  Alaska.   U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  Water  Supply 

Paper  314.    1913. 
8    Henshaw,  F.  F.    Surface  water  supply  of  southeastern  Alaska, 

1909-30.   U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  Bulletin  836,  pp.  137-218.    1933. 
9.    Climatological   data,   Alaska,   monthly   and   annual   bulletins. 

U.  S.  Weather  Bureau. 

10.  Ground  water  data  for  Fairbanks  area,  Alaska.  U.  S.  Geol.  Sur- 

vey press  release,  Feb.  1,  1948. 

11.  Water  powers  of  Southeast  Alaska.    Federal   Power  CommisT 

sion — U.  S.  Forest  Service  report.  FPC  P-9.   1947. 


GEOMAGNETISM— COSMIC  AND  PROSAIC 

David  G.  Knapp  and  Elliott  B.  Roberts 
U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey 

Geomagnetic  research  occupies  a  unique  position  in  the 
realm  of  science.  Aside  from  obvious  uses  in  navigation,  sur- 
veying, and  radio  wave-propagation  studies,  geomagnetism  con- 
stitutes one  of  our  few  tools  for  probing  the  Earth's  interior, 
and  is  the  only  field  of  study  that  takes  for  its  province  the 
whole  sequence  of  concentric  zones,  from  the  earth's  core  to 
the  ionosphere  and  beyond. 

The  student  of  geomagnetism  finds  much  to  hold  his  atten- 
tion in  Alaska.  He  may  wish  to  specialize  on  the  main  field 
and  its  secular  change,  with  due  attention  to  the  steep  gradients 
and  distorted  forms  characteristic  of  the  Arctic  magnetic  field. 
Or  he  may  delve  into  the  complexities  of  the  transient  phe- 
nomena, finding  that  the  Territory,  with  its  broad  regional 
coverage  and  its  position  astride  the  auroral  zone,  affords  a 
great  natural  laboratory  for  such  studies,  unrivalled  in  scope 
and  accessibility  anywhere  in  the  world.  It  is  hence  fitting  to 
record  that  each  forward  step  in  Alaskan  exploration  and  study 
has  had  its  magnetic  aspect,  ever  since  Bering's  first  voyage  to 
explore  the  coast  of  Kamchatka  in  1725-30. 

During  the  period  of  Russian  sovereignty,  significant  con- 
tributions were  made  by  Cook,  von  Lutke,  Beechey,  Wrangel, 
and  Maguire.  One  of  the  early  successes  of  the  Central  Physical 
Observatory  of  St.  Petersburg  was  the  establishment  at  Sitka 
of  a  magnetic  and  meteorological  observatory.  This  actually 
was  the  first  such  station  in  North  America  (7),  an  able  if 
primitive  forerunner  of  the  present  first-class  observatory  at 
Sitka,  which  was  established  in  1901.  An  amusing  sidelight  on 
this  early  activity  is  found  in  the  account  of  a  difficulty  experi- 
enced in  using  suspended-magnet  instruments  in  winter,  when 
the  frozen  ground  brought  to  the  instrument  pier  disturbing 

163 


164  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

shocks  generated  in  cutting  firewood  in  the  nearby  forest.  The 
solution  was  simple  and  direct;  the  commandant  permitted  no 
more  woodchopping  on  observing  days. 

With  the  transfer  to  United  States  sovereignty  in  1867,  there 
began  in  Alaska  a  steady  accumulation  of  field  observations  by 
the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  which  has  continued  to  this  day. 
Significant  of  the  early  phases  of  this  activity  were  the  cam- 
paigns on  the  Yukon  and  Porcupine  Rivers  in  1889-91,  in- 
cluding an  entire  winter  devoted  to  the  accumulation  of  data 
at  two  stations  near  the  Canadian  boundary  (12).  As  part  of 
this  program,  repeat  stations  were  occupied  every  few  years,  to 
develop  the  secular-change  characteristics  at  various  points  on 
the  south  coast  and  notably  at  Sitka.  This  work  has  been  con- 
tinued and  expanded,  so  that  Alaska  now  has  a  distribution  of 
repeat  stations  almost  as  good  as  the  United  States  proper  (3). 
The  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  nonrepeat  stations  which  serve 
to  fill  in  the  permanent  field  patterns.  For  Alaska  the  non- 
repeat  stations  are  largely  confined  to  clusters  along  the  acces- 
sible shores,  with  the  natural  result  that  we  have  had  scant 
knowledge  of  the  detailed  interior  distribution,  although  a 
general  pattern  has  emerged  that  cannot  be  far  wrong. 

The  prospects  are  now  bright  for  rectifying  and  adjusting 
this  general  design,  as  well  as  for  outlining  the  coarser  features 
of  the  local  patterns,  by  means  of  airborne  surveys.  In  fact,  the 
first  large-scale  survey  of  relative  total  intensity  to  be  accom- 
plished with  the  new  saturable-core  airborne  magnetometer 
was  devoted  to  an  area  of  some  18,000  square  miles  in  Northern 
Alaska  (1).  The  local  patterns  hold  great  interest  for  their 
possible  clues  to  the  depth  to  basement  rock  and  other  features 
bearing  directly  on  the  development  of  natural  resources  in 
a  relatively  new  region  like  Alaska. 

Alaska  occupies  a  strategic  area  in  the  attack  on  one  of  the 
perennial  riddles  of  Arctic  magnetism,  the  vexing  question  of 
the  magnetic  pole  or  poles.  The  magnetic  pole  found  by 
James  C.  Ross  on  the  Boothia  Peninsula  seems  to  have  migrated 
somewhat  to  the  north  and  west  (9),  but  it  still  falls  in  an  un- 
symmetrical  position  with  respect  to  the  general  distribution 


Geomagnetism— Knapp  and  Roberts  165 

of  the  field  in  the  Arctic  (8).  The  circumpolar  field  is  dis- 
tributed in  an  elongated  pattern  with  the  pole  inexplicably 
near  one  end  of  the  area.  The  possibility  of  a  second  magnetic 
pole  to  reconcile  the  disparity  was  advanced  by  Hansteen  and 
has  lately  been  revived  (6,  13).  It  is  easy  to  see  why  the  matter 
remains  in  doubt,  when  we  realize  the  tremendous  problems 
entailed  in  making  magnetic  observations  in  the  heart  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean.  Nevertheless,  progress  has  been  made  and  will 
certainly  be  accelerated  in  this  matter,  in  Alaska  itself  as  well  as 
in  areas  lying  within  range  of  Alaska-based  operations. 

The  short-time  fluctuations  comprise  a  large  and  fruitful 
area  of  study  in  geomagnetism,  having  numerous  practical  and 
theoretical  aspects.  In  this  field,  the  important  role  of  Alaska 
was  recognized  long  ago.  Protracted  schedules  of  observations 
were  maintained  by  Rochfort  Maguire  at  Point  Barrow  during 
his  two  winters  there  (1852-54)  in  connection  with  the  search 
for  the  lost  Franklin  Expedition  (11),  and  the  same  place  was 
chosen  for  one  of  the  two  stations  conducted  by  the  United 
States  during  the  International  Polar  Year  of  1882-83.  Fifty 
years  later,  two  Alaskan  stations  were  occupied  during  the 
Second  Polar  Year  of  1932-33— one  at  Point  Barrow  by  the 
U.  S.  Weather  Bureau  (2),  and  one  at  College,  near  Fairbanks, 
by  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  and  the  Carnegie  Insti- 
tution of  Washington  (5). 

The  daily  variation  and  other  transient  phenomena,  taking 
their  origin  in  overhead  electrical  activity,  must  reflect  any 
regional  features  of  such  activity  (4).  It  was  Sir  Edward  Sabine 
who  pointed  out  that  the  daily  magnetic  variation  "is  in  fact 
constituted  by  two  variations  superimposed  upon  each  other, 
having  different  laws,  and  bearing  different  proportions  to  each 
other  in  different  parts  of  the  globe."  The  two  constituents 
are  known  today  as  the  quiet  daily  variation,  Sq,  S  referring  to 
the  solar  day  and  q  to  a  period  of  quiet  magnetic  conditions; 
and  the  disturbance-daily  variation,  Sd,  the  d  of  course  referring 
to  disturbed  conditions. 

The  most  striking  of  the  differences  in  distribution  lies  in 
the  fact  that  whereas  the  quiet  daily  variation  is  weak  through- 


166  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

out  the  Arctic  and  is  essentially  unrelated  to  the  auroral  zone, 
the  disturbance  daily  variation  has  a  virtual  discontinuity  there, 
and  is  greatly  intensified  in  the  neighboring  areas— so  much  so, 
indeed,  that  only  on  exceptionally  calm  days  can  we  perceive 
SQ  in  Alaska  through  the  overlying  effect  of  the  disturbance 
field. 

To  assist  in  visualizing  the  facts,  we  may  conceive  the  Earth 
to  be  girdled  by  a  magnetic  barrier  in  the  form  of  a  cosmic 
doughnut  that  deflects  and  channels  the  "flash  floods"  of 
ionized  matter  streaming  out  intermittently  from  the  sun  or  its 
corona.  Along  that  barrier  (that  is,  along  certain  lines  of  force 
of  the  Earth's  magnetic  field),  these  ionized  particles  form  con- 
centrations pouring  into  the  hole  of  the  doughnut  from  either 
side  like  water  running  into  a  drain.  The  circles  where  this 
great  barrier  meets  the  globe  are  the  northern  and  southern 
auroral  zones.  During  severe  disturbances  or  magnetic  storms, 
they  do  not  remain  at  precisely  their  habitual  latitude,  but 
advance  somewhat  toward  the  temperate  regions,  receding  again 
with  the  abatement  of  the  disturbance.  (The  image  invoked 
here  is  a  provisional  one,  involving  a  tentative  choice  among 
several  theories  of  magnetic  storms,  none  of  which  has  achieved 
universal  acceptance.) 

Each  auroral  zone  probably  represents  a  sort  of  curtain  of 
activation,  with  strong  electric  currents  that  are  replenished 
with  every  new  effusion  of  material  from  the  sun.  This  curtain 
terminates  in  the  ionosphere,  which  it  feeds  with  horizontal 
currents  contributing  to  the  world-wide  pattern  of  Sd.  The 
quiet  daily  variation,  on  the  other  hand,  is  primarily  a  phe- 
nomenon arising  within  the  ionosphere— probably  at  its  lower 
boundary  where  the  ultraviolet  absorption  yields  the  needed 
direct-current  conductivity— and  stems  from  tidal  and  thermal 
dynamo  action  in  latitudes  well  below  that  of  the  auroral  zone. 
The  ionosphere  also  has  an  effect  on  the  irregular  fluctuations, 
in  that  it  tends  to  shield  the  Earth  from  the  most  abrupt  fea- 
tures of  the  external  field  changes.  These  irregular  changes, 
like  Sd,  are  greatly  intensified  in  the  vicinity  of  the  auroral 
zones. 


Geomagnetism— Knap  p  and  Roberts  167 

As  an  illustration  of  the  role  played  by  the  auroral  zones 
in  the  distribution  of  Sd,  Olsen  (10)  found  that  the  amplitude 
of  this  constituent  at  a  station  in  Greenland  just  north  of  the 
auroral  zone  showed  a  decided  periodicity  connected  with  the 
sun's  rotation.  This  effect  could  not  be  discerned  at  all  for 
stations  lying  south  of  the  auroral  zone.  Whether  similar  effects 
are  observable  at  other  high-latitude  stations  remains  to  be  seen; 
in  the  instance  just  mentioned  it  was  found  that  several  years' 
data  were  needed  to  establish  the  effect. 

It  is  clear  that  the  study  of  magnetic  storms  and  of  the  asso- 
ciated variation  known  as  Sd  calls  for  data  from  points  in  the 
auroral  zone  and  on  both  sides  of  it.  Moreover,  it  has  been 
found  that  the  auroral-zone  effects  cannot  be  isolated  by  com- 
paring records  obtained  at  different  latitudes  if  at  the  same  time 
there  is  a  divergence  of  longitude;  the  tilt  of  the  Earth's  mag- 
netic axis  causes  the  auroral  zone  to  react  differently  on  stations 
in  widely  different  longitudes.  To  avoid  the  complication  of 
longitude  effect  it  is  desirable  to  have  observatories  linked  in 
north-south  chains  across  the  auroral  zone.  Such  a  chain  is 
now  provided  in  Alaska  by  the  Sitka,  College,  and  Barrow 
observatories,  each  of  which  secures  continuous  graphic  records 
of  the  time  variations  of  the  declination,  horizonal  intensity, 
and  vertical  intensity  of  the  Earth's  magnetic  field,  with  appro- 
priate control  by  means  of  frequent  absolute  observations. 

The  recording  apparatus  used  at  each  of  these  observatories 
is  planned  to  meet  the  rather  stringent  requirements  imposed 
by  a  chain  of  this  character.  The  magnetograph  at  Barrow  is 
a  special  low-sensitivity  one,  chosen  to  guarantee  a  complete 
record  despite  the  frequency  and  severity  of  the  magnetic  dis- 
turbances encountered  there.  Furthermore,  it  has  a  strip 
recorder  which  permits  records  to  accumulate  for  several  days 
during  protracted  snow  storms  when  the  instrument  cannot  be 
tended.  At  both  Sitka  and  College  there  are  standard  high- 
sensitivity  instruments  supplemented  by  low-sensitivity  auxil- 
iary instruments  to  safeguard  the  continuity  of  the  record  dur- 
ing severe  magnetic  storms  when  the  regular  trace  goes  off  the 
edge  of  the  paper. 


i68  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

These  three  observatories  may  be  expected  to  contribute 
materially  to  the  understanding  of  magnetic  phenomena,  not 
alone  in  the  Arctic  but  in  lower  latitudes  as  well.  Their  work 
is  correlated  closely  with  other  geophysical  activities  in  the 
area,  and  it  goes  without  saying  that  the  records  they  produce 
are  invaluable  in  the  reduction  of  all  magnetic  field  work  in 
Alaska  as  well  as  in  ionospheric  studies.  In  the  aggregate,  we  see 
that  Alaskan  magnetic  work  merits  vigorous  support,  both  for 
its  fundamental  import  as  a  segment  of  Earth  science,  and  for 
its  vital  contributions  to  practical  affairs. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Balsley,   James  R.,  Jr.    The  airborne  magnetometer.    U.  S. 

Dept.  of  Interior.  Geophysical  Investigations,  Prelim.  Rept. 
No.  3.  8  pp.  (Processed).  Washington.    1946. 

2.  Davies,  F.  T.   The  diurnal  variation  in  magnetic  and  auroral 

activity  at  three  high-latitude  stations.  Terr.  Magn.  Atmos. 
Elect.,  40:  173-182.   1935. 

3.  Deel,  S.  A.    Alaska  magnetic  tables  and  magnetic  charts  for 

1940.  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  42  pp.  Washington. 

1944- 

4.  Hasegawa,  M.  Provisional  report  of  the  statistical  study  on  the 

diurnal  variations  of  terrestrial  magnetism  in  the  North  Polar 
regions.  Internat.  Assn.  Terr.  Magn.  and  Electr.  Bull,  11, 
Trans.  Washington  Meeting,  pp.  311-318.    1940. 

5.  Howe,  H.  H.    Magnetic  observatory  results  at  College,  near 

Fairbanks,  Alaska,  for  the  second  Polar  Year,  October  1932 
to  March  1934.    179  pp.   Washington.    1944. 

6.  Knapp,  D.  G.   Arctic  aspects  of  geomagnetism.    In,  Vilhjalmur 

Stefansson,  Encyclopedia  Arctica,  /  (in  press). 

7.  Kupffer,  A.  T.  Recueil  d'observations  magnetiques  faites  a  St. 

Petersbourg  et  sur  d'autres  points  de  l'empire  de  Russie.  727 
pp.  St.  Petersburg.    1837. 

8.  Macht,  H.  G.  Das  erdmagnetische  Feld  der  Polargebiete.  Zeit- 

schrift  fur  Meteorologie,  /:  289-297.    1947. 

9.  Madill,  R.  G.  The  search  for  the  North  Magnetic  Pole.  Arctic, 

Journal  of  the  Arctic  Institute  of  North  America,  /   (1):  8-18. 
1948. 
10.    Olsen,  J.    Persistent  solar  rotation  period  of  26.875  days  and 
solar-diurnal  variation  in  terrestrial  magnetism.  Nature,  757: 
621.  May  11,  1946. 


Geomagnetism— Knapp  and  Roberts  169 

11.  Sabine,  E.   On  the  amount  and  frequency  of  the  magnetic  dis- 

turbance and  of  the  aurora  at  Point  Barrow.  British  Assn. 
Report,  Part  2:  14-15.    1857. 

12.  Schott,  C.  A.    Results  of  magnetic  observations  at  stations  in 

Alaska  and  in  the  Northwest  Territory  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada.  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  Annual  Report 
for  1892.   Appendix  11:  529-533.    1892. 

13.  Weinberg,  B.  P.    Symmetry  of  the  magnetic  field  in  Polar  re- 

gions. Akademiia  Nauk  USSR,  Comptes  Rendus  5/  (2):  117. 
1941. 


THE  GEOPHYSICAL  INSTITUTE  AT  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ALASKA 

Wm.  S.  Wilson 
Acting  Director,  the  Geophysical  Institute 

Research  in  Arctic  Natural  Science  has  become  of  major 
importance  in  recent  years.  This  large  gathering,  the  first  Alas- 
kan Science  Conference,  emphasizes  this.  The  particular  area 
of  research  of  concern  in  this  paper  was  recognized  soon  after 
the  founding  of  the  University  of  Alaska  in  the  third  decade  of 
this  century.  The  importance  of  research  in  geophysics  increased 
to  such  an  extent  that  in  1946  Congress  passed  the  authorization 
(P.L.  580— 79th  Congress)  and  later  provided  funds  (P.L.  491— 
80th  Congress)  for  the  establishment  of  a  Geophysical  Institute 
in  Alaska.  In  this  paper  there  will  be  presented  (1)  a  brief 
history  of  the  University  of  Alaska,  (2)  a  general  review  of 
early  research  in  Arctic  Geophysics  at  the  University  of  Alaska, 
(3)  the  history  of  the  procedures  and  legislation  authorizing  the 
establishment  of  the  Geophysical  Institute  at  the  University 
of  Alaska,  (4)  a  description  of  the  facilities  provided  and  a  state- 
ment of  the  provisions  for  operating  the  Institute,  (5)  a  brief 
review  of  Research  in  Geophysics  at  the  University  of  Alaska, 
and,  finally,  (6)  a  proposal  for  the  future  role  of  the  Geophysical 
Institute  in  Alaskan  research. 

History  of  the  University  of  Alaska 

An  act  of  Congress  approved  March  4,  1915,  set  aside  sections 
of  land  for  a  Territorial  College  and  School  of  Mines  and  pro- 
vided for  a  site  for  the  College  near  Fairbanks,  now  known  as 
College,  Alaska.  The  Territorial  Legislature  on  May  3,  1917 
by  its  acts  accepted  the  grants  of  land  previously  authorized  by 
Congress,  and  created  "The  Alaska  Agricultural  College  and 
School  of  Mines"  and  appropriated  money  for  the  first  building. 
In  1921,  the  Hon.  Charles  E.  Bunnell,  then  Federal  Judge  of 

170 


< 
O 


SipHg 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       171 

the  District  Court  located  in  Fairbanks  was  elected  President 
of  the  College  and  assumed  his  duties.  In  September  1922,  the 
College  was  dedicated  and  opened  with  six  students.  After  this 
very  humble  beginning,  the  College  grew  slowly.  In  1935  by 
Territorial  Act  it  became  the  University  of  Alaska,  a  land  grant 
institution.  The  University  now  sponsors,  either  on  its  own 
resources  or  jointly  with  various  Territorial  and  Federal  agen- 
cies, a  Summer  School,  an  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
(three  branches— Fairbanks,  Matanuska,  Petersburg),  a  Coopera- 
tive Agricultural  Extension  Service,  Veterans-on-the-Farm  train- 
ing, a  Mining  Extension  Service,  and  gives  resident  instruction 
at  the  main  Military  Establishments  in  Alaska  (Ladd  Field, 
Eielson  Air  Force  Base,  Elmendorf  and  Richardson  Fields  at 
Anchorage,  and  the  Naval  Base  at  Kodiak),  and  cooperates 
and  participates  in  research  directly  or  by  loan  of  equipment 
in  many  fields.  Of  these  the  most  significant  at  present  is 
geophysics. 

Early  Research  in  Geophysics  at  the  University  of  Alaska 

Research  in  Geophysics  at  the  University  of  Alaska  was  initi- 
ated in  1929  by  a  grant  of  $10,000  from  the  Rockefeller  Founda- 
tion for  auroral  height  measurements.  During  the  second  Inter- 
national Polar  Year,  1932-1933,  the  University  of  Alaska  was 
designated  a  first-order  station  in  a  world  wide  network  of 
stations  engaged  in  measurements  of  various  kinds:  electric 
potential  of  the  earth  and  its  atmosphere,  changes  in  terrestrial 
magnetism,  heights  of  the  aurora,  random  properties  of  the 
ionosphere  and  intensities  of  seismological  disturbances.  From 
1934-1941  a  portion  of  the  polar  year  program  was  continued 
with  the  assistance  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  the  Navy 
Department,  the  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington  and 
others.  During  his  period  as  Instructor  at  the  University  of 
Alaska,  Henry  K.  Joesting,  now  Chief  of  the  Geophysics  Sec- 
tion of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  made  an  extensive 
series  of  magnetometric  mineral  surveys  for  the  Territorial 
Department  of  Mines.  In  1941  the  Carnegie  Institution  asked 
for  the  cooperation  of  the  University  of  Alaska  in  undertaking 


172  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

a  vigorous  attack  on  problems  in  arctic  geophysics  with  especial 
emphasis  upon  the  ionosphere,  terrestrial  magnetism,  high  fre- 
quency long  distance  radio  propagation,  and  zenith  auroral 
activity.  This  important  program  will  be  discussed  in  some 
detail  later  in  this  paper.  Following  the  entry  of  the  United 
States  into  World  War  II  there  was  an  increased  activity  in 
arctic  geophysical  research.  The  program  at  the  University 
was  enlarged  by  studies  concerned  with  the  deviation  of  radio 
waves  from  a  great  circle  course,  examination  of  rapid  fluctua- 
tions in  the  earth's  magnetic  field,  measurement  of  night  sky 
light,  scattering  of  light  by  gases,  and  studies  of  refraction. 
Seismological  and  magnetic  work  sponsored  by  the  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey  was  continued  until  1948  when  that  agency 
established  its  own  permanent  observatory  on  the  University 
campus.  The  expansion  of  the  program  from  these  beginnings 
and  the  plans  for  the  immediate  future  will  also  be  discussed 
later. 

The  Polar  Year 

An  interest  in  auroral  research  by  investigations  from  all 
over  the  world  developed  rapidly  following  the  recognition  that 
aurorae  were  closely  associated  with  magnetic  disturbances. 
Early  observers  had  noted  disturbances  of  the  magnetic  needle 
coincidental  with  auroral  displays.  By  far  the  greater  number 
of  the  observations  of  the  first  part  of  the  20th  Century  had 
been  made  in  Norway  by  Carl  Stormer  and  his  colleagues.  The 
establishment  in  1930  of  a  first  order  auroral  station,  almost 
on  the  opposite  of  the  pole,  at  College,  Alaska,  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  information  from  another  part  of  the  globe  was 
highly  fortunate.  The  work  at  this  station  had  as  its  objective 
the  gathering  of  factual  information  on  aurorae  from  the  photo- 
grammetric  determinations  of  their  form  and  position  in  space, 
accompanied  by  systematic  visual  observations.  This  program 
was  initiated  by  a  $10,000  grant  from  the  Rockefeller  Founda- 
tion. Measurements  on  auroral  heights  extended  from  August 
1930  to  April  1932  and  the  results  of  visual  observations  to 
December  1934.    The  measurements  of  auroral  heights  are  all 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       173 

based  on  simultaneous  photographs  with  especially  constructed 
cameras  located  at  College,  Alaska,  and  at  a  point  22.28  km  away 
in  a  southeasterly  direction.  Several  thousand  successful  photo- 
graphs were  taken  during  the  period.  The  visual  observations 
included  records  of  form,  color,  intensity,  direction,  extent, 
and  altitude,  supplemented  by  weather  conditions  and  other 
miscellaneous  data.  The  taking  of  data  was  discontinued  in 
December  1934  for  reasons  of  economy.  A  somewhat  closer 
view  of  difficulties  encountered  may  be  of  interest.  The  early 
work  was  under  the  direction  of  Veryl  R.  Fuller,  Professor  of 
Physics  in  the  Alaska  Agricultural  College  and  School  of  Mines. 
Professor  Fuller's  death  occurred  before  the  calculations  were 
completed.  George  B.  Henton  continued  the  computations 
and  constructed  network  charts  for  the  graphical  determination 
of  auroral  heights.  W.  W.  Walton  assisted  with  the  visual 
and  photographic  observations.  The  calculations  were  com- 
pleted by  Professor  Erwin  H.  Bramhall,  successor  to  Professor 
Fuller,  with  the  able  assistance  of  John  A.  Fleming,  Director 
of  the  Department  of  Terrestrial  Magnetism  of  the  Carnegie 
Institution  of  Washington.  The  results  were  included  in  the 
Miscellaneous  Publications  of  the  University  of  Alaska,  Vol- 
ume II,  entitled  "Auroral  Research  at  the  University  of  Alaska 
1930-1934."  This  publication  gives  in  considerable  detail  data, 
photographs,  and  graphical  organizations  of  the  results  to  show 
the  number  of  visible  aurorae,  their  form  and  extent,  their 
times  of  occurrence  and  duration,  their  distribution  by  day, 
month  and  year.  A  somewhat  brief  account  is  given  by  Veryl  R. 
Fuller:  Auroral  Observations  at  the  Alaska  Agricultural  College 
and  School  of  Mines  for  the  Year  1930-1931,  Terr.  Mag.  38, 
207-238  (1933),  36,  297-308  (1931)  and  3j,  159-166  (1932). 

Other  activities  during  the  polar  year  in  Alaska  included 
extensive  measurements  of  magnetic,  electrical,  meteorological, 
and  ground  phenomena  at  a  network  of  stations,  many  of 
which  were  maintained  by  volunteer  workers.  These  were 
integrated  with  the  world  wide  network. 


174  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

History  of  the  Geophysical  Institute  Building 

As  early  as  1936  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University 
through  the  Martin  Harrais  Resolution  offered  to  provide  for 
the  creation  of  an  arctic  research  center  at  the  University  of 
Alaska.   This  resolution  was  as  follows: 

"Whereas,  In  the  building  of  the  University  of  Alaska  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  Board  of  Regents  to  make  ample  provision  for  the  edu- 
cation of  those  enrolled  as  students,  and 

"Whereas,  It  is  also  the  duty  of  the  Board  of  Regents  to  build 
the  institution  so  that  it  can  render  a  full  degree  of  service  to  all 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  and 

"Whereas,  By  virtue  of  its  strategic  location,  the  University  of 
Alaska,  if  properly  equipped  will  be  able  to  contribute  immeas- 
ureably  to  research  in  anthropology,  archaeology,  astronomy,  at- 
mospheric electricity,  aurora,  ethnology,  formation  and  testing  of 
the  soils,  geology,  geophysics,  ionosphere  meteorology,  terrestrial 
magnetism,  and  other  branches  of  research,  and 

"Whereas,  The  Territory  of  Alaska  is  unable  to  provide  funds 
sufficient  to  build,  equip,  and  maintain  a  building  calculated  to 
be  of  the  greatest  service  in  conducting  scientific  research  as  herein 
outlined,  but  is  able  to  provide  heat,  water,  light,  power,  janitor 
service,  and  maintenance  of  building. 

"Now  Therefore  Be  It  Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Regents  of 
the  University  of  Alaska  offer  to  the  United  States  a  site  on  its 
campus  on  which  to  erect  a  building  or  buildings,  to  accomplish 
any  or  all  of  the  aforesaid  purposes  and  agree  in  the  event  specified 
to  the  end  that  the  several  departments  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  in  prosecuting  research  in  Alaska  shall  have  the  ad- 
vantages offered  by  the  laboratories,  library,  and  cooperation  of  the 
University  of  Alaska." 

This  action  followed  many  requests  for  research  in  arctic 
natural  science  by  various  departments  of  the  Government  and 
by  the  various  scientific  agencies.  This  was  made  more  apparent 
as  a  result  of  the  interest  in  the  activities  of  the  Polar  Year  and 
the  minor  definite  realization  of  the  fact  that  the  United  States 
had  no  research  facility  in  the  Arctic.  The  proposal  to  con- 
struct such  a  research  institute  soon  aroused  interest  in  inter- 
national scientific  circles.    It  was  evident  that  a  station  in  the 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       175 

northwestern  part  of  North  America  in  typical  arctic  surround- 
ings and  within  or  close  to  the  zone  of  maximum  auroral 
activity,  would  be  a  valuable  asset  to  any  comprehensive  study 
of  the  Earth  by  international  agencies.  Such  a  laboratory  would 
put  the  United  States  on  a  par  with  Russia,  England,  Greenland, 
Norway  and  Finland— each  of  which  has  had  at  least  one  such 
institution  for  years.  In  1944  the  American  Geophysical  Union 
and  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  adopted  a  resolution 
endorsing  the  creation  of  a  Geophysical  station  in  Alaska  and 
suggested  its  location  at  the  University  of  Alaska. 

Early  Legislative  Procedure 

Just  before  and  during  World  War  II  the  necessity  for  in- 
creased knowledge  of  the  Arctic  became  apparent.  Activities 
were  initiated  seeking  to  obtain  support  from  Congress  for  the 
establishment  of  a  research  institute  in  Alaska.  Workers  in  the 
small  Geophysical  Observatory  and  members  of  the  University 
staff  were  much  interested  and  aided  materially  in  initiating 
action  which  finally  led  to  the  presentation  of  the  bill  for  the 
appropriation.  Members  of  national  and  international  scien- 
tific organizations  became  definitely  interested  and  participated 
in  the  hearings,  as  did  representatives  of  the  various  defense 
agencies,  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  the  Geological  Survey 
and  the  Department  of  Commerce.  Among  the  many  individu- 
als who  appeared  before  the  various  congressional  committees 
were  E.  L.  Bartlett,  Delegate  from  Alaska;  Dr.  John  A.  Fleming, 
then  Advisor  in  International  Scientific  Relations  to  the  Carne- 
gie Institution  of  Washington,  President  of  the  International 
Council  of  Scientific  Unions  and  General  Secretary  of  the 
American  Geophysical  Union;  Stuart  L.  Seaton,  representing 
the  University  of  Alaska;  Rear  Admiral  L.  O.  Colbert  of  the 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey;  J.  H.  Dellinger  of  the  Bureau  of 
Standards;  Robert  Patterson,  Secretary  of  War;  Julius  A.  Krug, 
Secretary  of  Interior;  Irwin  W.  Silverman,  Chief  Counsel,  Di- 
vision of  Territories  and  Island  Possessions,  Department  of 
Interior;  Roger  Revelle,  Commander  U.  S.  Naval  Reserve, 
Office  of  Naval  Research,  Navy  Department,  Washington,  D.  C; 


176  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Colonel  O.  A.  Heinlein,  Member  of  the  Research  and  Develop- 
ment Division  of  the  War  Department  General  Staff;  Henry  R. 
Joesting,  Chief  of  the  Geophysics  Section  of  the  Geological 
Survey;  Dr.  L.  H.  Adams,  Director  of  the  Geophysical  Labora- 
tory, and  President  of  the  American  Geophysical  Union. 

The  Legislation 

As  a  result  of  the  efforts  described  the  following  Public  Laws 
were  passed  by  the  79th  and  80th  Congress.  These  are  quoted 
below: 

Public  Law  580 — 79th  Congress — Chapter  119— 2nd  Session  H.R. 
6486  providing  authorization  of  the  appropriation  for  the 
establishment  of  the  Geophysical  Institute: 

"AN  ACT 

To  Authorize  an  Appropriation  for  the  Establishment  of  a 
Geophysical  Institute  at  the  University  of  Alaska 

Whereas,  The  need  for  a  geophysical  station  in  this  country,  dedi- 
cated to  the  maintenance  of  geophysical  research  concerning 
the  Arctic  regions,  is  recognized;  and 

Whereas,  The  University  of  Alaska  has  been  performing  geophysical 
research  in  cooperation  with  the  Department  of  War,  the  De- 
partment of  the  Navy,  the  Federal  Communications  Commis- 
sion, the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  the  United 
States  Weather  Bureau,  and  other  agencies  since  1941;  and 

Whereas,  Said  research  has  produced  results  not  only  of  direct 
military  application  in  the  war  emergency  but  also  of  value  as 
a  contribution  to  scientific  knowledge;  and 

Whereas,  There  is  a  necessity  for  indefinite  continuation  of  geo- 
physical research  in  the  Arctic  in  the  postwar  period;  and 

Whereas,  Geophysical  exploration  can  lead  to  increases  in  supplies 
and  reserves  of  important  minerals  and  can  furnish  informa- 
tion of  direct  value  both  for  military  and  nonmilitary  projects; 
and 

Whereas,  The  University  of  Alaska,  because  of  its  unique  location 
and  the  work  it  has  accomplished  in  the  past,  is  a  logical  site 
for  a  permanent  geophysical  research  station;  Now  therefore, 
Be  It  Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       177 

the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  Assembled,  That  there 
is  hereby  authorized  to  be  appropriated,  out  of  any  funds  in 
the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  not  to  exceed  the 
sum  of  $975,000  for  the  construction  and  establishment  of  a 
geophysical  institute  at  the  University  of  Alaska,  College, 
Alaska: 

Provided,  That  not  to  exceed  20  per  centum  of  the  funds 
herein  authorized  shall  be  expended  for  construction  of  housing 
accommodations  to  be  used  by  the  personnel  carrying  out  the 
program; 

Provided  Further,  That,  subject  to  the  then  existing  security 
regulations,  the  facilities  of  the  institute  shall  be  extended, 
without  charge,  to  the  duly  qualified  and  authorized  representa- 
tives of  the  Federal  departments  engaged  in  geophysical  research 
who  shall  have  priority  in  the  use  of  the  housing  accommoda- 
tions constructed  as  a  part  of  said  geophysical  institute: 

Provided  Further,  That  in  the  discretion  of  the  director  the 
facilities  of  the  institute  may  be  extended,  without  charge,  to 
the  duly  qualified  and  authorized  representatives  of  non-profit 
scientific  societies  engaged  in  geophysical  research; 

Provided  Further,  That  in  the  discretion  of  the  director  said 
facilities  may  be  used  by  others  engaged  in  geophysical  research, 
under  such  terms  and  conditions  as  said  director  may  specify: 

Provided  Further,  That  all  funds  derived  from  the  operation 
of  said  geophysical  institute  shall  be  used  in  geophysical  re- 
search: 

And  Provided  Further,  That  no  portion  of  the  funds  herein 
authorized  shall  be  expended  for  maintenance  of  the  buildings 
constructed  it  being  an  express  condition  of  this  grant  that  the 
University  of  Alaska  undertake  to  furnish  heat,  light,  water, 
electric  power,  and  custodial  service,  and  to  staff  the  institute 
with  (1)  a  director,  whose  appointment  by  the  regents  of  the 
University  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  president  of  the 
University  shall  be  with  the  approval  of  the  president  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences;  (2)  a  librarian;  and  (3)  a 
secretary. 

Sec.  2.  All  buildings  and  equipment  constructed  or  acquired 
with  funds  herein  authorized  shall,  upon  the  establishment  of 
the  institute  become  the  property  of  the  University  of  Alaska." 

Approved  July  31,  1946. 


178  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

The  Appropriation  Act: 

"Geophysical  Institute,  Alaska:  For  the  establishment  of  a 
geophysical  institute  at  the  University  of  Alaska,  as  authorized 
by  the  Act  of  July  31,  1946  (48  U.S.C.  175,  175a),  $100,000  to 
be  immediately  available  and  to  remain  available  until  ex- 
pended, and  in  addition  thereto  the  Public  Buildings  Adminis- 
tration is  authorized  to  enter  into  contracts  for  this  purpose  in 
an  amount  not  exceeding  $875,000:  Provided,  That  no  part  of 
this  appropriation  shall  become  available  unless  and  until  title 
to  the  land  upon  which  said  institute  is  to  be  constructed  shall 
have  been  conveyed  to  the  United  States: 

Provided  Further,  That,  notwithstanding  the  provision  of 
any  other  law,  all  buildings  and  equipment  constructed  or  ac- 
quired with  funds  herein  appropriated  or  under  authority  to 
contract  shall,  upon  the  establishment  of  the  institute,  be  the 
property  of  the  United  States." 

The  Establishment  of  the  Geophysical  Institute 

The  passage  of  the  Public  Laws  was  soon  followed  by  laying 
out  a  practical  Geophysical  Institute  plan.  The  recommended 
building  plan  provided  for  a  three-story  specially  designed, 
reinforced  concrete  structure  approximately  sixty  feet  by  one 
hundred  twenty  feet  which  would  provide  laboratory  and  office 
space  for  seismographs,  natural  illumination  records,  iono- 
spheric measuring  equipment,  magnetographic  master  pendu- 
lums for  geodetic  work,  radio  wave  measuring  equipment, 
spectrohelioscopes,  chronographs,  auroral  cameras  and  other 
equipment  needed  for  a  comprehensive  attack  on  geophysical 
phenomena.  In  addition  housing  accommodation  for  the 
scientists  carrying  out  the  various  programs  was  to  be  provided. 
The  plans  further  included  a  well  equipped  machine  shop. 
The  University  provided  a  ten  acre  tract,  bids  were  let  and  the 
construction  started  in  the  spring  of  1949  and  was  scheduled 
for  completion  in  June  1950. 

Stuart  L.  Seaton,  then  director  of  the  Geophysical  Observa- 
tory, University  of  Alaska,  was  appointed  Director  of  the  Geo- 
physical Institute  and  took  office  the  day  of  the  cornerstone 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       179 

ceremony,  July  1,  1949.   Thus  the  plans  of  the  many  who  were 
interested  in  this  project  came  to  be  a  reality. 

The  United  States  could  now  add  her  name  to  the  list  of 
those  countries  possessing  polar  research  facilities:  in  England, 
the  Scott  Polar  Research  Institute  at  Cambridge;  in  Russia, 
the  Arctic  Institute  at  Leningrad;  in  Greenland,  the  Commis- 
sion for  Scientific  Research;  in  Norway,  Spitzbergen  and  Arctic 
Sea  Research  Institute  at  Oslo;  and  in  Finland,  the  Geographical 
Society  of  Finland  at  Helsinki.  Realization  of  the  plans  has 
progressed  rapidly.  Shortages  and  the  like  have  delayed  prog- 
ress a  little.   Today  the  plant  is  about  95%  complete. 

Facilities  for  Research  at  the  Geophysical  Institute 

The  facilities  for  geophysical  research  at  the  University  of 
Alaska  include  the  laboratory  building,  the  staff  residences  and 
the  basic  equipment  provided  by  the  Public  Law.  These  have 
been  supplemented  by  field  sites  and  stations  as  indicated  in 
the  following  description. 

The  Laboratory  Building 

The  Geophysical  Institute  Building  is  a  three  story  reinforced 
earthquake-proof  concrete  structure,  56  feet  by  1 1 2  feet,  with 
the  long  dimension  running  due  east  and  west  (Fig.  1).  The 
building  provides  offices,  laboratories  and  other  specialized 
rooms.  The  roof  is  an  especially  constructed  instrument  deck 
with  an  astronomical  dome  at  one  end.  The  main  features  of 
the  building  are  evident  from  its  floor  plans,  figures  2-5. 

Each  laboratory  will  be  provided  with  water,  gas  and  com- 
pressed air.  The  laboratories  and  offices  will  be  lighted  with 
fluorescent  lamps.  The  building  provides  conduits  for  carrying 
all  services  to  all  parts. 

The  first  floor  (figure  2)  is  set  aside  for  laboratory  space  and 
service  rooms.  It  provides  four  large  laboratories,  a  reception 
room,  a  machine  shop,  a  dark  room,  utility  rooms  and  a  store- 
room. One  of  the  large  laboratories  has  pillars  resting  on  bed- 
rock for  the  support  of  delicate  instruments  used  inseismological 
and  gravimetric  studies.  A  dust-proof  room  is  provided. 


i8o 


Alaskan  Science  Conference 


Fig.  2.— First  floor  plan,  Geophysical  Institute  Building. 


CONFEAtNCt  ROOM 


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CtIBH»  fc  FILE* 


Fig.  3— Second  floor  plan,  Geophysical  Institute  Building. 


Fig.  4.— Third  floor  plan,  Geophysical  Institute  Building. 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       181 

The  second  floor  (figure  3)  is  given  over  to  administrative 
staff  offices,  the  library,  a  file  room  and  a  conference  room.  The 
staff  offices  measure  approximately  10  by  20  feet. 

The  third  floor  (figure  4)  and  the  roof  (figure  5)  constitute 
the  effective  working  section  of  the  building.  Conduits  and 
hatches  are  provided  to  facilitate  proper  arrangements  between 
the  equipment  on  the  roof  and  recording  instruments  in  the 
rooms  below.  A  penthouse  for  housing  recording  instruments 
and  for  mounting  the  usual  meteorological  station  instruments 
is  situated  at  the  east  end  of  the  roof.  A  hand  operated  alumi- 
num dome  toward  the  west  end  encloses  a  mounting  to  serve 


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IK3TWJMIKT  AM. 


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Fig.  5.— Roof  plan,  Geophysical  Institute  Building. 

an  eight  or  ten  inch  telescope  or  other  equipment.  This  entire 
arrangement  provides  very  effectively  for  the  study  of  phe- 
nomena in  the  sky. 

The  Library 

Particular  attention  was  given  by  those  who  planned  the 
building  to  provide  space  for  a  technical  library.  Provision  was 
also  made  for  the  services  of  a  librarian.  One  of  the  main  rooms 
on  the  second  floor  will  become  the  library  and  reading  room. 
Subscriptions  have  been  entered  for  about  125  current  journals 
in  Geophysics.  Collections  of  pertinent  data  from  appropriate 
observatories  are  being  assembled.  As  funds  are  made  available 
classical,  as  well  as  modern,  books  will  be  added  to  those  already 


182  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

on  hand.  Probably  this  will  be  at  an  early  date.  The  floor  space 
will  have  to  be  increased  considerably.  It  is  conceivable  that 
an  information  center  may  be  operated  in  conjunction  with  the 
library  so  that  the  combination  will  serve  the  Territory  of 
Alaska  both  as  a  depository  and  a  source  of  information  on  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  geophysical  sciences. 

The  Shop 

The  shop  occupies  a  room  of  20  feet  by  60  feet.  Its  facilities 
are  to  include  standard  machine  tools,  wood  working  equip- 
ment, and  facilities  for  glass  blowing,  heat  treating  and  welding. 
A  competent  machinist  has  been  employed  and  is  now  installing 
the  shop  equipment.  It  is  planned  that  shop  assistance  can  be 
provided  for  research  groups  working  in  this  territory  whether 
or  not  directly  connected  with  the  Institute. 

Residences 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  law,  a  nucleus  of 
six  modern  two  bedroom  residences  has  been  constructed.  These 
are  to  accommodate  scientists  who  are  engaged  in  research  at 
the  Geophysical  Institute.  Each  is  equipped  with  a  modern 
bathroom,  an  automatic  oil-furnace,  an  electric  range,  and  a 
refrigerator.  It  is  planned  to  furnish  them  more  completely 
at  an  early  date.  A  nominal  rental  is  charged  for  their  use  by 
the  Geophysical  Institute  to  cover  depreciation  and  to  provide 
for  replacement  of  furniture  and  buildings.  Water  is  supplied 
from  the  main  University  system.  The  sewage  is  disposed 
through  the  University  line. 

The  residences  are  intended  to  house  new  senior  staff  mem- 
bers on  a  more  or  less  temporary  basis,  and  to  provide  for 
outstanding  visiting  scientists  who  may  spend  time  at  the  Insti- 
tute. However,  Congress  has  established  a  definite  priority  for 
government  employees  sent  here  during  times  of  stress,  and 
has  delegated  the  Director  of  the  Institute  to  administer  its 
regulations. 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       183 

The  Field  Stations 

Numerous  investigations  in  the  general  program  of  the  Geo- 
physical Institute  require  field  locations  because  of  the  need 
for  isolation,  triangulation  or  space.  Five  such  stations  are  in 
use.  One  is  on  the  main  grounds  of  the  Geophysical  Institute 
and  houses  the  new  recorder  for  vertical  incidence  studies. 
Ballaines  Lake  field  station  was  established  earlier  by  the  Army 
as  a  location  for  the  study  of  radio  signal  intensities.  It  is  merely 
a  wooden  shelter  on  University  property  about  a  mile  from 
the  main  building.  The  searchlight  experiment  is  located  at 
two  sites,  the  transmitter  being  on  the  Campus  and  the  receiver 
11.6  kilometers  away  on  the  Steese  Highway.  The  fifth  station 
is  maintained  as  the  second  observation  point  for  auroral  height 
studies. 

Personnel 

The  Public  Law  provides  for  the  existence  of  a  basic  adminis- 
trative staff  for  the  Geophysical  Institute.  This  is  to  include  the 
director,  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Regents  on  recommenda- 
tion of  the  President  of  the  University  subject  to  the  approval 
by  the  President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  a  secre- 
tary, a  librarian  and  custodian.  It  was  the  intent  of  the  founders 
that  the  Geophysical  Institute  maintain  a  staff  under  this  admin- 
istration to  pursue  a  program  of  research  in  basic  geophysics  and 
offer  graduate  study  through  appropriate  departments  in  the  ac- 
ademic division  of  the  University.  At  present  such  an  independ- 
ent staff  does  not  exist  in  reality,  as  the  contracts  for  research  in 
geophysics  are  written  to  the  University  of  Alaska  and  assigned 
to  the  Geophysical  Institute  for  completion.  However,  those  em- 
ployed in  the  Institute  are  recognized  as  a  working  group  under 
the  director.  This  group  has  been  organized  in  four  divisions: 
the  administrative  staff,  the  scientific  staff,  the  technical  staff  and 
the  custodial  staff.  The  administrative  staff  includes  the  director, 
honorary  directors  and  committees,  the  secretary,  the  librarian, 
the  business  manager  and  their  assistants  and  secretaries;  the  sci- 
entific  staff— those   engaged   in   actual   research   and   graduate 


184  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

instruction;  the  technical  staff— those  engaged  in  specialized 
services,  including  the  machinist,  the  draftsman,  electronic 
technicians  and  the  like;  the  custodial  staff— the  janitor,  stock 
clerks,  truck  drivers.  The  honorary  and  permanent  ranks  of 
the  staff  are  described  as  follows: 

Honorary  positions  are  held  by  men  outstanding  in  their  fields 
of  science  and  as  a  rule  indicate  activity  only  in  a  general  advisory 
capacity. 

Visiting  Fellows  actively  promote  the  work  of  the  Institute  and 
are  definitely  connected  with  a  particular  problem.  In  fact,  their 
appointment  in  general  follows  time  and  effort  spent  elsewhere  in 
the  field  of  this  problem.  The  line  between  the  Visiting  and  Honor- 
ary group  cannot  in  all  cases  be  sharply  drawn. 

Associated  Faculty,  as  the  name  implies,  indicates  a  division  of 
time  between  teaching,  research  and  other  duties  at  the  University 
of  Alaska.  Subdivisions  within  this  group  are  determined  by  the 
usual  academic  and  research  qualifications.  They  are  normally  em- 
ployed on  a  full  year  (10^  months)  basis  and  are  paid  partly  from 
teaching  and  partly  from  research  funds. 

Members  are  engaged  in  research  full  time.  Minimum  qualifica- 
tions are  either  the  doctoral  degree  (Ph.D.  or  Sc.D.)  or  three  years 
of  pertinent  experience  beyond  the  master's  degree  or  five  years 
beyond  the  bachelor's.  Unusually  desirable  experience  may  reduce 
these  requirements  by  one  year. 

Associates  are  also  engaged  in  research  full  time,  but  need  have 
only  the  bachelor's  degree  with  appropriate  majors  and  minors. 

Research  Fellows  are  engaged  in  basic  research  and  are  normally 
candidates  for  advanced  degrees  either  at  the  University  of  Alaska 
or  at  some  other  institution.  They  may  or  may  not  receive  a  stipend, 
as  conditions  warrant. 

Graduate  Assistants  serve  on  a  part  time  (usually  half  time)  basis. 
They  must  be  satisfactorily  pursuing  a  part  time  program  of  gradu- 
ate studies  at  the  University  of  Alaska  commensurate  with  their 
Institute  duties.  Work  assigned  to  them  will  be  of  a  routine  nature, 
not  suitable  for  academic  credit. 

Observers  are  normally  part  time  students  at  the  University  of 
Alaska,  either  graduate  or  undergraduate.  They  perform  necessary 
duties  on  some  project  while  gaining  experience  in  a  research  labor- 
atory and  earning  some  money  to  help  defray  academic  expenses. 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       185 

Their  duties  are  accordingly  limited  to  a  maximum  of  sixteen  hours 
per  week,  and  they  are  required  to  maintain  satisfactory  academic 
standing  during  the  period  of  their  employment. 

At  present  there  are  15  full  time  staff  members,  8  part  time 
associated  faculty  members  and  10  part  time  assistants  and  ob- 
servers making  a  total  working  group  of  33  members.  They 
are  engaged  on  contracts  to  the  University  of  Alaska  by  the  Air- 
force,  the  Signal  Corps  and  the  National  Bureau  of  Standards. 
Graduate  work  will  be  started  in  the  near  future.  It  is  con- 
templated that  several  graduate  assistants  and  fellows  will  be 
engaged  as  this  program  of  graduate  studies  is  developed. 

It  is  planned  to  include  on  the  staff  as  soon  as  possible,  a  group 
of  outstanding  scientists  who  will  serve  as  advisors  to  the  work- 
ers in  the  various  branches  recognized  as  comprising  basic 
geophysics.  This  group  of  honorary  and  visiting  fellows  will, 
with  the  permanent  staff,  assure  the  broadest  possible  program 
consistent  with  the  opportunities  and  capacities  at  the  Geophysi- 
cal Institute. 

Research  in  Geophysics  at  the  University  of  Alaska 

Research  in  Geophysics  at  the  University  of  Alaska  at  this 
time  (November  1950)  is  chiefly  concerned  with  the  Upper 
Atmosphere.  It  involves  investigations  mostly  of  an  applied 
nature,  studying  radio  propagation,  auroral  and  night-sky  phe- 
nomena, and  sounding  the  ionosphere  by  radio  pulse  tech- 
niques. These  are  supplemented  by  an  extensive  series  of 
measurements  on  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  in  the  Arctic. 
This  work  is  supported  by  contracts  with  the  Signal  Corps, 
Department  of  the  Army,  the  Geophysical  Research  Directorate 
of  the  Air  Force,  Cambridge  Research  Laboratories  and  the 
Central  Radio  Propagation  Laboratory  of  the  National  Bureau 
of  Standards,  though  small  programs  in  photometry  and  cosmic 
radiation  are  supported  by  University  funds. 

Ionospheric  Measurements 

Multifrequency  ionospheric  equipment  has  been  in  operation 
at  College,  Alaska,  since  June   1941.    The  initial  equipment, 


186  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

a  D.T.M.  Model  #3  Multifrequency  Ionospheric  Recorder, 
was  on  loan  from  the  Department  of  Terrestrial  Magnetism, 
Carnegie  Institute  of  Washington,  and  was  manually  operated. 
This  was  later  modified  for  automatic  operation.  Every  15 
minutes  a  survey  is  made  of  radio  wave  energy  reflected  from 
the  ionosphere  throughout  a  frequency  range  of  0.52  to  16.00 
megacycles  per  second.  The  resulting  photographic  records 
are  reduced  to  tabulations  of  numbers  giving  for  each  hour 
the  penetration  frequency  of  the  F2,  ¥1  and  E-layers,  minimum 
virtual  height  of  the  F2,  Ft  and  E-layers,  minimum  frequency 
of  returning  echos  at  normal  incidence,  maximum  frequency 
of  boundary  E-layer  reflections,  F2-layer,  Frlayer  maximum 
usuable  frequencies  for  1500  and  3000  km  distance,  height  of 
maximum  electron  density  for  the  F2,  Fx  and  E-layers,  and  notes 
as  to  intensity  of  fadeouts.  At  present  the  D.T.M.  machine  is 
being  replaced  by  a  National  Bureau  of  Standards  C-3  Iono- 
spheric Recorder  with  increased  output  power,  variable  pulse 
repetition  rate  and  direct  recording  on  motion  picture  film. 

Summary  data  are  transmitted  daily  to  the  Central  Radio 
Propagation  Laboratory  at  the  National  Bureau  of  Standards, 
Washington,  D.  C.  Complete  tabulations  are  mailed  to  the 
Central  Radio  Propagation  Laboratory  at  the  end  of  each  month 
together  with  a  report  giving  logs  of  operation,  comparison  of 
current  with  previous  results,  notations  of  propagation  mode, 
and  fade-out  summaries.  Original  records  and  reproductions  of 
the  tabulations  are  retained  at  the  Geophysical  Institute. 

These  basic  data  are  extremely  useful  for  determining  iono- 
spheric structure,  variations  of  this  structure  with  time,  mech- 
anism of  ionization  agents  involved,  state  of  the  upper  atmos- 
phere, and  the  influence  of  both  terrestrial  and  extra-terrestrial 
phenomena.  The  data  are  also  extremely  useful  in  the  pre- 
diction of  radio  wave  propagation  conditions  in  the  Arctic.  The 
series  of  observations,  unbroken  since  June  1941,  constitute  one 
of  the  most  powerful  tools  for  research  in  this  field  particularly 
because  many  of  the  basic  phenomena  must  be  investigated  by 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       187 

statistical  devices.    Several  investigations  based  on  this  set  of 
data  have  been  reported: 

1.  CRPL  D-Series,  F-Series  and  E-Series 

2.  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington,  Ionospheric  and  Auroral 

Studies  at  College,  Alaska,  1941-46. 

3.  Tidal  Effects  in  the  F-layer,  M.  W.  Jones  and  J.  G.  Jones, 

Physical  Review,  j6,  581,    (1949). 

4.  Thickness  of  Winter  F-layer  in  Polar  Regions — M.  W.  Jones, 

Trans.  Am.  Geophys.  Union,  5/,  187-190  (1950). 

5.  State  of  the  Upper  Atmosphere — S.  L.  Seaton,  Jour.  Met.  4, 

*93  0947)- 

6.  Magnetonic   Multiple   Refraction   at   High   Latitudes,    S.   L. 

Seaton,  Proc.  Inst.  Radio  Eng.,  36,  450-454  (1948). 

7.  Generalized  Magneto-Ionic  Theory— N.  C.  Gerson  and  S.  L. 

Seaton,  J.  Frank.  Inst.,  246,  483-494  (1948). 

8.  A  Correlation  between  Ionospheric  Phenomena  and  Surface 

Pressure — M.  W.  Jones  and  J.  G.  Jones. 

9.  State  of  the  Earth's  Atmosphere  in  the  Arctic — Research  Re- 

ports Nos.  1-8,  Contract  W2  8-099^-445  Airforce  Cambridge 
Research  Laboratories,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Signal  Intensity  Measurements 

Continuous  measurements  of  the  strengths  of  radio  signals 
traversing  various  long  and  short  paths  ending  at  College  are 
being  recorded.  These  data  supplement  the  ionospheric  meas- 
urement program.  The  records  of  variations  of  signal  strength 
with  time  over  the  longer  distances  give  information  which  per- 
mits verification  and  extension  of  wave  propagation  theory  for 
use  in  establishing  and  maintaining  satisfactory  long  distance 
communications  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Recordings  over  short 
distances  are  applicable  to  studies  of  absorption  of  wave  energy 
in  the  ionosphere  locally  and  to  extension  of  knowledge  of  the 
upper  atmosphere  generally.  The  results  from  this  phase  of  the 
work  are  transmitted  to  the  proper  contracting  agency  and  are 
part  of  the  internal  operations  of  these  agencies. 

The  sky-wave  radio  propagation  in  the  auroral  zone  is  sub- 
ject to  peculiar  variations.    Part  of  Alaska  is  in  the  maximum 


188  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

auroral  zone.  Hence  Alaska  is  an  exceptionally  favored  region 
for  the  study  of  these  variations.  The  measurements  of  signal 
behavior  at  College  reveal  definite  correlation  with  magnetic 
(and  hence  auroral)  activity.  Such  correlations  are  being  made 
and  in  the  future  will  become  a  more  significant  part  of  the 
activity  at  College. 

Auroral  Heights 

Beginning  in  1948-49  the  National  Bureau  of  Standards  pro- 
vided for  the  resumption  of  auroral  height  determinations  as 
part  of  its  general  ionosphere  program.  The  old  cameras  used 
in  the  Polar  Year  were  used  at  the  previous  locations.  These 
manually  controlled  cameras  were  replaced  after  the  first  season 
by  automatic,  unattended  K-24  cameras  (coated  optics,  f/2.5; 
exposure  50  seconds)  operated  by  a  radio  link  between  the 
camera  stations  which  are  7.6  kilometers  apart.  The  heights 
determined  for  all  types  of  aurora  vary  from  50  to  250  kilome- 
ters with  a  mean  at  116. 

Intensity  of  the  Light  of  the  Night  Sky 

The  light  of  the  night  sky  at  College,  Alaska,  usually  includes 
the  aurora  in  addition  to  the  airglow,  zodiacal  light,  starlight 
and  light  from  the  milky  way.  Measurements  of  the  illumina- 
tion of  the  night  sky  at  College  have  been  made  from  time  to 
time  and  will  be  continued  through  this  winter.  Early  efforts 
were  made  during  the  winters  of  1941  through  1946,  first  by 
means  of  a  visual  photometer,  and  later  by  means  of  photo- 
graphs of  the  zenith  at  2.5  minute  intervals.  The  earliest  meas- 
urements with  the  visual  photometer  were  difficult  to  make 
and  therefore  crude.  The  equipment  was  cumbersome.  Meas- 
urements made  later  in  this  period  were  made  on  the  equipment 
modified  by  the  introduction  of  comparison  wedges  and  by  the 
careful  control  of  processing.  Even  with  these  changes  it  took 
one  man's  full-time  efforts  for  18  months  to  analyze  six  months' 
film. 

In  recent  years  the  measurements  of  the  intensity  of  the  light 
of  the  night  sky  have  been  revived.    The  measurements  are 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       189 

now  being  made  by  a  low-brightness  photometer  developed  by 
Hulburt,  and  by  a  photoelectric  recorder.  The  measurements 
using  Hulburt's  photometer  have  been  extended  through  the 
first  part  of  the  1949-50  winter  season.  Observations  of  the  en- 
tire sky  were  made  at  15  °  intervals.  They  furnish  an  absolute 
calibration  of  the  zenith  sky  light  recorder.  Low  values  of 
about  50  millimicrolamberts  are  found  at  the  zenith.  Horizon 
values  run  three  times  as  large.  Typical  night  sky  light  contours 
at  College,  Alaska  have  been  reported  in  the  following: 

Seaton,  S.  L.,  Night  Sky  Brightness  at  College,  Alaska,  J.  Geophys. 

Res.  55,43-46  (1950) 
Wilcox,  J.  B.,  A  Survey  of  Night  Sky  Brightness  at  College,  Alaska, 

Trans.  Am.  Geophys.  Union,  31,  540-544  (1950). 

Values  up  to  around  40,000  millimicrolamberts  are  observed 
during  auroral  displays. 

Measurements  of  the  intensity  of  the  light  from  the  zenith 
night  sky  by  the  photoelectric  recording  system  were  begun  in 
September  1949.  The  recording  system  consists  of  an  1P21 
electron  multiplier  type  photocell  feeding  a  two-circuit  Brown 
recorder.  It  gives  a  continuous  record  of  the  intensity  on  charts, 
easy  to  reduce  because  of  having  a  linear  range  from  zero  to 
100,000  millimicrolamberts.  This  range  has  been  found  to 
embrace  all  night  sky  light  intensities  from  the  darkest  sky  well 
into  twilight.  These  measurements  are  supported  by  the  iono- 
spheric and  signal  intensity  contract  of  the  Central  Radio  Prop- 
agation Laboratory.  Results  have  been  reported  in  the  research 
reports  to  the  National  Bureau  of  Standards. 

Seismological  Studies 

Alaska  has  several  regions  of  earthquake  and  volcanic  activity. 
Two  central  regions  lie  along  the  Aleutian  chain  and  in  the 
Tanana  Valley.  The  recent  work  of  Pierre  St.  Amand  on  the 
earthquake  swarm  of  late  1947  has  been  published  in  the  paper 
entitled  "The  Central  Alaska  Earthquake  Swarm  of  October 
1947"  in  the  October  1948  issue  of  the  Transactions  of  the 
American  Geophysical  Union. 


190  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

In  1948  the  seismographs  were  moved  to  the  new  magnetic 
observatory  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  Records  are  still 
being  made  of  all  tremors  and  are  reported  to  Washington.  In 
the  near  future  the  Geophysical  Institute  will  collaborate  with 
this  observatory  and  study  the  data. 

State  of  the  Atmosphere  in  the  Arctic 

Work  on  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  in  the  Arctic  was  pro- 
posed in  1948-49.  The  problem  has  been  attacked  along  several 
lines: 

(1)  The  Exploration  of  the  atmosphere  into  the  mesosphere  by 
probing  with  a  searchlight 

Experiments  to  determine  the  atmospheric  density,  composi- 
tion, temperature,  and  polarization,  in  the  height  range  between 
30  and  100  kilometers  are  underway.  Two  60  inch  General 
Electric  Company  searchlights  were  made  available  through 
the  Airforce  Cambridge  Research  Laboratories.  One  serves  as 
a  transmitter,  but  the  original  carbon  arc  has  been  replaced  by 
three  high  pressure  quartz  mercury  arcs.  The  other  has  been 
modified  so  serve  as  a  receiver;  an  elliptical  mirror  has  been 
mounted  so  as  to  collect  the  light  from  the  large  mirror  and 
focus  it  upon  an  electron  multiplier  type  phototube.  This 
equipment,  with  attached  electronic  components,  is  designed 
to  enable  explorations  up  to  approximately  100  kilometers.  Pre- 
liminary work  at  lower  altitudes  has  given  satisfactory  results. 
In  connection  with  this  project,  the  theory  of  the  scattering  of 
light  by  atmospheric  gases  has  been  re-examined.  It  may  be  of 
interest  to  remark  that  the  best  results  have  been  obtained  at 
the  isolated  stations  when  the  atmosphere  is  clear,  still  and  at 
a  temperature  of  about  40 °  below  zero  Fahrenheit.  The  results 
have  been  given  in  detail  in  the  progress  reports  on  the  State 
of  the  Earth's  Atmosphere  in  the  Arctic.  In  general  the  results 
verify  those  of  the  NACA. 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       191 

(2)  Theoretical  Studies 

Theoretical  studies  on  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  in  the 
arctic  were  started  in  the  spring  of  1948.  They  are  still  in 
progress  and  are  naturally  based  upon  existing  theories  of  the 
upper  atmosphere  and  such  new  postulates  as  have  become 
necessary.  Data  obtained  from  the  programs  in  progress  at  the 
Institute  have  been  used  to  test  the  hypotheses.  Some  of  the 
problems  attacked  are  the  magnitude  of  the  lunar  diurnal  wave 
in  the  ionosphere  300  km.  above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the 
correlations  (almost  inverse)  between  ground  barometric  pres- 
sure and  the  F-layer  semithickness  and  a  delineation  of  wind 
systems  in  the  ionospheric  regions.  (See  references  at  end  of  the 
discussion  on  ionospheric  measurements.) 

(3)  The  determination  of  ozone  in  the  atmosphere 

A  series  of  measurements  of  the  daily  concentration  of  ozone 
in  the  atmosphere  near  the  surface  was  started  in  January  1950 
and  is  still  in  progress.  Ozone  is  absorbed  in  a  solution  of  so- 
dium arsenite  following  a  method  described  at  length  by  Dau- 
villier  (Polar  Year,  Scoresby  Sund,  1932-33).  Comparative  ex- 
periments with  sodium  thiosulfate  indicate  that  the  arsenite 
method  gives  more  uniform  results  due  to  the  greater  stability 
of  these  solutions  at  the  low  concentrations  involved.  These 
daily  determinations  show  certain  extremely  high  values  which 
seem  to  be  significant  even  though  a  few  may  represent  experi- 
mental eccentricities.  However,  certain  exceptional  values  such 
as  those  of  February  8/9  did  correspond  to  an  isothermal  sound- 
ing of  the  atmosphere,  and  are  thus  comparable  to  Dauvillier's 
value  and  probably  have  the  same  explanation.  The  amounts 
of  ozone  present  in  winter  are  nearly  10  times  those  observed 
in  summer.  The  average  values  are  many  times  as  great  as 
those  in  the  temperate  zones.  A  study  of  the  monthly  averages 
shows  a  maximum  in  March  to  April  and  a  secondary  maximum 
in  the  summer.  A  similar  progression  of  values  for  total  ozone 
concentration  in  the  Northern  latitudes  has  been  noted  by 
several  observers. 


192  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

The  method  is  being  studied  critically  in  this  region  of  high 
concentrations  in  order  to  resolve  differences  between  values 
based  on  sodium  thiosulphate  and  sodium  arsenite.  Extended 
studies  of  ozone  are  planned  for  the  future  to  include  measure- 
ment of  total  ozone  using  a  Dobson  Spectrophotometer.  At- 
tempted correlations  with  meteorological  parameters  have  not 
been  particularly  successful.  Observations  at  shorter  intervals 
may  make  correlation  possible.  Information  on  the  circulation 
of  the  atmosphere  may  be  deduced  from,  or  given  explanation 
of,  the  high  values  mentioned.  A  study  is  being  planned  to  test 
the  effect  of  this  high  concentration  of  ozone  on  the  deteriora- 
tion of  materials  exposed  to  the  Arctic  atmosphere.  (For  refer- 
ence to  this  work  see  reports  to  the  Air  Force  Cambridge  Re- 
search Laboratories.) 

(4)  Ionization  studies 

In  recent  weeks  a  Compton  ionization  chamber  has  been 
under  construction.  When  completed  it  will  be  used  to  make 
continuous  records  of  the  total  ionization  at  the  earth's  surface. 
The  records  will  be  correlated  with  auroral  phenomena  and 
later  with  high  altitude  measurements  of  cosmic  radiation  that 
it  is  planned  to  initiate  in  the  future. 

General 

Certain  items  should  be  mentioned  to  make  this  report 
complete. 

During  the  1949-50  season  a  series  of  microwave— meteoro- 
logical studies  were  carried  out  under  the  sponsorship  of  the 
Air  Force  Cambridge  Research  Laboratories. 

The  Signal  Corps,  Department  of  the  Army,  carries  on  an 
intensive  study  of  Radio  Propagation  in  collaboration  with  the 
University. 

No  report  of  work  done  at  the  University  of  Alaska  should  fail 
to  mention  specifically  the  extensive  support  financially  and  by 
loan  of  equipment  from  the  various  agencies  such  as  the  Rocke- 
feller Foundation,  the  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington,  the 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       193 

Air  Force  Cambridge  Research  Laboratories,  the  National  Bu- 
reau of  Standards  and  the  Signal  Corps. 

Future  Work 

Long  term  plans  call  for  a  well-organized  general  program  of 
research  under  the  guidance  of  the  administration  and  staff 
of  the  University  of  Alaska  and  the  Geophysical  Institute.  This 
should  involve  studies  over  the  entire  range  of  subject  matter 
recognized  by  the  American  Geophysical  Union  as  being  within 
the  realm  of  basic  geophysics,  i.e.,  investigations  in  the  eight 
general  areas  of  Terrestrial  Electricity  and  Magnetism,  Seis- 
mology, Oceanography,  Meteorology,  Geodesy,  Hydrology,  Vol- 
canology  and  Tectonophysics,  and  also  in  the  related  fields  of 
Astronomy,  Astrophysics,  Geology,  Geography  and  Radio- 
physics.  Work  in  applied  geophysics  though  not  the  direct 
mission  of  the  Geophysical  Institute  should  not  be  entirely 
omitted  as  it  is  one  of  the  outcomes  of  basic  research.  For  the 
near  future  several  specific  programs  and  projects  are  planned, 
those  nearest  actual  inception  are  described  briefly  herewith. 

High  Altitude  Observatory 

Some  of  the  highest  peaks  in  the  Americas  are  within  Alaska. 
Alaska  lies  in  the  region  of  high  geomagnetic  latitude.  It  is 
crossed  by  the  auroral  zone.  This  makes  an  ideal  situation  for 
certain  studies  at  high  altitudes  including  cosmic  radiation,  the 
aurora  above  the  dense  lower  atmosphere,  other  terrestrial  and 
extra  terrestrial  radiations  at  the  same  altitude  and  high  alti- 
tude meteorology.  The  work  on  cosmic  radiation  may  reveal 
much  that  will  supplement  existing  knowledge  of  it  and  auroral 
phenomena.  More  definite  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the 
particles  existing  at  high  altitudes,  their  energies  and  direc- 
tion of  travel  may  reveal  much  as  to  the  origin  of  particles 
coming  into  the  earth's  atmosphere.  Definite  observations 
over  a  long  period  of  time  are  necessary  to  supplement  the 
short  time  observations  of  balloons,  aircraft  and  rockets.  Work 
at  sea  level  and  in  mines  on  cosmic  radiation  may  also  be 
conducted. 


194  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

A  uroral  Research 

The  few  references  to  auroral  research  already  made  in  this 
report  indicate  a  group  of  specific  problems.  It  should  also  be 
mentioned  that  Daniel  Barbier  and  Don  Williams  of  Naval 
Test  Station  had  made  a  short  spectrographic  study  of  the  au- 
roral radiations  in  the  winter  of  1949.  The  field  of  auroral 
physics  both  from  the  point  of  view  of  exploratory  science  and 
of  practical  applications  might  in  itself  constitute  a  program 
for  the  Geophysical  Institute.  It  may  be  that  the  Geophysical 
Institute  and  the  University  of  Alaska  would  do  well  to  con- 
centrate in  this  area  for  some  time  to  come  as  the  chief  topic 
of  their  scientific  endeavor.  This  winter  Dr.  Louis  Herman  of 
the  Paris  Observatory  will  initiate  a  program  in  this  field.  He 
will  bring  spectroscopes  from  Paris  and  will  seek  to  identify 
many  lines  in  the  spectra  of  the  aurora  that  he  and  his  co- 
workers have  studied  in  the  laboratory.  The  Institute  is  natu- 
rally procuring  some  auxiliary  equipment  for  this  program.  It 
is  planned  to  seek  funds  for  equipment  for  more  extended 
spectroscopic  studies.  Recently  Dr.  Franklin  E.  Roach  of  the 
Naval  Ordnance  Test  Station  visited  College  bringing  plans 
of  his  equipment  for  a  photometric  survey  of  the  aurora  and 
night  sky.  It  is  planned  to  incorporate  work  in  this  field  with 
his  close  cooperation  into  an  enlarged  auroral  program. 

Night  Sky  and  Twilight 

Investigations  of  the  radiation  of  the  night  sky,  distinct  from 
the  aurora  are  planned,  using  the  selective  photometric  tech- 
nique of  Roach  and  co-workers.  The  long  periods  of  twilight 
at  College  give  excellent  opportunity  for  studying  this  some- 
what unknown  field.  Both  topics  will  form  a  part  of  the  world 
wide  survey  of  these  radiations  now  being  planned  by  workers 
in  these  fields. 

Permafrost 

This  is  the  last  of  the  topics  that  will  be  specifically  men- 
tioned.   It  is  of  unusual  interest  and  has  been  the  subject  of 


Geophysical  Institute-Alaska  University— Wilson       195 

numerous  investigations  as  is  indicated  by  the  papers  presented 
at  this  meeting.  The  observatory  has  on  order  portable  seismic 
equipment  which  will  be  available  for  investigations  in  this 
field. 

Micrometeorology  (and  Meteorology) 

The  unusual  frequency  and  scope  of  temperature  inversions 
and  other  localized  phenomena  in  the  Tanana  Valley  are  of 
intense  interest.  They  give  rise  to  unusual  weather  effects,  e.g., 
the  ice  fog  which  is  localized  over  populated  areas.  This  sus- 
pension of  ice  in  air  is  a  hazard  to  air  traffic  over  towns.  An 
investigation  of  its  nature  and  the  conditions  of  its  formation 
and  dispersion  presents  a  problem  of  unusual  interest  to  the 
meteorologists  which  at  the  same  time  is  of  practical  importance 
to  those  who  live  under  its  cover. 

Future  Role  of  the  Geophysical  Institute 
in  Alaskan  Research 

If  the  intent  of  the  originators  of  the  idea  of  establishing  the 
Geophysical  Institute,  as  well  as  the  Public  Laws  providing  the 
authority  and  the  appropriation  be  studied,  it  will  be  evident 
that  the  Institute  is  to  provide  a  center  for  research  in  the  Far 
North  open  on  an  orderly  basis  under  the  control  of  the  Direc- 
tor to  those  institutions  and  other  agencies  which  may  desire  to 
study  basic  geophysics  in  the  Northwest  corner  of  the  North 
American  continent.  Its  facilities,  including  housing,  are  open 
to  all;  however  by  the  Federal  law  an  order  of  priority  has  been 
established.  The  Director  must  administer  this  regulation. 
Federal  agencies,  especially  those  involved  in  the  national  de- 
fense and  security,  are  accorded  first  priority.  At  present  the 
University  of  Alaska,  through  its  program  of  research  by  con- 
tract with  various  Federal  agencies,  utilizes  many  of  the  facili- 
ties. However,  there  is  still  some  unused  space  open  for  addi- 
tional research  through  contract  with  the  University  or  by  those 
agencies  and  responsible  groups  who  care  to  send  research  crews. 
It  should  be  stated  here  that  housing  for  personnel  is  critical 
and  is  at  present  limiting  the  expansion  of  all  activities  at  the 


196  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

University.  Therefore  arrangements  should  be  made  in  ad- 
vance of  arrival  by  any  interested  agencies.  Naturally  recogni- 
tion must  be  given  to  the  priority  of  the  University  of  Alaska 
resulting  from  its  obligations  under  the  Public  Law  to  provide 
in  perpetuity  for  an  administrative  staff  and  for  the  cost  of 
maintenance  of  the  building.  This  cost  must  be  borne  in  part 
or  in  full,  and  without  profit  to  the  University,  by  those  using 
the  facilities.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  if  any  funds  are  made 
available  through  the  operation  of  the  Geophysical  Institute, 
they  must  be  expended  in  the  interest  of  basic  geophysical 
research. 

In  conclusion  attention  should  be  called  to  the  fact  that  the 
Geophysical  Institute  is  a  unique  organization.  It  has  an  advan- 
tageous location.  It  can  under  proper  guidance  develop  into  one 
of  the  most  important  research  establishments  in  its  field  in  the 
world.  It  provides  facilities  in  the  Arctic  region  of  North  Amer- 
ica for  the  study  of  the  earth  in  its  broadest  sense.  These  facili- 
ties are,  subject  to  their  limitations,  open  to  all.  The  aim  of 
the  Institute  should  be  to  become  the  mecca  for  prominent 
scientists  from  all  countries  of  the  world.  As  the  Institute  is  in 
Alaska,  it  will  naturally  seek  to  lend  impetus  first  and  foremost 
to  the  development  of  scientific  knowledge  in  and  about  Alaska. 


AGRO-CLIMATOLOGICAL    INVESTIGATIONS    IN 
THE   PERMAFROST   REGION    OF   THE   TANANA 

VALLEY,  ALASKA 

Basil  M.  Bensin 

Agronomist,  Alaska  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
of  the  University  of  Alaska 

Agricultural  exploration  and  development  of  Alaska  are 
among  the  present  vital  problems  of  national  defense.  Accord- 
ing to  the  last  Census,  only  421,799  acres,  0.1%  of  Alaska's  total 
territory  of  365,681,000  acres  is  farm  land.  The  number  of 
farms  is  not  growing  but  decreasing  due  to  unfavorable  climatic 
and  economic  conditions.  The  greater  part  of  the  food  used 
in  Alaska  is  imported  from  the  States  by  sea,  truck  or  air  freight. 
"Airborne"  eggs,  tomatoes  and  other  perishables  are  among 
the  commodities  sold  in  Alaska  groceries  for  very  high  prices. 

The  potential  agricultural  area  of  Alaska,  as  estimated  by 
G.  W.  Gasser,  Territorial  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  is 
7,098,000  acres,  located  along  the  river  valleys  in  the  interior. 
Most  of  this  area  has  never  been  surveyed  or  explored  sys- 
tematically. Last  year  the  Soil  Conservation  Service  planned 
to  make  a  soil  survey  of  various  agricultural  regions  covering 
an  area  of  4,104,320  acres  during  the  coming  years.  However 
a  soil  survey  alone,  without  proper  climatological  analysis,  is 
not  sufficient  for  proper  evaluation  of  land. 

Climatic  factors  are  an  essential  part  of  the  marginal  agri- 
cultural environment  of  Alaska  requiring  special  investigations 
and  analysis.  The  aim  of  this  report  is  to  present  some  basic 
agro-climatological  data  of  the  Tanana  Valley  region  obtained 
by  the  author  during  six  years  of  observations  and  experiments 
conducted  at  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Alaska.  This  is  part  of  an  agro-ecological  analysis  of 
this  region,  which  is  the  largest  and  the  most  promising  area 
for  agricultural  use,  and  considered  as  a  potential  granary  of 
Alaska. 

197 


ig8  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Geographical  location  and  general  climatological  data  of  the 
region 

The  Tanana  Valley  lies  between  parallels  64  and  66  Northern 
latitude  and  146  and  149  West  longitude,  extending  from  Big 
Delta  River,  approximately  205  miles  in  width  with  an  esti- 
mated area  of  4.5  to  5  million  acres.  About  8%  of  this  area, 
or  400,000  acres  is  probably  suitable  for  agriculture  (Fig.  1). 

The  Alaska  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Alaska  is  located  at  640  51'  N.  latitude  and  1470  52'  W. 
longitude  on  the  gentle  slope  of  a  hill  facing  south  adjoining 
the  flood  plain  bottom  land  of  the  Tanana  valley.  The  mete- 
orological station  is  located  on  this  slope  510  feet  above  sea 
level.  Two  additional  stations  were  established  for  micro- 
climatological  observations  by  the  author  with  the  agreement 
of  the  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau  in  1947:  one  is  on  the  top  of  the 
hill,  elevation  620  feet,  and  the  other  on  the  bottom  land  at 
475  feet  elevation.  A  diary  of  the  agro-climatological  observa- 
tions during  the  growing  season  was  published  in  'Jessen's 
Weekly,"  Fairbanks,  as  a  special  column:  "Alaska's  Nature, 
Climate  and  Agriculture"  from  1946  to  1950.  Besides  regular 
meteorological  data  this  column  described  some  results  of 
acclimatization  work  with  grains,  legumes,  grasses  and  vege- 
table crops,  as  well  as  of  microclimatological  observations  and 
experiments.  Special  attention  was  given  to  phenological  data 
for  native  and  cultivated  plants,  and  to  data  on  soil  temperature 
movements  at  depths  of  6,  12,  24  and  36  inches  both  on  hillside 
and  on  the  bottomland. 

General  climatological  data  for  the  Tanana  valley  recorded 
over  a  period  of  years  by  the  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau  are  given 
on  Table  1,  including  normal  mean  temperatures  and  precipi- 
tation recorded  at  5  stations  of  the  region. 

The  general  character  of  the  climate  of  this  region  is  dis- 
tinctly continental  with  low  annual  precipitation  of  12.8  inches 
and  highest  precipitation  during  the  months  of  July  and 
August.  The  greater  part  of  the  Tanana  valley  is  located  within 
the  July  isotherm  of  6o°F.,  as  is  shown  on  Fig.  2,  being  the 
warmest  spot  in  Alaska  during  the  summer  months.  Due  to  the 


Agro-Climatological  Investigations— Bensin 


!99 


Fig.   i.— Alaska  Agricultural  Regions.    Tanana  Valley  region  (8)  located  in   the 

heart  of  the  interior  of  Alaska. 


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202  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

high  latitude  there  is  a  long  day  of  over  20  hours  during  June 
and  part  of  July  with  a  high  percent  of  possible  sunshine  during 
the  months  of  May  to  August,  as  is  shown  on  Table  2.  There 
are  over  9  hours  of  sunshine  daily  during  these  months. 

During  the  winter  months  days  are  short  and  temperature  is 
low,  sometimes  with  — 5o°F.  and  even  — 6o°F.  recorded  in  the 
mainland  of  Alaska  during  the  month  of  January.  However 
these  low  temperatures  are  associated  with  windless  days  or 
"calms"  occurring  in  December  and  January.  These  calms  and 
clear  sky  make  winter  cold  more  pleasant  than  windy  cold 
weather  in  the  coastal  regions  of  Alaska.  The  cold  winter 
weather  of  the  interior  of  Alaska  is  connected  with  the  Siberian 

Table  2.— Character  of  the  day  and  number  of  sunshine  hours,  normal  at 

Fairbanks,  Alaska 

Month  Clear 

April    11 

May    7 

June   6 

July    7 

August   5 

September  5 

anticyclonic  high  pressure  prevailing  at  this  time  in  the  northern 
hemisphere. 

Prevailing  winds  in  the  valley  are  southwestern  in  summer 
and  northern  in  winter  with  low  velocity  of  5  miles  per  hour. 
The  frostless  period  in  Fairbanks,  located  at  the  center  of  the 
region,  extends  from  May  29  to  August  26,  or  89  days.  How- 
ever there  is  great  variability,  the  season  extending  in  some 
years  over  135  days. 

The  amount  of  the  thermal  units— degree  days  during  the 
growing  season  in  various  parts  of  the  region  is  shown  on 
Table  3.  In  this  table  three  types  of  the  thermal  units  are 
indicated:  (A)  number  of  degree  days  above  freezing  point 
32°F.  (o°C),  (B)  degree  days  about  41  °F.  (5°C),  temperature 
which  is  considered  by  plant  physiologists  as  a  minimum  for 
the  beginning  of  plant  growth,  and   (C)   degree  days  above 


Partly 

Sunshine 

Percent  of 

Cloudy 

Cloudy 

Hours 

possible 

5 

12 

309 

68 

12 

12 

324 

56 

13 

11 

352 

54 

10 

H 

282 

45 

9 

17 

169 

33 

8 

17 

!25 

32 

Agro-Climatological  Investigations— Bensin  203 

50°F.  (io°C.)  which  is  the  minimum  temperature  for  growing 
warm-season  crops,  like  tomatoes,  beans,  etc. 

The  small  number  of  thermal  units  in  this  subarctic  region 
indicate  thermal  deficiency,  as  this  is  the  most  important  en- 
vironmental factor  limiting  the  kind  and  varieties  of  crop  plants 
adapted  for  growing  here.  Only  a  limited  number  of  crops 
and  varieties  could  be  grown  in  this  region,  selected  and  ad- 
justed to  this  environment  by  careful  acclimatization  work. 

According  to  the  German  plant  physiologist  Hildebrandt,  the 
amount  of  thermal  units  needed  for  growing  grain  crops  in  the 

Table  3.— Number  of  thermal  units— degree  days— in  degrees  of  Fahrenheit 

ABC 
Base  Base  Base 

32°F.  (o°C.)    4i°F.  (5°C.)  50°F.  (io°C.)  Geographical 

June,  July,  location  of 

Station  May  to  September  August  the  station 

University  Exp.  Station..   3145  1763  700  64°5i'N.lat. 

i47°52' W.  long. 
Nenana    3177  1778  736  64°33'2N.  lat. 

i49°o6'  W.  long. 
Fairbanks    3145  1808  726  64°5o' N.  lat. 

147°43'  W.  long. 
Manley  Hot  Springs 3040  1640  662  65°oo'N.  lat. 

i50°oo'  W.  long. 
Tanana    2984  1626  644  650 10'  N.  lat. 

i52°o6'  W.  long. 
Mean     3098  1723  693 

temperate  zone  of  Germany  could  be  designated  as  28oo°F. 
(i6oo°C.)  for  barley  and  3828^.  (ig6o°C.)  for  oats.  Accord- 
ing to  G.  T.  Selianinoff,  in  European  Russia  the  requirements 
for  barley  are  3o6o°F.  to  450o°F.  (i7oo°C.  to  25oo°C.),  for 
wheat  3204°F.  to  4o86°F.  (i78o°C.  to  227o°C.)  and  oats 
3492 °F.  to  45oo°F.  (i94o°C.  to  23oo°C.).  These  European 
standards  of  thermal  units  for  grains  are  very  near  to  those  of 
the  American  temperate  zone.  In  the  Wisconsin  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station,  for  example,  average  used  thermal  units 
base  32 °F.  for  the  grains  grown  in  1944-1948  were  as  follows: 
for  barley  2929^.  95  days,  for  wheat  3373°F.  103  days  and  oats 
2823°F.  87  days  from  planting  to  maturity. 


204  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Although  the  number  of  degree  days  in  the  Tanana  valley 
for  growing  grains  is  much  lower  than  in  the  temperate  zone 
of  Europe  and  America,  nevertheless  grains  are  growing  here 
quite  successfully  by  the  use  of  acclimated  varieties  and  strains. 
The  fact  that  days  in  the  high  latitude  sub-arctic  regions  are 
much  longer  than  in  temperate  zones  having  more  hours  of 
solar  and  sky  radiation,  particularly  during  the  month  of 
June,  has  a  profound  effect  on  plant  growth  and  its  pheno- 
logical  phases.  Length  of  the  solar  radiation  hours  during  the 
day  in  June  is  essential  for  native  and  cultivated  plants  which 
are  in  the  blossoming  phase  at  this  time.   During  the  month  of 

Table  4.— Normal  number  of  the  solar  and  sky  radiation  units  in  gram  calories 
per  square  centimeter  (gmcl/cm2)  Fairbanks,  Alaska 

Daily  Total 

Month  mean  per  month 

May     477  i4.787 

June    499  14,970 

July   447  !3>857 

August    314  9,734 

September    l7&b  5>295 

Total  per  5  months 58,943 

Mean  per  month 478 

June  solar  and  sky  radiation  recording  began  in  Fairbanks  at 
4:  00  a.m.,  while  in  Madison,  Wisconsin,  at  10: 00  a.m.  and  con- 
tinued to  7:30  p.m.  However  the  total  number  of  solar  and 
sky  radiation  units  is  higher  at  Madison  than  in  Fairbanks 
(Table  4  and  Fig.  3). 

Our  phenological  observations  in  this  region  during  the 
last  six  years  indicate  that  most  of  the  native  sedges  (Eriophorum 
sp.  Carex  sp.),  grasses  (Poa  arctica,  Calamagrostis  canadensis, 
Bromus  arcticus,  Bromus  pumpclianus)  and  legumes  (Astragalus 
sp.)  have  completed  their  blossoming  during  this  month.  Our 
perennial  fire  weed  (Epilobium  augustifolium)  blossoms  in  the 
first  part  of  July,  coinciding  with  the  beginning  of  heading  of 
our  barley  and  wheat. 


Agro-Climatological  Investigations— Bensin 


205 


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206  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Soil  Climate  of  the  Region 

The  greater  part  of  the  land  of  the  Tanana  valley  lies  on  the 
permanently  frozen  ground— permafrost.  This  is  a  very  signifi- 
cant environmental  factor  for  agricultural  land  use.  It  has  a 
profound  effect  on  the  soil  climate,  soil  temperature  and  soil 
moisture  as  well  as  upon  the  soil  type  and  microflora.  Our 
information  about  these  facts  is  scarce  and  fragmentary. 

Our  observations  and  experiments  were  limited  chiefly  to 
soil  temperature  and  pedothermal  deficiency.  During  the  sea- 
son we  recorded  soil  temperature  variations  at  various  positions 

Table  5.— Soil  temperature  profiles  at  the  depth  of  6  and  12  inches,  May-August 

1949,  degree  days  above  ^i°F. 

A.  On  the  Hillside  Field— Elevation  510  feet  (College,  Alaska). 

(Degree  days  in  degrees  of  Fahrenheit) 

May  25-31        June  JU1Y  August  Total 

Depth  6"   12  174  415  385  986 

Depth  12"   — 1.4  148  379  330  867 

i853°F. 

B,  On  the  Bottomland— Elevation  475  feet  (College,  Alaska). 

Depth  6"  — 0.9  19  283  264  561 

Depth  12"  —9.5  —123.5  !40-5  "37  lU 

7o5°F. 

in  the  hillside  field  and  bottomland  of  the  Station.  The  hillside 
field  was  cleared  in  1907  and  the  permafrost  table  is  at  40  feet, 
as  has  been  found  by  digging  a  well,  while  on  the  bottomland, 
which  was  cleared  15  years  ago,  the  permafrost  table  is  lowered 
only  to  15  feet.  Soil  temperature  in  both  fields  during  the  sea- 
son is  quite  different  as  shown  on  Table  5.  Soil  temperature 
on  the  bottomland,  particularly  at  the  depth  of  12  inches,  is 
considerably  lower  than  on  the  hillside  field,  the  total  difference 
being  only  38%  of  the  hillside  temperatures.  A  temperature  of 
50  °F.  was  reached  at  the  depth  of  6  inches  on  the  hillside  July  3 
and  on  the  bottomland  July  9,  while  at  the  depth  of  12  inches 
on  the  bottomland  the  highest  was  48 °F.  reached  July  24. 
These  temperatures  are  evidently  correlated  with  the  mois- 


Agro-Climatological  Investigations— Bensin  207 

ture  content  of  the  soil.  While  soil  on  the  hillside  is  drying 
rapidly  during  the  month  of  June  after  snow  melting  in  April 
and  early  May,  soil  on  the  bottomland  retains  moisture  because 
the  snow  melting  and  refrosting  of  the  soil  on  the  flat  land  is 
slower.  As  a  matter  of  fact  water  stands  on  the  frozen  soil  until 
the  first  part  of  June. 

During  a  dry  season,  like  in  1946,  temperature  on  the  hillside 
field  at  the  depth  of  6  inches  reached  65 °F.  on  July  10,  as  shown 
on  Fig.  4.  On  the  bottomland  soil  temperature  movement  is 
much  slower  even  in  a  warm  season  as  1950,  as  shown  on  Fig.  5. 

During  the  long  warm  season  of  1949,  with  a  rainy  June,  the 
highest  soil  temperature  on  both  fields  was  observed  in  the 
middle  of  July,  as  shown  on  Fig.  6. 

In  most  cases  soil  temperature  in  the  lower  levels  moves 
slowly  and  root  movement  is  limited  by  the  low  temperature  of 
the  soil.  As  a  result  the  root  system  of  crop  plants  is  bound  to 
be  very  shallow  which  is  a  quite  distinct  morphological  feature 
of  the  regional  types  of  all  crop  plants  including  vegetable 
crops,  grains  and  perennial  legumes  like  alfalfa  and  clover 
(Bensin,  1928).  This  cool  soil  also  has  an  effect  upon  the  potato, 
tubers  being  flat  and  roots  turning  toward  the  south.  Pedo- 
thermal  deficiency  therefore  is  among  the  basic  environmental 
factors  of  this  subarctic  permafrost  region,  limiting  agricultural 
land  use  and  production  of  several  field  crops  of  the  temperate 
zone  such  as  soy  beans,  corn,  sweet  potatoes  and  warm  season 
vegetables  such  as  tomatoes,  etc.  The  problem  of  warming  soil 
by  the  proper  cultural  methods  is  basic  for  Alaskan  agriculture 
and  horticulture. 

Microclimate  Problems  and  Experiments 

Microclimatogical  observations  and  experiments  made  by  the 
author  in  the  Tanana  valley  in  1945-1950  indicate  the  great 
significance  of  the  microclimatic  factors  of  the  sub-arctic  en- 
vironment for  agricultural  land  use.  By  clearing  land  we 
actually  are  creating  a  new  microclimate  affecting  soil  tempera- 
ture and  lowering  the  permafrost  table.  Topography,  location 
and  dimensions  of  cleared  field  are  among  the  microclimatic 


208 


Alaskan  Science  Conference 


SO/L    TEMPERATURE    PROF/LES     8ENCHLAND      1946,    COLLEGE,  ALASKA 
SOUTHERN     SLOPE,     ELE VAT/ON    S/O    FEET. 

JUNE                          JULY                    AUGUST            SEPT. 

65°  F 
63" 

S    /O    tf  20  2S  SO 

S    /O  /S  20  2S  SO 

X   /O  /S  20  25  30 

s  /o  /s 

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Fig.  4.— Soil  temperature  profiles  at  depths  of  6,  12,  and  24  inches, 

College,  Alaska. 


1946, 


Agro-Climatological  Investigations— Bensin  209 


SO/L   TEMPERATURE    PROP/LES  BOTTOM  LAND  /S>50,  COLLEGE,  ALASKA 

ELE\/A  T/OA/    4  7S  FEE  T. 

MAY             JUNE                     JULY                  AUGUST 

25 SO 

S    /O  AT  20  25 30 

S    tO  /S  20  2S30 

5  w  /s  202s  30 

60°F 

58° 

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Fir,.  5.— Soil  temperature  profiles  at  depths  of  6,  12,  and  24  inches,  1950, 

College,  Alaska. 


210 


Alaskan  Science  Conference 


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Agro-Climatological  Investigations— Bensin  211 

features  to  be  considered.  The  presence  of  high  hills  or  air 
drainage  around  the  fields  has  a  profound  effect  upon  crop 
growth  during  the  growing  season  and  particularly  on  air  tem- 
perature. Temperature  records  made  during  the  month  of 
July  1949  on  our  3  stations  at  different  elevations  of  620,  510 
and  475  feet  indicate  the  highest  temperature  on  the  southern 
slope  at  510  feet  during  the  day,  as  is  shown  on  Fig.  7.  During 
the  night  higher  temperature  was  noted  on  the  top  of  the  hill, 
elevation  620  feet,  while  the  bottomland  temperature  recorded 
was  higher  than  on  the  hillside.  This  is  probably  due  to  night 
radiation  of  dark  colored  soil  of  the  bottomland  field. 

The  southern  slope  of  the  land  is  the  warmest  spot,  and 
should  be  used  for  agriculture  with  considerable  advantage. 
On  uncleared  land  natural  vegetation  of  the  southern  slopes 
is  conspicuously  different  from  vegetation  of  northern  slopes, 
in  this  region.  Aspen  trees  (Populus  tremuloides)  and  high 
bush  cranberry  (Viburnum  pauciflorum)  can  be  considered  as 
indicators  of  the  warmer  land  of  the  southern  slopes,  where  the 
permafrost  table  is  low  and  the  peat  moss  (Sphagnum  sp.) 
associated  with  a  high  permafrost  table  is  absent. 

We  can  create  favorable  microclimatological  conditions  on 
the  limited  areas  of  land  used  for  agriculture.  Several  experi- 
ments in  this  direction  were  originated  and  conducted  by  the 
author  at  the  Alaska  Agricultural  Experiment  Station.  The 
main  object  of  these  experiments  was  to  overcome  thermal  and 
pedothermal  deficiency  of  the  region  in  small  field  and  garden 
areas.  These  experiments  comprise  (a)  removal  of  snow  from 
the  field  and  garden  early  in  the  spring  ahead  of  the  season, 
and  (b)  increasing  soil  and  air  temperature  in  the  small  garden 
areas  by  the  use  of  coal  dust  and  specially  constructed  solar 
radiators  and  reflectors. 

Experiments  on  the  removal  of  snow  were  conducted  in 
1947-1949  both  on  hillside  and  bottomland  fields.  Local  lignite 
dust  of  the  Healy  Valley  Coal  Mine  has  been  used  for  this  pur- 
pose. In  1947  coal  dust  was  scattered  on  one  yard  squares  with 
application  of  two  pounds  of  lignite  per  square  at  the  end  of 
March.    Bright  sunshine  in  the  first  days  of  April  cause  rising 


212 


Alaskan  Science  Conference 


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Agro-Climatological  Investigations— Bensin 


213 


temperature  on  the  surface  of  snow  upon  which  lignite  was 
scattered.  A  rise  of  temperature  of  40  above  the  check  plots 
was  observed  in  the  afternoon  hours.  As  a  result  all  snow  on 
the  coal  dust  coated  plots  melted  within  12-14  days  while  in 
the  adjacent  area  depth  of  snow  remained  about  24  inches. 

In  1948  smaller  amounts  of  coal  dust  were  used  per  square 
with  similar  results.    Local  gardeners  interested  in  this  experi- 


SOLAR    RAD/AT  OR 


SOLAR    REFLECTOR 
AL  UM/NUM 


SOLAR   RAD/ATOR- 
REFLECTOR 


SOLAR    PAD /ATOP -REEL  ECTOR 
PLACED  OAL    THE  R/D6E 

Fig.  8.— Solar  radiators  and  reflectors  for  growing  warm-season  vegetables. 


ment  were  vising  about  1,000  pounds  per  acre  of  the  same 
material.  This  removal  of  snow  enables  the  beginning  of  the 
field  work  of  the  season  10  to  14  days  earlier.  During  the  same 
seasons  coal  dust  has  been  used  in  gardens  by  spreading  along 
the  seed  beds  and  east-west  ridges  with  the  side  exposed  to  the 
south  coated  with  coal  dust.  This  method  increased  soil  tem- 
perature near  the  surface  up  to  40.  Response  of  the  vegetable 
crops  (particularly  beans  and  onions)  was  very  favorable. 

In  1948  experiments  on  growing  cucumbers  in  black  painted 
25-gallon  tubs  with  white  painted  reflectors  placed  behind  them 


214  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

were  quite  encouraging.  The  crop  of  pickling  cucumbers 
planted  in  the  tubs  was  good.  In  1949  galvanized  iron  reflectors 
painted  with  aluminum  paint  were  used  successfully  in  the 
garden  for  growing  beans.  In  1950  several  types  of  solar  radi- 
ators and  reflectors  were  successfully  tested  with  various  warm- 
season  vegetable  crops.  Tomatoes,  squashes,  pumpkins  and 
cucumbers  were  grown  in  the  tubs  and  on  the  ground  with 
radiators  and  reflectors,  and  over  100  pounds  of  tomatoes  were 
harvested.  By  means  of  these  reflectors  and  radiators  tempera- 
ture of  the  soil  was  increased  150  above  the  maximum  tempera- 
ture of  air  near  the  surface. 

The  real  aim  of  the  solar  radiators  and  reflectors  is  to  obtain 
the  additional  amount  of  light  and  heat  needed  for  growing 
warm-season  vegetables  in  this  region  and  in  other  parts  of 
Alaska.  All  these  vegetable  crops  require  mean  temperatures 
above  50°F.  (io°C),  and  more  intensive  light  than  the  normal 
of  subarctic  latitudes  since  they  are  of  subtropical  origin. 
Assuming  that  the  mean  temperature  for  growing  tomatoes  is 
6o°F.  we  need  during  the  months  of  June,  July  and  August 
920  degree  days  (base  5o°F.),  while  we  have  only  about  700 
(see  Table  3).  Therefore  it  is  necessary  to  increase  the  tem- 
perature of  air  and  soil  at  least  20%.  This  can  be  achieved  by 
means  of  solar  radiators  and  reflectors.  Reflectors  and  radiators 
and  coal  dust  scattered  on  the  soil  surface  actually  create  a 
convection  current  surrounding  the  growing  parts  of  the  plant 
while  the  heated  soil  surface  stimulates  the  growth  of  the  root 
system.  Additional  light  intensity  obtained  by  reflection  stimu- 
lates the  photosynthetic  activity  of  the  plant  and  assists  in  the 
accumulation  of  carbohydrates  in  the  plant  as  manifested  by  the 
remarkable  increase  in  leaf  area.  Aluminum  foil  could  be  used 
to  advantage  for  construction  of  hot  beds,  cold  frames  and 
green  houses  in  Alaska  with  solar  reflectors. 

Climate  and  Crops 

In  agronomic  work  with  field  crops  in  Alaska  environmental 
climatic  factors  are  of  primary  importance.  Most  of  this  work 
is  inevitably  devoted  to  the  acclimatization  of  the  introduced 


Agro-Climatological  Investigations— Bensin  215 

seeds  and  plants  from  other  regions  with  analogous  climatic 
environment.  By  ecological  tests  and  study  of  the  best  adapted 
varieties  we  are  trying  to  establish  standard  varieties  for  the 
region.  These  varieties  have  definite  ecological  and  morpho- 
logical features  and  are  described  by  the  ecologists  as  ecotypes 
(Turreson  1922),  agrotypes  (McGregor  1927)  or  as  regional 
agrotypes— chorotypes  (Bensin  1928).  Character  and  behavior 
of  these  chorotypes  is  the  subject  of  careful  experimental  in- 

Table  6.— Number  of  degree  days  for  maturity  of  grain  crops  in  1949  and  1950, 

College,  Alaska 

!949  1950 


Degree  days 

Days  to 

1 
Degree 

Base  32°F. 

maturity 

days 

2256 

9° 

2160 

2167 

1726 

76 

1824 

1625 

»97> 

86 

2064 

Kind  and  variety  Days  to 

of  grain  crops  maturity 

Wheat  average    99 

Siberian   No.    1 95 

Barley   average    76 

Olli     73 

Oats  average    85 

Table  7.— Solar  radiation  units  per  one  pound  of  grain  in  1949,  College,  Alaska, 

Hillside  Field 

Total  solar  Yield 

Days  to         radiation  bushels  Gmcl/cm2 

Kind  and  variety                             maturity       gmcl/cm2  per  A.  per  1  lb. 

Wheat    average    99                39.822  40.4  16.4 

Siberian  No.   1 95                39,573  37.0  17.8 

Barley  average   76                32,539  47a  14.3 

olli     73  3M50  54-7  ii-8 

Oats    average    85  35-937  101.1  11.2 

vestigations  and  analyses.  Climatic  relations  comprising  pheno- 
logical  observations  and  the  study  of  responses  to  the  environ- 
ment and  to  the  seasonal  variability  during  wet  and  dry  seasons 
is  the  first  step.  The  best  adapted  chorotypes  indicate  a  consider- 
able stability  manifested  by  the  length  of  the  phenological 
phases  and  production  of  grain,  while  less  well  adapted  varieties 
indicate  great  fluctuations  in  growth  and  production. 

A  summary  of  the  data  for  this  ecological  analysis  of  the 
acclimatization  of  grain  chorotypes  for  the  grain  varieties  grown 
on  the  fields  of  the  Alaska  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  in 
1949  and  1950  are  shown  on  Tables  6  and  7.    The  data  show 


216  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

that  the  degree  day  requirements  for  growing  grains  in  the 
Tanana  valley  are  much  below  the  standards  of  the  temperate 
zones  of  Europe  and  America,  barley  being  earliest  and  the  best 
adapted  cereal  crop  here.  All  adapted  sub-arctic  grain  varieties 
mature  in  considerably  shorter  time  than  in  the  temperate  zone. 
This  shortening  of  the  growing  period  is  evidently  associated 
with  the  second  phenological  phase  extending  from  emergence 
to  first  heading.  Adapted  chorotypes  head  in  40-50  days  after 
planting  or  30-40  days  after  emergence,  while  in  the  Wisconsin 
Experiment  Station,  for  example,  their  chorotype  grain  varieties 
head  in  55  to  70  days  after  planting.  Consequently  Wisconsin 
grown  grains  use  more  degree  days  and  solar  radiation  units 
for  grain  production  than  the  Tanana  valley  grain  chorotypes. 
This  is  possibly  explained  by  the  longer  hours  of  solar  radiation 
during  the  month  of  June  in  Alaska.  Solar  radiation  may  be 
considered  to  stimulate  early  heading  of  grain  crops  in  the 
beginning  of  July. 

Another  feature  of  the  Tanana  valley  grown  grains  is  the 
high  food  value  with  the  highest  protein  content  on  the  Ameri- 
can continent.  By  a  series  of  chemical  analyses  made  by  several 
private  laboratories  and  by  official  tests  by  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  average  content  of  protein  in  1948-1950 
in  our  grains  was:  wheat  17.1;  barley  14.0;  oats  15.3. 

Analyses  of  the  same  varieties  of  grain  tested  at  Matanuska 
Experiment  Station  were  considerably  lower:  wheat  11.5;  barley 
10.4;  and  oats  10.4.  High  quality  of  grain,  therefore,  is  a  char- 
acteristic of  the  Tanana  valley  regional  types  of  grain,  the 
chorotypes,  developed  by  the  complex  environmental  factors 
and  particularly  by  the  climatic  elements  of  this  regional  en- 
vironment. 

Long  summer  days  with  long  hours  of  solar  radiation  also 
have  a  definite  effect  on  several  biennial  vegetable  plants,  like 
spinach,  Chinese  cabbage  and  radishes,  which  tend  to  become 
annual.  This  behavior  of  crop  plants  in  the  sub-arctic  region 
is  just  the  opposite  to  the  tropical  zones  where  crop  plants  like 
flax  and  cotton  tend  to  become  perennial. 


Agro-Climatological  Investigations— Bensin  217 

Summary  and  Recommendations 

Agro-climatological  investigations  should  be  considered  as 
a  basic  part  of  agricultural  explorations  and  research  in  Alaska 
and  should  be  included  in  programs  of  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Stations  and  Soil  Conservation  surveys. 

Microclimatological  or  micrometeorological  investigations 
also  should  be  arranged  in  cooperation  with  above-mentioned 
institutions. 

Permafrost  investigations  in  relation  to  climate  should  be 
coordinated  with  the  Army  and  agricultural  projects  in  Alaska. 

U.  S.  Weather  Bureau  should  secure  needed  equipment  for 
agroclimatological  investigations  such  as  soil  thermographs, 
thermo  couples,  sunshine  recording  apparatus  and  soil  moisture 
apparatus  in  cooperation  with  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture. 

Specially  trained  personnel  for  agricultural  climatological 
work  in  Alaska  could  be  secured  by  arrangements  with  agri- 
cultural colleges  where  an  agricultural  climatology  department 
has  been  established. 

Agro-climatological  publications  in  foreign  languages  should 
be  secured  for  Alaska's  libraries. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Baum,  W.  A.  and  A.  Court.  Research  status  and  needs  in  micro- 

climatology.    Trans.    Geophysical   Union.    50   (4):    488-493. 
August  1949. 

2.  Bensin,   B.   M.    Characteristique   agro-ecologique,   description 

des  sortes  locales  du  mai's— les  chorotypes.    Bui.  Association 
Intern.  Select.  Plant.  /:  172-180.    Paris  1928. 

3.  Bensin,  B.  M.   Agroecological  analysis  of  the  crop  plants  root 

system  in  the  Tanana  Valley  region  of  Alaska.  Bui.  Ecol.  Soc. 
Amer.  27  (4):  54.  April  1946. 

4.  Bensin,  B.  M.  Alaska's  nature,  climate  and  agriculture,  Season's 

Calendar  1946,  1947,  1948,  1949,  1950  in  "Jessen's  Weekly." 
Fairbanks,  Alaska. 

5.  Bensin,  B.  M.  Thermal  and  photo-coefficients  for  various  crops 

and  varieties  grown  in  Alaska.  Bui.  Ecol.  Soc.  Amer.  30  (2): 
27.   June  1949. 


218  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

6.  Bensin,  B.  M.    Problems  of  agricultural  microclimatology  in 

Alaska,  The  Farthest  North  Collegian,  30  (1),  5-8.    March 

195°- 

7.  Bensin,  B.  M.   Growing  warm-season  vegetables  in  Alaska.  Ext. 

Bui.  452,  Agr.  Ext.  Service,  University  of  Alaska.    1951. 

8.  Geiger,  R.  Das  Klima  der  bodennahen  Luftschicht.   F.  Vieweg 

und  Sohns.    Braunschweig  1942. 

9.  Hand,  I.  F.    Weekly  mean  values  of  daily  total  solar  and  sky 

radiation.    Technical  paper  No.   11,  U.S.  Weather  Bureau. 
Washington,  D.  C.  1949. 

10.  Litzenberger,  S.  A.  and  B.  M.  Bensin.    Golden  rain  oats  for 

Alaska,  Circular  16,  Alaska  Agr.  Exp.  Station,  University  of 
Alaska.   Palmer,  Alaska. 

11.  Litzenberger,  S.  A.  and  B.  M.  Bensin.  Edda  barley  for  Alaska, 

Cir.  17,  Alaska  Agr.  Exp.  Station,  University  of  Alaska.  1951. 


WATER  SUPPLY  PROBLEMS  IN  LOW 
TEMPERATURE  AREAS 

Amos  J.  Alter,  Director 

Division  of  Sanitation  and  Engineering 

Alaska  Department  of  Health 

Juneau,  Alaska 

"Ice"  water  is  the  rule  in  the  Arctic.  Melted  ice  and  snow 
are  the  most  common  sources  of  water  for  domestic  and  house- 
hold purposes.  Why  must  the  water  be  melted  from  ice  and 
snow? 

Readily  available  supplies  of  pure  water  for  year  around  use 
are  scarce  in  the  regions  of  low  temperature  and  permafrost. 
The  existence  of  such  a  supply  of  water  may  govern  the  loca- 
tion of  communities,  industry  and  development  of  low  tempera- 
ture regions.  Although  problems  of  location  of  adequate  and 
safe  sources  are  of  prime  importance,  construction  of  water 
works  facilities  and  operation  of  them  under  low  temperature 
conditions  present  almost  equally  significant  problems. 

The  low  temperature  regions  are  considered  to  consist  prin- 
cipally of  that  geographic  area  north  of  latitude  58 °  North. 
Permanently  frozen  ground  or  "permafrost"  exists  in  a  large 
part  of  this  geographic  area,  but  it  is  not  entirely  limited  to 
this  area.  Permanently  frozen  ground  is  frozen  continuously 
from  a  few  feet  to  several  hundred  feet  in  depth.  However, 
above  the  permafrost  a  shallow  layer  of  ground  from  a  foot  to 
several  feet  in  thickness  thaws  seasonally,  but  permanently 
frozen  ground  may  be  found  below  this.  Near  the  southern 
limits  of  the  permafrost  region,  a  thin  layer  of  thawed  soil  may 
be  found  to  exist  continuously  between  the  seasonally  thawed 
stratum  and  the  permanently  frozen  strata.  Also  in  this  south- 
ern sector  of  the  permafrost  zone,  portions  of  the  ground  may 
be  found  to  be  completely  thawed  and  void  of  permafrost. 
Many  thawed  areas  may  be  found  along  water  courses,  lakes, 

219 


220  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

and  at  points  where  the  quantity  and  temperature  of  ground 
water  exhibit  a  heat  of  fusion  sufficient  to  prevent  freezing  of 
the  earth. 

The  areal  extent  of  permafrost  is  equal  to  about  one  fifth  of 
the  land  surface  of  the  world.  About  60  percent  of  the  land 
surface  of  Alaska  is  underlaid  with  permafrost.  Climatological 
data  presented  in  Table  1  are  characteristic  of  the  low  tempera- 
ture areas  discussed  in  this  paper. 

Low  temperatures  and  permafrost  present  many  obstacles  to 
providing  a  community  water  supply  and  distribution  system 
of  the  type  common  in  continental  United  States.  These  ob- 
stacles are  grouped  and  discussed  as  follows: 

1.  Location  of  continuous  and  adequate  water  sources  capable  of 
supplying  the  demands  of  industry  and  communities. 

2.  Production  of  water  which  is  palatable  and  free  from  contam- 
ination. 

3.  Continuous  distribution  of  water  under  pressure. 

4.  Construction  of  stable  structures  in  permanently  frozen  ground 
and  use  of  methods,  materials  and  equipment  which  are  suited 
to  use  under  low  temperature  conditions. 

5.  Development  of  low  temperature  area  water  supply  methods 
which  are  safe  and  practical. 

Locating  a  Community  Water  Supply  in  Permafrost 

Melted  snow  and  ice,  surface  water,  rain  water,  water  from 
the  shallow  strata  of  the  ground  and  ground  water  from  deep 
wells  have  all  been  considered  as  sources  of  water  in  the  low 
temperature  regions.  Examples  of  all  of  these  sources  may  be 
found  in  the  Arctic,  but  melted  ice  and  snow  are  by  far  the  most 
common  sources. 

Numberless  small  lakes  and  ponds  exist  throughout  the 
tundra  portions  of  the  permafrost  regions.  The  Eskimo  depends 
largely  on  water  dipped  from  these  sources  during  the  warmest 
months  of  the  year.  In  the  fall  he  cuts  ice  from  these  sources 
and  stores  it  for  his  use  during  the  long  winter.  Ice  is  either 
stored  in  a  permafrost  cellar  or  stacked  on  the  ground  at  a  con- 
venient location. 


Water  Supply  Problems  in  Alaska— Alter  221 

Table  i.—Low  temperature  areas 

Mean  Mean  Extr. 

Jan.  July  Min.  Annual 

Latitude  Temp.  Temp.  Temp.  Precip. 

Station                                                  °          '  °F.           °F.  °F.  In. 

Alaska 

Allakaket    66     34  N.  — 20.3  57.7  — 70  1310 

Anchorage    61     13  N.  11.2  57.0  — 36  1432 

Barrow    71     23  N.  — 17.0  40.2  — 56  4.34 

Cordova    60    32  N.  27.2  54.8  — 19  14543 

Dillingham     59     03  N.  16a  55.6  — 41  26.12 

Fairbanks    64     51  N.  — 11.6  60.0  — 66  11.87 

Fort  Yukon    66     34  N.  —21.6  61.2  —78  6.88 

Holy  Cross   62     16  N.  —  0.4  56.5  — 58  20.06 

Juneau     58     18  N.  27.5  56.6  — 15  83.25 

Kotzebue 66     55  N.  —  9.2  52.4  — 58  6.32 

Matanuska     61     30  N.  12.6  57.7  — 36  1561 

Nome     64     30  N.  3.4  49.8  — 47  17.82 

Nulato     64     43  N.  —  7.5  57.5  —62  16.50 

Canada 

Chesterfield  Inlet   63     45  N.  26.5  47.2  — 17 

Fort  Good   Hope 66     25  N.  — 22.9  59.6  — 79  10.45 

Hebron    58     12  N.  —  5.7  47.1  — 42  1930 

Greenland 

Angmagsalik    65     36  N.  16.9  43.9  —23  35.67 

Godthaab     64     10  N.  14.4  43.9  — 20  23.73 

Ivigtut     61     12  N.  18.5  49.8  — 20  44-85 

Jakobshavn     69     13  N.  —  0.4  45.9  — 46  9.09 

Upernivik     72     47  N.  —  7.6  41.0  — 44  9.00 

Iceland 

Vestmanno    63     26  N.  34.5  52.5  —  6  52.91 

Finland 

Helsingfors     60     12  N.  21.4  63.8  — 23  27.75 

Norway 

Bergen     60     24  N.  34.2  57.9  5  81.02 

Oslo    59     55  N.  24.1  62.6  — 26  23.21 

Tromso     69     39  N.  26.6  51.8  —   1  41-35 

Trondhjem     63     26  N.  27.3  57.2  — 15  31-09 

Vardo     70     22  N.  21.9  47.5  —11  25.86 


222  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Table  i.—Low  temperature  areas  (Continued) 

Mean  Mean  Extr. 

Jan.  July         Min.  Annual 

Latitude           Temp.  Temp.  Temp.  Precip. 

Station                                                  °          '                °F.           °F.           °F.  In. 

Spitzbergen 
Green    Harbor    78     02  N.  2.7        41.7         — 57         1 1.68 

Sweden 

Haparanda     65     50  N.  11.4        58.1         — 40         18.41 

Stensele     65     04  N.  8.7         54.5         —49         17.32 

Stockholm     59     21  N.  26.6        62.6         — 22         18.64 

Union  of  Soviet  Socialist  Republics 

Archangel     64  34  N.  8.1  59.5  —49  17.21 

Bulun    70  45  N.  —40.0  52.7  —75  8.75 

Dudinka    69  07  N.  — 20.7  56.3  — 70  8.40 

Leningrad     59  56  N.  18.3  63.5  —39  20.44 

Nizhne    Kolymsk    68  32  N.  — 40.0  53.8  —57  17.58 

Novo  Mariiski  Post 64  45  N.  — 10.5  51.6  — 50  7.45 

Okhotsk     59  21  N.  — 10.5  54.3  — 50  11.22 

Olekminsk     60  22  N.  — 31.9  66.9  — 76  9.47 

Ust   Zylma    65  27  N.  —  0.8  57.9  — 61  16.38 

Verkhoyansk     67  33  N.  — 58.2  59.9  —90  5.05 

Vologda     59  15  N.  10.4  63.7  — 42  20.04 

Yeniseisk     58  27  N.  —  8.5  67.3  —65  16.81 

Special  melting  tanks  equipped  with  steam  coils  have  been 
provided  in  some  schools,  hospitals  and  government  buildings, 
but  in  the  majority  of  homes  ice  is  melted  by  placing  it  in  a 
barrel  in  the  heated  home  and  leaving  it  there  to  be  used  later 
as  water.  Fresh  water  lakes  and  streams  are  plentiful  and  the 
collection  of  ice  does  not  usually  present  a  problem.  However, 
fresh  water  ice  is  occasionally  obtained  from  the  sea  ice,  or  snow 
is  melted.  Relatively  high  cost  of  fuel  and  the  labor  necessary 
to  procure  an  adequate  melted  ice  or  snow  supply  make  such 
a  method  impractical  for  obtaining  large  quantities  of  water 
to  serve  a  community. 

Many  shallow  lakes  and  ponds  freeze  to  the  bottom  and  do 
not  afford  a  continuous  source  of  supply.  Bodies  of  water  more 
than  eight  to  ten  feet  deep  may  be  expected  to  provide  some 
water  throughout  the  entire  year.    In  most  places  ice  cover 


Water  Supply  Problems  in  Alaska— Alter  223 

probably  does  not  exceed  eight  feet.  However,  much  of  the 
storage  space  in  a  lake  is  unusable  when  a  thick  ice  cover 
exists.  The  majority  of  lakes  would  probably  not  provide  ade- 
quate storage  for  a  community  of  more  than  a  few  people.  Lakes 
which  are  fed  by  underground  springs  or  receive  an  appreciable 
amount  of  shallow  subsurface  drainage  may  provide  an  ade- 
quate supply  of  water.  A  thorough  study  of  lake  depths,  tem- 
peratures and  geological  features  is  obligatory.  Many  lakes  are 
deceiving  in  that  they  are  principally  the  result  of  retarded 
drainage  through  permafrost  rather  than  evidence  of  a  large 
source  of  water. 

Broad,  treeless  expanses  of  permanently  frozen  water  sheds 
tributary  to  streams  in  much  of  the  low  temperature  areas  allow 
rain  water  to  run  rapidly  into  the  principal  streams.  In  general 
300-400  square  miles  of  watershed  are  necessary  to  maintain 
continuous  flow  in  a  stream.  Facilities  are  necessary  for  storage 
of  water  on  small  streams  if  a  constant  source  of  supply  is  main- 
tained. Both  conventional  and  underground  dams  have  been 
used  to  provide  storage. 

Annual  precipitation  is  very  small  in  many  parts  of  the 
low  temperature  areas  and  cistern  water  supplies  are  usually 
inadequate. 

Water  which  percolates  down  into  the  soil  collects  in  the  soil 
at  the  top  of  the  permafrost  or  permafrost  table.  In  the  south- 
ern sector  of  the  permafrost  zone,  where  there  is  a  continuously 
thawed  stratum  between  the  seasonally  frozen  layer  and  the 
permafrost  table,  appreciable  amounts  of  this  "supra-perma- 
frost"  water  collects.  Many  shallow  wells  draw  water  from  this 
source.  Such  shallow  sources  are  not  dependable  and  usually 
do  not  provide  sufficient  quantities  of  water  for  a  community. 

Hot  springs  and  other  spring  water  supplies  which  issue  from 
below  the  permafrost  may  be  found  in  some  places.  These 
sources  may  be  detected  at  unusually  warm  areas  of  a  lake  or 
stream  or  may  exhibit  themselves  as  water  within  the  perma- 
frost (intrapermafrost  water).  Extensive  icing  or  mounding  at 
the  surface  of  the  ground  may  also  indicate  the  location  of  a 
spring  source.    Deep  spring  sources  with  appreciable  discharge 


224  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

and  little  seasonal  variation  in  water  temperature  offer  much 
promise  as  a  continuous  source  of  water  for  a  community. 

At  several  points  in  interior  Alaska,  deep  wells  which  draw 
water  from  below  the  permafrost  (subpermafrost  water)  have 
been  developed  to  provide  continuously  adequate  amounts  of 
water.  In  the  Arctic  coast  communities  of  Alaska,  wells  which 
have  been  drilled  to  a  point  below  permafrost  have  produced 
only  salt  water.  The  majority  of  deep  wells  drilled  in  the  Fair- 
banks section  of  Alaska  have  produced  water  with  a  relatively 
high  iron  content.  However,  subpermafrost  water  sources 
appear  to  be  the  most  dependable  sources  of  water  supply  in  the 
low  temperature  areas. 

Production  of  Water  Which  is  Palatable  and  Free  from 

Contamination 

Environmental  conditions  such  as  extremely  low  tempera- 
tures, retarded  biological  and  chemical  reactions,  practically 
continuous  light  during  a  portion  of  the  year,  and  changes  in 
the  physical  state  of  organic  material,  fluids  and  solids  may  all 
play  an  important  part  in  the  provision  of  safe  and  palatable 
water.  Low  temperature  area  conditions  appear  conducive  to 
prolongation  of  the  life  of  pathogenic  bacteria.  These  same 
conditions  promote  careless  disposal  of  sewage  and  other  wastes 
as  well  as  foster  the  indiscriminate  use  of  possibly  contaminated 
surface  and  shallow  ground  waters. 

In  Greenland  (5)*  during  the  period  of  1928  through  1930, 
88  cases  of  typhoid  fever  were  reported  in  a  population  of  9,455. 
In  Alaska  during  the  period  1937  through  July  of  1950,  94  cases 
of  typhoid  fever  were  reported  in  a  population  between  75,000 
and  130,000.  Cases  in  Alaska  (26)  have  been  reported  from  all 
parts  of  the  Territory  and  cases  have  been  reported  each  year 
during  the  period  1937  to  July  1950.  Typhoid  has  also  been 
reported  to  be  common  in  parts  of  the  Soviet  Arctic. 

Three  hundred  twelve  cases  of  bacillary  dysentery  were 
reported  from  Alaska  during  the  period   1937  through   1949. 

*  The  bibliographical  references  for  this  and  the  following  paper  are  combined 
on  pp.  251-253. 


Water  Supply  Problems  in  Alaska— Alter  225 

Even  though  recognition  and  reporting  of  illness  from  primi- 
tive and  undeveloped  areas  are  commonly  considered  to  be  in- 
complete and  inadequate,  these  data  do  show  that  filthborne 
disease  does  occur  in  the  low  temperature  areas  in  significant 
amounts.  In  view  of  general  disregard  for  safety  of  water  supply 
and  careless  waste  disposal  in  these  regions,  these  data  are  not 
only  significant  but  also  they  are  alarming. 

In  many  villages  of  the  Arctic  sledge  dogs  eat  human  feces. 
There  are  more  dogs  than  people  in  many  of  the  Arctic  villages 
of  Alaska  and  these  dogs  may  frequently  have  opportunity  to 
contaminate  ice  and  surface  water  supplies.  Dr.  Krogh-Lund 
(6)  in  his  work  in  Greenland  during  the  period  1928-1931  has 
shown  that  sledge  dogs  fed  Salmonellae  typhosa  mixed  with 
their  ordinary  food  were  capable  of  passing  the  bacillus  on  in 
their  feces  in  a  viable  state.  Dr.  Krogh-Lund  was  able  to 
recover  the  bacillus  from  the  dog  feces  for  a  period  as  long  as 
three  weeks  after  ingestion.  It  is  possible  that  the  sledge  dog 
may  be  found  to  play  some  part  in  the  dissemination  of  typhoid 
fever  in  the  low  temperature  regions. 

The  need  for  protection  and  treatment  of  water  supplies  in 
the  low  temperature  regions  seems  obvious,  although  insuffi- 
cient investigative  work  has  been  done  in  the  Alaskan  Arctic  to 
specifically  show  the  significance  of  Arctic  water  supplies  as  a 
mode  of  transmission  for  typhoid  fever  and  other  filthborne 
illness. 

Waters  at  low  temperature  are  capable  of  carrying  a  much 
greater  load  of  suspended  material  than  is  carried  at  tempera- 
tures of  5o-6o°F.  Increased  viscosity  of  water  at  low  temperature 
may  also  be  significant  in  certain  treatment  processes.  Coagula- 
tion, settling,  filtration  and  other  treatment  processes  such  as 
aeration  and  disinfection  are  all  affected  by  temperature.  Much 
more  investigative  work  is  indicated  in  the  treatment  of  Arctic 
waters. 

Continuous  Distribution  of  Water  Under  Pressure 

In  the  low  temperature  areas  water  is  distributed  by  sledge 
and  barrel,  tank  conveyance,  seasonal  distribution  mains  laid 


226  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  placement  of  water  mains  in 
utilidors  (heated  conduits),  recirculating  water  mains  and  by 
use  of  a  conventional  water  distribution  system.  The  most 
common  methods  for  distribution  are  by  sledge  and  barrel  and 
by  tank  conveyance.  These  methods  subject  the  water  to  un- 
desirable handling  and  possible  contamination,  and  are  also 
very  inconvenient.  Some  distributors  heat  the  water  while  it  is 
on  the  tank  truck.  Batch  chlorination  of  the  water  and  care  in 
dispensing  it  are  desirable  but  not  common. 

Very  few  homes  include  water  flush  toilets  and  bath  tubs  in 
the  communities  where  water  under  pressure  is  dispensed  sea- 
sonally by  surface  distribution  system.  During  a  period  of 
about  eight  or  nine  months  of  the  year  the  distribution  system 
is  dismantled  and  left  to  lie  along  the  street  to  collect  filth.  This 
method  of  water  distribution  in  permanent  communities  is 
very  inadequate  and  only  serves  to  delay  interest  in  an  adequate 
system. 

Distribution  mains  placed  in  heated  conduits  called  utilidors 
provide  a  positive  means  for  maintaining  continuous  service. 
Utilidors  may  be  constructed  of  concrete  or  wood  or  they  may 
consist  of  commercially  produced  metal,  wood,  or  terra  cotta 
units  which  are  sold  in  prefabricated  sections.  The  utilidor  is 
usually  heated  but  may  in  some  installations  depend  entirely 
on  heat  in  the  fluids  contained  in  the  mains  within  the  conduit. 
Heating  of  utilidors  may  be  accomplished  by  placement  of 
steam  or  condensate  lines  within  the  conduit  or  by  forcing 
warmed  air  through  the  conduit.  Heat  mav  also  be  added  to 
fluids  passed  through  the  lines  in  the  utilidor.  Figure  1  shows 
a  design  for  a  cast-in-place  concrete  utilidor  and  Figure  2  shows 
construction  details  for  a  small  wooden  utilidor.  Steam,  water, 
sewer,  communications  and  power  utilities  may  be  placed  in 
the  utilidor.  The  cross-section  of  the  utilidor  may  be  of  suffi- 
cient size  to  allow  maintenance  personnel  to  walk  through  the 
utilidor  or  it  may  be  of  small  cross-section  possibly  no  larger 
than  necessary  to  encase  the  utility  lines. 

Drainage  of  utilidors  constitutes  a  problem  and  in  some  in- 
stallations housing  both  sewer  and  water  lines  the  latter  have 


Water  Supply  Problems  in  Alaska— Alter 


227 


been  completely  submerged  in  sewage  and  the  domestic  water 
supply  has  been  contaminated  with  sewage.  Utilidors  must  be 
constructed  in  such  a  manner  that  they  will  not  be  flooded  with 
suprapermafrost  water.  Flooding  of  water  lines  with  either 
ground  water  or  sewage  creates  a  very  undesirable  and  unsafe 
condition.  Figure  3  illustrates  the  manner  in  which  utilidors 
may  become  flooded  with  ground  water  and  it  also  shows  how 
waste  heat  may  maintain  a  thawed  area  around  a  utilidor. 


REMOVABLE    TOP   ON   CAST-I N- PLACE    UTILIDOR 

Fig.  1. 


Recirculating  water  mains,  as  the  name  implies,  are  distri- 
bution lines  in  which  the  water  is  circulated.  The  water  may 
be  circulated  continuously  or  at  intervals  necessary  to  keep  the 
system  from  freezing.  The  mains  are  constructed  so  that  they 
constitute  a  closed  circuit  and  a  heating  plant  is  placed  near  the 
point  where  the  water  enters  the  system.  Sufficient  heat  is  added 
to  the  water  at  the  source  of  supply  to  maintain  temperatures 
above  freezing  throughout  the  distribution  system. 

Recirculation  may  also  be  maintained  in  the  service  connec- 
tion either  by  use  of  a  dual  main  distribution  system  or  by  use 


228 


Alaskan  Science  Conference 


Wrap  5  turn*  fl 

WIRE  AND  RUM  Tt 
SURFACE,  EVERY  20* 


2"  x  8"  Plankino 


i 


N 


w& 


2»  x  4M'  J 

-« —  o.c. 


Insulated 


y""'^ 


2"  Colo  Water 


4"  Wood  Stave  Sewer 

* \ \ i 


-M  y 


2"  Water 


2"  x   8"  Plank 


4*  W.S.  Sever 

Pipe 

2"  x  4"  Block 


WOOD     UTILIDOR     DETAIL 


Fig.  2. 


Water  Supply  Problems  in  Alaska— Alter 


229 


of  a  single  main  distribution  system  and  a  Pitot  type  tap.  Service 
connections  may  be  kept  from  freezing  by  use  of  electrical 
resistance  tape  or  by  use  of  short  house-to-street  utilidors. 

Day,  of  the  Arctic  Health  Research  Center  at  Anchorage, 
reports  successful  laboratory  experimentation  with  the  Pitot 
type  tap.  Day  states,  "From  the  data  obtained  by  observations 
on  model  pipe  main  and  double  house  service  pipe  system,  it  is 
concluded  that  circulation  of  flow  will  occur  in  the  house  service 


Seasonally  frozen  ground 
Permafrost 
LEGEND:       Penetrating    frost 

Entrapped  ground  water 
Lost  heat 


E33 


GROUNO       SURFACE 


;h^^^   h  »t.u...  i-  *^i£t5£*«s«s 


DRAINAGE   OF  ENTRAPPED  WATER    INTO    IMPROPERLY    SEALED 

UTILIDOR 

Fig.  3. 


connection.  The  velocity  of  flow  in  the  street  main  will  appar- 
ently have  to  be  capable  of  being  maintained  at  two  to  three 
feet  per  second.  Special  orifices  must  be  used  in  place  of  the 
standard  corporation  cock.  The  total  length  of  house  service 
pipe  should  probably  not  exceed  125  feet  for  dependable 
operation"  (1 1). 

At  Fairbanks,  means  of  protection  for  house  service  connec- 
tions has  presented  the  greatest  problem  of  design  and  installa- 
tion of  a  community  water  distribution  system.  Dual  main 
distribution  systems  and  utilidors  are  much  more  costly  than  a 
functionable  single  main  recirculation  system. 


230  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Many  precautions  must  be  taken  to  make  a  conventional 
water  distribution  system  function  in  the  permafrost  region. 
Kojinov  (15)  has  shown  how  clay  may  be  placed  around  a  main 
to  protect  it  from  freezing  and  he  has  also  shown  how  location 
of  mains  with  respect  to  shade  and  snow  cover  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  protection.  The  clay  maintains  moisture  around 
the  pipe  and  thus  frost  penetration  is  retarded.  Snow  cover 
insulates  the  surface  of  the  ground  over  the  pipes;  and  by 
locating  the  pipes  where  they  will  receive  maximum  sunlight, 
advantage  is  taken  of  all  heat  possible.  Even  by  taking  ad- 
vantage of  all  heat  available,  it  does  not  appear  practical  to  use 
conventional  water  distribution  systems,  except  possibly  in 
parts  of  the  permafrost  region  in  which  there  exists  a  thawed 
layer  between  the  permafrost  and  the  lower  limit  of  seasonal 
frost. 

Construction  of  Stable  Structures  and  Use  of  Equipment 
Suited  to  Low  Temperature  Conditions 

Construction  of  dams,  foundations,  buildings,  well  casings 
and  curbings,  settling  basins,  treatment  structures,  and  other 
miscellaneous  facilities  must  be  designed  to  withstand  or  pre- 
vent destructive  frost  action.  Design  and  operation  of  all  facili- 
ties must  provide  for  conservation  of  heat.  The  effects  of  tem- 
perature and  frost  are  mighty  and  sure.  Exacting  standards  of 
design  and  performance  must  be  the  rule  for  successful  opera- 
tion of  Arctic  water  supply  facilities. 

A  dam  design  which  is  structurally  stable  on  permanently 
frozen  ground  must  also  remain  stable  after  accumulation  of 
water  behind  it  and  resultant  alteration  of  the  thermal  regime 
of  soil  on  which  it  stands. 

Foundations  must  be  constructed  in  such  a  fashion  as  to 
minimize  the  effects  of  freezing,  heaving,  thawing  and  shifting 
of  the  soil.  Insulation  is  necessary  under  certain  conditions  to 
prevent  heat  from  the  structure  from  being  conducted  through 
the  foundation  to  the  permafrost  where  it  will  change  the 
thermal  regime  of  the  permafrost. 

Heating  and  proper  ventilation  of  buildings  are  especially 
difficult  under  low  temperature  conditions.    Figure  4  shows 


Water  Supply  Problems  in  Alaska— Alter 


231 


Arctic  well  house  weatherproofing  details.  Condensation  causes 
icing  on  walls,  on  nail  heads  and  in  insulation.  In  some  parts 
of  the  low  temperature  regions,  temperature  differences  be- 
tween heated  interiors  and  the  ouside  air  may  be  as  much  as 
130  to  i40°F.  Air  Temperature  and  Frost  Penetration  Data  at 
Alaska  Stations  which  are  shown  in  Table  2  present  a  general 
summary  of  considerations  pertinent  to  design  of  water  supply 
facilities. 


i«  X  5 


90#  RooriN* 
|«  x  6"  T  *  G-^     \ 


MM^ 


Blanket 


I"  x  6"  T  4  6 


2"  Insulation 
Blanket 


i"   X  8"  Bevel  SIDINS 
I"  x  8"  Shiplap 
i?#  W.P.  Bloq  Paper 


T.*G.      IN     OPPOSITE 
D  INECTIONS 


^-  90J  Roof  1  no 
~  15*  w.P. 

BL04.PAPE" 


ARCTIC    WELL    HOUSE    WEATHERPROOFING  DETAIL 

Fig.  4. 


Low  temperatures  and  permafrost  affect  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  wells  and  well  appurtenances.  Drilling  wells 
through  permafrost  necessitates  continuous  work  in  order  to 
prevent  freezing  of  casing  and  equipment.  After  development 
of  the  well,  continuous  and  moderate  pumping  is  necessary  to 
prevent  freezing  of  water  in  the  casing  or  possibly  freezing  of 
the  aquifer.  Well  casings  should  be  anchored  securely  in  perma- 
frost and  constructed  so  that  seasonal  freezing  of  the  surround- 
ing soil  does  not  disjoint,  crush,  or  otherwise  damage  the  casing. 
It  is  difficult  to  provide  proper  protection  of  a  well  from  sur- 
face drainage  around  the  casing  and  yet  provide  cohesionless 
material  around  the  casing  so  that  the  effect  of  seasonal  frost 


232 


Alaskan  Science  Conference 


?0#   Roopin« 

FLASHED 
UNDER    8IDIN0 


Thermostat  for 
Automatic  control 


Sensitive  bulb 


ARCTIC    PUMP   AND    WELL   INSTALLATION 


Fig.  5. 


Water  Supply  Problems  in  Alaska— Alter 


233 


is  minimized.  Figures  5  and  6  show  an  Arctic  well  installation 
and  details  of  weather  protection.  An  electrical  heating  cable 
is  used  in  this  installation  to  prevent  freezing  of  the  casing.  A 
well  house  is  also  placed  over  the  well  and  a  pit  which  might 
disturb  the  thermal  regime  of  the  ground  as  well  as  increase  the 
chances  of  contamination  of  the  supply  has  been  eliminated. 
A  mastic  seal  is  placed  in  the  annular  space  between  the  well 
casing  and  the  pump  house  floor. 

A  submersible  type  deep  well  pump  installation  has  been 
suggested  for  use  in  low  temperature  areas.   The  suitability  of 


Tee 


Scnsit 
But* 


I"     THICK     WOOL 

reLT   MPe   IN- 
SULATION   FOB 
4"    CAOINS 


Thermostat  Pen 
Automatic  cont*< 


Surface. 

CONV. 

OuTier 


St 


To    PUMP 


Pitch  Pipe 

TO     PELL 


WELL    PIPING    DETAIL 

Fig.  6. 


this  type  of  equipment  for  use  under  such  conditions  is  not 
known.   Figure  7  shows  a  submersible  type  pump. 

Structures  such  as  settling  basins,  filters  and  clear  wells  may 
conduct  significant  amounts  of  heat  to  the  surrounding  soil 
unless  proper  insulation  and  construction  measures  are  fol- 
lowed. The  result  in  permafrost  is  that  ground  water  may 
accumulate  around  the  structure  and  thus  destroy  stability. 

Figure  8  shows  a  comparison  of  annual  degree  days  for  cities 
in  temperate  climates  and  for  selected  points  in  the  low  tem- 
perature regions.  A  glance  at  this  chart  further  emphasizes  the 
significance  of  the  problem  of  heating  water  supply  facilities 
under  low  temperature  conditions. 


Discharge  Elbow 


Marine  Type 
Power  Cable 


h 


SUBMERSIBLE 

TYPE 

DEEP   WELL 

PUMP 


tJ 


IKT 


WULTI -STAQE 
DEEP* ELL 
TUR6INE 


WATER 


Intake 


JT 


■CT        OIL-FILLED 

Mercury-Sealed 
Electric  Motor 


Fig.  7. 
234 


Water  Supply  Problems  in  Alaska— Alter  235 

Pumps,  control  equipment,  disinfection  equipment,  meters, 
fire  hydrants,  etc.  must  all  be  constructed  in  a  manner  which 
provides  maximum  protection  from  low  temperatures. 

Extended  periods  of  daylight  may  play  some  part  in  the  algae 
content  of  waters  in  the  low  temperature  regions.  Figure  9 
shows  approximate  hours  of  daylight  that  may  be  expected  in 

Table  2.— Air  temperature  and  frost  penetration  at  Alaska  stations 

Approxi-  Reported 

No.  Days  Max.  mate         Depth  of  Frost 

Annual         Temp.  32°F.  Annual         Penetration 

Station  Temp.  °F.  or  Less  Degree  Days  f        in  feet 

Anchorage     34.7  125  1 1,000  8 

Barrow     9.9  280  20,000  * 

Bethel    29.9  140  13,000  — 

Cordova     40.6  60  10,000  — 

Dillingham     34.3  —  —  4 

Fairbanks    26.0  160  14,000  10 

Ft.    Yukon    19.7  —  —  — 

Galena   25.0  180  14,000  10 

Gambell     23.4  205  15,000  — 

Juneau     42.1  55  8,000  5 

Kotzebue     20.7  205  16,000 

McGrath    25.4  165  15,000  7 

Nome     25.7  185  15,000 

Northway    23.0  165  16,000 

Umiat    9.8  240  20,000 


# 


# 


Seasonal  frost  extends  down  to  permafrost. 
•j-  For  any  one  day,  when  the  mean  temperature  is  less  than  65°F.,  there  exists 
as  many  degree  days  as  there  are  Fahrenheit  degrees  difference  in  temperature 
between  the  mean  temperature  for  the  day  and  65  °F. 


different  northern  latitudes.  Some  algae  are  found  in  very  cold 
waters  and  even  in  snow.  Smith  in  his  work  on  Fresh  Water 
Algae  of  the  United  States  reports  that  temperature  is  not 
generally  a  determining  factor  in  the  nature  of  algal  flora. 
However,  very  little  work  has  been  reported  on  the  algal  flora 
of  Arctic  water  supplies.  Specific  investigation  should  be  made 
to  determine  the  need  for  and  methods  necessary  for  providing 
algae-free  and  palatable  water  supplies  in  the  Arctic. 


236 


Alaskan  Science  Conference 


Miami 
Fla. 

DALLA8 

Tex. 

Wa8hinqton 
o.c. 

MlNNEAPOLI 8 

Minn. 

Juneau 
Alaska 

Anchoraoe 
Alaska 

Fairbanks 
Alaska 

Dawson 
Y.T.  Can. 

Churchill 
Man  it.  Can. 

Barrow 
Alaska 

185 


Da. 


567 


4,561 


7,966 


8,008 


10,778 


14,092 


15,555 


17,148 


0       5        10       15       20 

1 1 1 ■■    1        J 

20,047 


THOUSANDS    OF    DECREE    0AY8 


AVERAGE    ANNUAL    DEGREE    DAYS 

Fig.  8. 


Water  Supply  Problems  in  Alaska— Alter  237 


24 


1 

\w 

~  hi 

1AT 

ii 

\\ 

22 

\\ 

/ 

\l 

-   Fa 

1  ABA 

NK8 

\i 

20 

// 

Tii 

cm  w 

/// 

\  \ 

I 

f/ 

\\ 

—  Ju 

NEAl 

lb 

V1      \ 

\\ 

// 

\\\ 

TCHI 

KAN 

"\\ 

\\\ 

""  K  E 

16 

/// 

i\ 

\i 

|4 

\? 

10 

8 

/ 

// 

ij 

1  \     ' 

\^ 

6 

7 

\\ 

// 

\\ 

V 

4 

/ 

\\ 

/ 

v 

v 

2 

// 

\ 

V. 

\ 

0 

w 

55° 
59° 
63° 

67° 


JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MA  JUN  JUL  AU  8EP  OCT  NOV  0  EC  JAN 


HOURS   BETWEEN    SUNRISE  a  SUNSET 

Fig.  9. 


238  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Development  of   Low  Temperature  Area  Water  Supply 
Methods  Which  Are  Safe  and  Practical 

Present  water  supply  methods  in  use  in  low  temperature  areas 
are  expensive  (3).  The  development  of  suitable  sources,  distri- 
bution of  water  under  pressure,  and  provision  of  structures 
and  facilities  necessary  to  development  and  distribution  are 
far  beyond  the  economic  reach  of  the  majority  of  inhabitants 
of  the  low  temperature  regions. 

The  result  is  that  adequate  and  safe  water  supplies  are  not 
being  provided  in  most  Arctic  communities.  They  probably 
will  not  be  provided  until  we  learn  more  of  the  physical  fea- 
tures of  low  temperature  areas  and  more  about  sources  of  water. 
We  must  also  adapt  our  treatment  and  distribution  methods 
to  the  economy  and  needs  of  the  Arctic  dweller. 

We  must  make  safe  water  supplies  for  these  people  obtain- 
able as  an  initial  step  toward  comfortable  and  healthful  living 
in  the  North.  A  good  water  supply  must  be  purchasable  wher- 
ever it  is  needed. 

I  am  certain  that  through  a  concerted  effort  and  a  redoubled 
investigation  and  research  program  that  we  will  be  able  to  solve 
these  many  problems  in  the  low  temperature  regions  just  as  we 
have  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 

Summary 

Adequate  and  safe  water  supplies  are  difficult  to  locate  and 
develop  in  the  low  temperature  regions.  Water  is  scarce  and 
much  of  what  is  available  must  be  used  as  ice  and  snow. 

Temperature  has  an  appreciable  effect  on  practically  all 
treatment  processes. 

Permafrost  complicates  distribution  of  water  and  special 
means  must  be  used  to  keep  pipe  lines  and  service  connections 
from  freezing.  Permafrost  also  affects  the  design  of  other  water 
supply  structures.  Design  must  minimize  the  effects  of  unstable 
soil  conditions  which  result  when  the  thermal  regime  of  the 
soil  is  disturbed. 


Water  Supply  Problems  in  Alaska— Alter  239 

Present  water  supply  methods  and  practice  must  be  modified 
and  adapted  to  the  economic  structure  of  the  Arctic. 

Research  and  investigation  are  indicated  in  practically  every 
facet  of  Arctic  water  supply.  Greatly  needed  investigation  and 
research  are  a  must  if  we  are  to  solve  the  many  problems  of 
adequate  and  safe  water  supply  in  the  low  temperature  regions. 

(The  references  for  this  paper  are  given  at  the  end  of  the  following 
article.) 


RELATIONSHIPS  OF  PERMAFROST  TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL  SANITATION 

Amos  J.  Alter,  Director 
Division  of  Sanitation  and  Engineering 
Alaska  Department  of  Health 
Juneau,  Alaska 

Every  section  of  the  world  has  environmental  peculiarities 
which  make  sanitary  practices  difficult.  The  most  serious  prob- 
lems which  the  sanitarian  in  Alaska  faces  are  caused  by  existence 
of  permafrost  in  almost  60  percent  of  the  land  area  of  the  Terri- 
tory. The  design,  construction,  and  operation  of  every  sanitary 
engineering  project  in  northern  Alaska  are  affected  by  perennial 
frost.  Most  of  us  are  convinced  that  since  permafrost  cannot  be 
legislated  out  of  existence,  we  should  adapt  our  sanitation  prac- 
tices to  it. 

Our  objectives  in  sanitation  must  remain  the  same  as  those 
in  warmer  countries.  We  need,  however,  to  adapt  our  pro- 
cedures to  fit  the  environment  in  which  we  live. 

Permafrost  is  a  thickness  of  soil  or  other  superficial  deposit 
or  even  bedrock,  at  variable  depths  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  which  has  continually  existed  for  thousands  of  years  at 
a  temperature  below  freezing.  Polar  regions  constituting  20 
percent  of  the  land  area  of  the  world  are  underlaid  with  perma- 
frost. 

In  this  paper,  I  propose  to  discuss  (1)  the  need  for  environ- 
mental health  control  measures  in  the  permafrost  regions,  (2)  a 
few  of  the  physical  features  of  permafrost,  (3)  the  manner  in 
which  these  features  affect  present  environmental  health  con- 
trol measures  and  facilities,  and  (4)  practical  and  economical 
means  for  exercising  sanitary  control. 

240 


Relationships  of  Permafrost  to  Sanitation— Alter      241 

Need  for  Environmental  Health  Control  Measures  in  the 

Permafrost  Regions 

Occurrence  of  the  so-called  filthborne  diseases  in  permafrost 
regions  is  a  well  established  fact.  During  the  period  1937  to 
date  in  1950  typhoid  fever  has  been  reported  each  calendar 
year  in  Alaska.  Population  in  Alaska  during  this  period  has 
been  between  75,000  and  130,000;  yet,  as  many  as  21  cases  in  a 
single  year  have  been  reported.  Cases  (26)  have  been  reported 
from  all  regions  of  Alaska  from  the  most  northern  point  to  the 
southern  end  of  the  Territory.  Probably  many  cases  of  typhoid 
have  not  been  reported.  Inaccuracies  are  common  in  morbidity 
and  mortality  data  obtained  from  primitive  populations. 
Medical  attention  has  been  scanty  in  many  of  these  areas  and 
the  reasons  for  gathering  such  information  have  not  been  ap- 
parent to  either  the  natives  or  local  whites. 

Three  hundred  twelve  cases  of  bacillary  dysentery  were  also 
reported  from  Alaska  during  the  calendar  years  1937  through 
1949.  Fevers  resembling  typhoid  have  been  described  in  Green- 
land since  1839  (6).  In  1864,  Lange  reported  that  epidemics 
of  typhoid  fever  are  not  rare  in  Greenland.  Bertelsen  reports 
treatment  of  significant  numbers  of  patients  for  typhoid  in 
Greenland  shortly  after  1902.  In  1916,  Andersen  at  Sukker- 
toppen,  Greenland,  isolated  the  typhoid  bacillus,  and  cultures 
were  identified  at  the  Danish  State  Serum  Institute  in  Copen- 
hagen. During  the  period  1928  through  1930,  reports  from 
Greenland  indicated  the  occurrence  of  88  cases  of  typhoid  fever 
in  a  population  of  9,455. 

It  is  apparent  from  these  data  that  permafrost  and  the  low 
temperatures  that  are  common  to  these  regions  do  not  in  them- 
selves tend  to  suppress  the  occurrence  of  filthborne  diseases 
such  as  typhoid  and  bacillary  dysentery.  The  high  incidence  of 
filthborne  disease  in  the  permafrost  regions  has  long  been 
known. 

Physical  Features  of  Permafrost 

Permafrost  in  the  northern  hemisphere  is  found  in  a  great 
part  of  the  Union  of  Soviet  Socialist  Republics,  Alaska,  the 


242  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Canadian  Arctic  and  Subarctic,  Greenland,  Svalbard  Archi- 
pelago, and  numerous  islands  in  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

In  some  sections  of  the  permafrost  zone,  permanently  frozen 
ground  is  found  in  sporadic  fashion.  Immediately  adjacent  to 
some  streams  and  lakes  the  ground  remains  unfrozen.  In  some 
places  the  permafrost  is  disappearing  while  in  other  places  it 
may  be  forming. 

Permafrost  at  some  locations  is  near  the  thawing  point  while 
at  other  places  the  temperature  of  the  frozen  ground  may  be 
several  degrees  below  the  freezing  point.  Sewers,  water  lines, 
treatment  structures  and  other  sanitary  facilities  must  be  de- 
signed to  function  satisfactorily  under  any  of  these  conditions. 

Seasonal  frost  may  extend  down  until  it  reaches  permanently 
frozen  ground  in  some  areas  while  in  other  areas  a  thawed  layer 
may  exist  between  the  seasonally  and  permanently  frozen  strata. 
At  some  points  the  permafrost  has  been  reported  to  extend 
down  to  a  depth  of  more  than  goo  feet.  The  problems  of  foun- 
dation design  and  the  procurement  of  wTater  supplies  from  the 
earth  are  obvious  under  conditions  such  as  these. 

Permafrost  which  is  made  up  of  finely  divided  soil  particles 
and  appreciable  amounts  of  soil  moisture  exerts  an  entirely 
different  influence  upon  sanitary  facilities  than  is  exerted  by 
dry  permafrost  or  a  permafrost  which  consists  principally  of 
frozen  gravels. 

Areal  extent,  continuum,  temperature,  depth,  and  type  of 
permafrost  have  a  direct  effect  upon  selection  of  sanitary  meas- 
ures and  facilities  used  in  low  temperature  regions.  These 
features  limit  the  means  for  procurement  of  safe  and  adequate 
ground  water  supplies,  disposal  of  harmful  wastes,  housing, 
insect  control,  and  change  foodhandling  practices.  They  hamper 
the  provision  of  structurally  stable  sanitary  facilities. 

A  thorough  site  study  is  a  prerequisite  to  planning  all  sani- 
tary facilities  for  use  in  the  permafrost  region.  Complete  under- 
standing of  subsurface  conditions  may  well  mean  the  difference 
between  having  environmental  health  control  and  not  having 
environmental  health  control. 

Under   permafrost   conditions,   construction   and   operation 


Relationships  of  Permafrost  to  Sanitation— Alter      243 

costs  of  facilities  commonly  used  in  continental  United  States 
are  so  high  that  such  facilities  are  not  economically  feasible  for 
most  inhabitants  of  the  Arctic. 

Effects  of  Permafrost  on  Environmental  Health 
Control  Measures  and  Facilities 

Inadequate  water  supplies  (29),  unsafe  disposal  of  human 
excrement,  accumulations  of  refuse,  substandard  housing,  diffi- 
culties in  insect  control,  and  unusual  yet  careless  foodhandling 
are  the  rule  throughout  the  Alaskan  Arctic.  They  serve  as 
monuments  to  remind  us  of  our  past  unsatisfactory  control  of 
environment  in  the  permafrost  regions. 

Water  Supply  (2,  3,  4) 

Surface  waters  such  as  shallow  lakes  and  small  streams  may 
remain  completely  frozen  during  most  of  the  year.  Much  of 
the  ground  water  is  continuously  frozen.  Rain  water  is  scarce. 
Consequently,  melted  ice  and  snow  serve  as  the  principal  sources 
of  water  supply  in  the  Arctic. 

Permafrost  constitutes  a  relatively  impervious  stratum  which 
prevents  ready  downward  percolation  of  the  meager  precipita- 
tion. Rain  falls  and  runs  rapidly  into  the  principal  drainage 
courses.  Permanently  frozen  soil  complicates  construction  of 
impounding  reservoirs  suitable  for  water  storage.  Stored  water 
changes  the  thermal  regime  of  the  soil  and  tends  to  render 
impounding  structures  unstable  in  thawed  soil. 

Accumulations  of  ground  water  above  permafrost  strata  are 
quickly  exhausted,  subject  to  ready  contamination  and  may  also 
remain  frozen  most  of  the  year.  Wells  extending  through 
permafrost  will  freeze  unless  pumping  is  properly  regulated. 
Under-pumping  permits  the  well  to  freeze  and  over-pumping 
may  in  some  places  cause  freezing  of  the  aquifer. 

Temperature  exerts  an  appreciable  effect  on  water  treatment 
processes.  Water  from  the  permafrost  is  cold.  Use  of  chemicals, 
filtration,  and  settling  practices  must  be  adjusted  to  make  such 
practices  economical,  efficient  and  usable  in  the  Arctic. 


244  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

In  communities  where  adequate  sources  of  water  have  been 
found,  distribution  of  it  is  difficult  under  low  temperature 
conditions.  Distribution  by  use  of  barrels  or  tank  conveyances 
is  common  in  these  communities,  but  such  methods  expose  the 
water  to  contamination  and  are  inconvenient.  Special  precau- 
tions in  construction  and  operation  are  necessary  to  keep  water 
mains,  buried  in  permafrost,  from  freezing.  Very  low  air  tem- 
peratures make  insulation  of  water  mains  necessary  if  the  mains 
are  located  above  ground.  The  present  relatively  high  cost  of 
dispensing  water  under  pressure  from  community  systems  in 
permafrost  regions  almost  precludes  the  possibility  of  general 
installation  of  such  systems.  Primitive  water  supply  and  dis- 
tribution methods  will  continue  in  most  communities  until  we 
develop  better  methods  for  water  supply  which  are  economical 
in  the  permafrost  regions. 

Sewage  Disposal  (3) 

In  temperate  climates,  natural  processes  reduce  and  destroy 
great  quantities  of  organic  and  infectious  material  through 
normal  action  of  the  soil.  Excrement  placed  in  appropriate 
zones  of  the  soil  is  decomposed  and  rendered  harmless  by  the 
complicated  reductive  forces  of  nature. 

The  soil  has  been  described  as  a  living  thing  presenting  many 
of  the  vital  phenomena  that  characterize  life:  digestion,  metabo- 
lism, assimilation,  growth,  respiration,  motion,  and  reproduc- 
tion. The  soil  absorbs  oxygen  and  exhales  carbon  dioxide- 
through  complex  metabolic  processes,  it  digests  vast  amounts  of 
organic  material— it  excretes  wastes  and  if  the  wastes  are  re- 
tained, it  becomes  choked  with  the  accumulation  of  its  own 
poisons. 

The  rise  and  fall  of  ground  water  is  analogous  to  the  move- 
ments of  the  diaphragm  and  assists  the  respiratory  functions 
of  the  soil.  The  soil  is  teeming  with  life  such  as  bacteria,  molds, 
and  many  forms  of  the  animal  kingdom. 

Permafrost  and  the  extended  period  of  seasonal  frost  in  the 
Arctic  interfere  with  normal  breathing  and  metabolic  processes 
of  the  soil  and  retard  the  assimilation  of  organic   material. 


Relationships  of  Permafrost  to  Sanitation— Alter      245 

Permafrost  frequently  does  not  permit  proper  drainage  of  the 
soil  and  it  becomes  water-logged  when  it  is  not  in  a  frozen  state. 
Permafrost  actually  preserves  organic  materials  shown  by 
various  reports  of  recovery  of  almost  perfectly  preserved  speci- 
mens of  mastodon  from  permanently  frozen  ground  after  thou- 
sands of  years  of  existence  in  the  ground. 

Very  little  investigation  has  been  made  concerning  the  specific 
role  the  soils  of  the  Arctic  may  play  in  carrying  on  processes 
necessary  to  render  organic  wastes  harmless.  At  present,  it 
appears  that  the  biological  state  and  the  difficult  physical  state 
of  Arctic  soils  almost  preclude  use  of  common  temperate  cli- 
mate sewage  disposal  methods  without  modification. 

At  the  present  time  wastes  are  dumped  near  the  homes  or 
placed  on  river  or  sea  ice.  Dogs  eat  some  of  the  wastes  and  the 
remainder  accumulates  in  a  dangerous  and  disagreeable  mess. 
Arctic  soil  conditions  may  retain  pathogenic  organisms,  present 
in  the  wastes,  viable  for  great  lengths  of  time. 

Community  sewerage  systems  now  installed  in  permafrost 
have  been  difficult  to  operate.  Permafrost  has  affected  vertical 
alignment  of  sewers,  stability  of  manholes,  sewage  flow,  loss  of 
sewage  heat  in  miscellaneous  appurtenances  to  the  system,  and 
the  structural  stability  of  basins  and  buildings. 

Permafrost  may  prolong  the  life  of  pathogenic  bacteria,  re- 
tard decomposition  of  wastes,  and  it  complicates  the  construc- 
tion and  operation  of  sewerage  systems. 

Garbage  and  Refuse  Disposal 

Burial  is  a  common  means  of  disposal  for  garbage  and  refuse 
in  temperate  climates,  but  in  the  permafrost  regions,  burial  is 
difficult  and  probably  unsatisfactory  for  decomposition  of  the 
wastes.  The  attached  Figure  1  showing  "Air,  Ground  and 
Water  Temperatures  at  Fairbanks,  Alaska,"  indicates  the  un- 
desirable physical  conditions  for  disposal  of  garbage  by  burial 
in  this  subarctic  community.  Digging  in  the  permanently 
frozen  ground  is  difficult.  Bones,  tin  cans,  and  other  garbage 
and  refuse  are  found  strewn  on  the  ground  near  homes  in 
many  of  the  Arctic  villages.    The  Greenland  Commission  has 


246 


Alaskan  Science  Conference 


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APPROXIMATE    GROUND,    WATER  AND  AIR 
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Fie.  1. 


Relationships  of  Permafrost  to  Sanitation— Alter      247 

indicated  that  in  North  Greenland  the  most  common  refuse  in 
the  communities  is  the  significant  amount  of  dog  feces  (5).  The 
disposition  of  even  a  corpse  presents  a  problem  where  the 
ground  is  permanently  frozen.  In  1898,  Call  (8)  reported,  "The 
most  interesting  graveyard  in  Alaska  is  at  Point  Hope.  It  is 
situated  about  a  mile  from  the  village,  on  slightly  elevated 
ridges.  .  .  .  Most  of  the  bodies  are  raised  four  to  six  feet  from 
the  ground  and  supported  with  structures  made  preferably  of 
the  jaws  and  ribs  of  the  whale,  while  others  are  constructed  of 
driftwood.  Should  a  death  occur  in  winter,  when  the  snow 
lies  on  the  ground  hard  and  deep,  the  bodies  are  laid  out  on 
the  surface  until  summer,  when  the  snow  disappears  and  en- 
ables the  relatives  to  find  material  to  build  one  of  the  scaffolds, 
on  which  the  body  is  then  placed.  The  most  reasonable  ex- 
planation for  this  method  of  disposing  of  the  dead  and  that  of 
leaving  them  on  the  surface  is  that  the  ground  is  always  frozen 
hard  even  in  summer  and  the  thaw  never  extends  deeper  than 
12  to  18  inches.  These  elevated  graves  are  in  all  stages  of  ruin 
and  decay,  and  scattered  about  beneath  them,  almost  entirely 
hidden  by  the  beautiful  forget-me-nots,  are  the  bones  and 
skulls  of  the  dead  of  many  past  generations."  It  is  also  interest- 
ing to  note  from  the  data  given  in  Figure  1  that  by  placing  a 
body  in  the  air,  it  was  placed  at  about  the  warmest  possible 
point  during  the  summer. 

Permafrost  is  a  significant  consideration  in  development  and 
operation  of  garbage  and  refuse  disposal  systems. 

Housing  (16,  19,  20,  25) 

Low  temperatures  and  permafrost  have  probably  been  instru- 
mental in  causing  early  Eskimo  people  to  build  their  homes  half 
underground  and  half  above  ground.  Frozen  ground  makes 
burrowing  difficult  and  the  cold  Arctic  winds  in  the  tundra 
regions  make  it  difficult  to  keep  even  a  well  built  house  warm 
above  ground.  Local  materials  suitable  for  constructing  warm 
houses  above  ground  are  not  readily  available  in  the  treeless 
Arctic.  Stone  is  available  in  some  regions  and  is  used.  Recent 
housing  has  been  of  frame  construction  with  use  of  specially 


248  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

prepared  insulation;  however,  permafrost  affects  the  stability 
of  frame  houses.  Vigorous  frost  action  in  the  top  layer  of  the 
soil  causes  shifting,  heaving  and  settling  of  structures  which  are 
not  constructed  in  such  a  manner  that  these  forces  do  not  have 
an  opportunity  to  damage  the  structure.  More  than  two  thirds 
of  the  Eskimo  houses  in  Greenland  (5)  are  now  of  frame  con- 
struction and  probably  more  than  half  of  the  Eskimo  homes  in 
arctic  Alaska  are  of  frame  construction. 

The  existence  of  permafrost  complicates  provision  of  satis- 
factory housing.  Special  construction  practices  are  necessary  to 
prevent  shifting  and  settling  of  structures.  It  is  difficult  to 
secure  proper  drainage  for  underground  structures.  Low  tem- 
peratures, permafrost  and  a  very  small  income  dictate  a  small 
house  for  the  Alaska  Eskimo.  The  usual  house  of  commonly 
one  room  and  a  total  inside  volume  of  about  500  cubic  feet  is 
almost  all  the  Eskimo  can  heat  on  his  existence  economy. 

Insect  Control 

Hordes  of  sucking  and  biting  insects  are  found  in  the  perma- 
frost regions  (23,  27).  Permafrost  prevents  proper  drainage 
of  the  soil  and  causes  the  accumulation  of  myriads  of  shallow 
water  breeding  areas  for  insects.  Vegetation  typical  of  the 
poorly  drained  permafrost  areas  also  is  capable  of  holding 
much  water.  These  shallow  accumulations  of  water  are  warmed 
sufficiently  by  the  long  summer  days  to  allow  rapid  breeding  of 
insects. 

Conventional  methods  for  drainage  of  breeding  areas  appear 
impractical  and  almost  impossible  in  the  permafrost  regions. 
More  than  150  species  of  mosquitoes,  black  flies,  horseflies,  deer- 
flies,  blowflies,  and  other  flies  and  midges  are  commonly  found 
in  the  permafrost  regions.  Many  of  these  insects  are  pests  and 
have  no  doubt  retarded  development  in  the  permafrost  regions. 
Some  may  also  serve  as  mechanical  carriers  of  filthborne  disease. 
Insects  of  the  Arctic  may  serve  as  vectors  for  other  diseases,  but 
at  present  this  has  not  been  proven. 


Relationships  of  Permafrost  to  Sanitation— Alter      249 

Food  Handling 

In  some  parts  of  the  Arctic,  permafrost  plays  an  important  part 
in  the  foodhandling  methods  of  the  people  (12).   Permafrost  or 


^•^!HSV5S»^WWS8IS 


III'      'Ml      |ll 


i 


FOOD  STORAGE    PIT  FOR  USE   IN 
PERMANENTLY    FROZEN     GROUND 

Fig.  2. 


ice  cellars  are  used  for  storage  of  foods  and  ice.  These  shafts 
into  the  ground  or  excavations  into  the  side  of  a  hill  are  used 
for  storage  of  food  for  both  man  and  animal.  A  typical  perma- 
frost cellar  is  shown  in  Figure  2.  At  Barrow,  Alaska,  the  average 
annual  air  temperature  is  about  io°F.,  and  the  average  annual 


250  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

temperature  in  the  typical  permafrost  cellar  is  probably  around 
16  to  200 F.  Blocks  of  ice  which  are  cut  in  the  fall  may  be  stored 
in  the  cellar  for  use  as  the  winter  water  supply  and  foods  may 
be  preserved  in  the  cellar  during  both  winter  and  summer. 

Although  the  permafrost  provides  excellent  temperature  con- 
ditions for  food  storage,  the  attendant  unsatisfactory  drainage 
creates  a  hazard  to  such  food  storage.  Lack  of  provision  of 
means  for  preventing  surface  water  from  entering  the  cellar 
and  careless  placement  of  food  in  the  cellar  may  cause  it  to 
become  contaminated  with  sewage  or  other  wastes. 

Means  for  Environmental  Health  Control  in  the 
Permafrost  Regions 

Adequate  water  supplies  with  treatment  facilities  and  distri- 
bution mains  can  be  provided  and  are  provided  in  some  com- 
munities in  the  permafrost  regions.  Practically  unlimited  use 
of  heat,  use  of  utilidors  (heated  conduits)  and  large  expendi- 
tures of  money  have  provided  for  establishment  and  operation 
of  such  systems.  Sewerage  systems  placed  in  utilidors  have  func- 
tioned satisfactorily  in  permafrost.  Garbage  and  refuse  may  be 
burned  for  ultimate  disposal. 

Importation  of  materials  and  construction  of  excellent  hous- 
ing is  an  accomplished  fact  in  the  Arctic.  Daily  air  shipments 
of  fresh  vegetables  from  continental  United  States  to  the  perma- 
frost regions  of  Alaska  prove  that  an  adequate  supply  of  safe 
fresh  greens  and  other  foods  can  be  made  available  to  Arctic 
dwellers. 

But  most  of  these  accomplishments  have  been  made  at  great 
expense  and  in  spite  of  the  physical  conditions  imposed  by 
permafrost  rather  than  in  harmony  and  accordance  with  Arctic 
environment.  Extra  heat,  concrete,  reinforcing  steel  and  effort 
have  been  literally  poured  in  to  attain  these  accomplishments. 

However,  a  deeper  insight  into  the  strange  ways  of  nature  in 
the  Arctic  and  development  of  ways  and  means  for  maintaining 
a  healthy  environment  through  utilization  of  more  economical 
materials  and  resources  at  hand  is  mandatory.  We  must  adapt 
our  temperate  climate  practice  to  the  region  in  which  it  is  to 


Relationships  of  Permafrost  to  Sanitation— Alter      251 

be  applied.  Research,  investigation  and  a  fuller  understanding 
of  permafrost  and  related  factors  are  essential  to  environmental 
sanitation  in  the  permafrost  regions. 

Summary 

Reports  of  general  prevalence  of  filthborne  disease  in  the 
permafrost  regions  indicate  a  significant  need  for  environmental 
health  control  in  this  section  of  the  world.  The  existence  of 
permafrost  complicates  provision  of  safe  and  adequate  water 
supplies.  Proper  disposal  of  sewage,  garbage  and  refuse  is  diffi- 
cult in  areas  where  the  ground  is  permanently  frozen.  Severe 
frost  action,  lack  of  soil  drainage  and  resultant  threats  to  the 
stability  of  buildings  make  many  Arctic  homes  unsatisfactory. 
Inadequate  drainage  of  the  vast  Arctic  slopes  is  closely  related 
to  the  existence  of  permafrost  and  results  in  provision  of  end- 
less breeding  areas  for  insects.  However,  permafrost  does  pro- 
vide inexpensive  refrigeration  for  food  for  both  man  and  animal 
in  many  parts  of  the  Arctic. 

Environmental  health  control  in  the  permafrost  regions,  re- 
quires learning  the  laws  of  permafrost  behavior  and  devising 
economical  ways  to  use  them  to  the  greatest  advantage.  Through 
further  investigation  and  research  and  careful  evaluation  and 
use  of  knowledge  at  hand,  we  will  find  further  means  of  over- 
coming present  obstacles. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Ackerknecht,  Edwin  H.   The  Eskimo.    Ciba  Symposia,  10   (1). 

July- August,  1948. 

2.  Alter,  A.  J.    Water  supply  problems  of  the  Arctic.    Alaska's 

Health,  7   (3).   March,  1949. 

3.    .    Arctic  sanitary  engineering.    Alaska   Department   of 

Health.   Juneau.   June,  1949. 

Water  supply  in  Alaska.  Jour.  American  Water  Works 


Assoc,  42   (6):  519-532.  June,  1950. 
Anonymous.    Beretning  fra  den  af  sundhedsstyrelsen  til  Gron- 
land    udsendte    Legeekspedition.     Beretninger    Vedrorende 
Gronlands  Styrelse,  Nr.  1,  1949. 


252  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

6.  Bertelsen,  A.   Grenlandsk  medicinsk  Statistik  og  Nosografi,  4. 

Kobenhavn,  Reitzels  Forlag.    1943. 

7.  Borum,    V.     Greenland— Denmark's    colony.     Danish    Foreign 

Office  Journal,  1  and  2,  1948. 

8.  Call,  S.  J.  In,  Report  of  the  cruise  of  the  U.S.  Revenue  Cutter 

Bear  and  the  Overland  Expedition,  Nov.  27,  1897  to  Sept.  13, 
1898.   Washington.    1899. 
g.    Chernyshev,  M.  J.   Water  services  in  regions  with  perpetually 
frozen  ground.   Jour.  American  Water  Works  Assoc,  22    (7): 

899-   JulY>  193°- 

10.    .    Search  for  underground  water  in  perpetually  frozen 

areas.   Jour.  Amer.  Water  Works  Assoc,  27   (4):  581.   April, 

1935- 

11.  Day,  E.  K.  A  study  of  a  recirculating  house  water  service  con- 

nection with  a  single  water  main.  Unpublished  paper.  Arctic 
Health  Research  Center.   Anchorage. 

12.  Easton,  P.  S.  Food  resources  of  Alaska.   Nutrition  Unit,  Alaska 

Department  of  Health.   Juneau.   April,  1950. 

13.  Hartwig,   G.    The  polar  and   tropical  worlds.    Philadelphia. 

1871. 

14.  Isachenko,  B.  A.  and  T.  L.  Simakov.   Bakteriologicheskie  issle- 

dovaniia  pochv  Arktiki    (Bacteriological  study  of  the  Arctic 
soil).  Trudy  Arkt.  Inst.,  9:  107  ff. 

15.  Kojinov,  V.  E.  Russian  water  supply  systems  in  areas  where  the 

ground  is  perpetually  frozen.    (Unpublished  paper). 

16.  Krulish,  Emil.  Sanitary  conditions  among  the  Eskimos.  Public 

Health  Reports.   December  12,  1913. 

17.  Ponomarev,  V.   "Vechnaia"  merzlota  i  rudnichnye  vody  v  Ark- 

tike   ("Eternal"  congelation  and  mine  waters  in  the  Arctic). 
Sov.  Arkt.,  4:  111  ff.  1936. 

18.  Redman,  Walter.   Mains  above  ground  in  spite  of  forty  below 

zero  weather.    Water  Works  Engineering,  /05    (2):   120-122, 
158.   February,  1950. 

19.  Roberts,  Palmer  W.   Effects  on  materials  in  Arctic  cold.   Mili- 

tary Engineer.    May  and  June,  1950. 

20.  Roberts,  P.  W.  and  F.  A.  F.  Cooke.   Arctic  tower  foundations 

frozen  into  permafrost.    Engineering  News-Record,  144    (6): 
38-39.   February  9,  1950. 

21.  Stirling,  Matthew  W.    Nomads  of  the  Far  North.    National 

Geographic  Magazine,  96  (4):  471-504.   October,  1949. 

22.  Taracouzio,  T.  A.   Soviets  in  the  Arctic.   New  York.    1938. 

23.  Twinn,  C.  R.   Studies  of  the  biology  and  control  of  biting  flies 

in  northern  Canada.   Arctic,  Journal  of  the  Arctic  Institute 
of  North  America,  5   (1):  14-26.  April,  1950. 


Relationships  of  Permafrost  to  Sanitation— Alter      253 

24.  Varshavskiy  A.  A.  Energetika  Arktiki  (Sources  of  energy  in  the 

Arctic).  Sov.  Arkt.,  2:  75  ff.    1937. 

25.  Whittaker,  Harold  A.    Sanitation  needs  in  Alaska.    Alaska 

Department  of  Health.   Juneau.    1949. 

26.  Williams,  Ralph  B.    Summary  of  Samonella  and  Shigella  of 

Alaska.   Northwest  Medicine,  49  (5):  340.   May,  1950. 

27.  Wilson,  Charles  S.   Aerosol  spray  units  for  control  of  biting 

insects.   Mosquito  News,  10  (2):  51-54.  June,  1950. 

28.  Climate  and  Man.  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  Washing- 

ton.  1941. 

29.  Community  facilities  in  Alaska.  Alaska  Department  of  Health. 

Juneau.    1949. 

30.  Vechnaia   Merzlota.    Sbornik    (Eternal  frost.   Collection  of 

Works).  Izd.  Akad.  Nauk  S.S.S.R.,  Moskva.   1930. 

31.  Zhilishchnye    usloviia    naseleniia    Krainego    Severa    (Housing 

conditions  of  the  population  of  the  extreme  North).    Sov. 
Sever,  5:  78  ff.  1932. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL  ASPECTS  OF  ARCTIC  AND 

SUB-ARCTIC  LIVING 

Ernest  L.  McCollum,  Captain,  USAF 

Arctic  Aeromedical  Laboratory 

The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  present  a  brief  appraisal  of 
some  of  the  psychological  factors  which  tend  to  assume  a  pre- 
dominant role  in  the  dynamics  of  Arctic  and  sub-Arctic  exist- 
ence. Obviously,  this  is  not  an  attempt  to  enumerate  all  of  the 
minute  aspects  of  behavioral  phenomena  peculiar  to  the  Arctic 
peoples,  nor  is  it  an  effort  to  evaluate  the  relative  magnitude 
of  these  factors  as  they  relate  to  individual  communities  or 
groups. 

The  primary  source  for  this  concise  overview  rests  in  the 
research  program  of  the  Arctic  Aeromedical  Laboratory  at 
Ladd  Air  Force  Base,  Fairbanks,  Alaska.  While  the  mission 
of  this  organization  is  military  in  nature,  the  implications  of 
the  work  being  conducted  there  have  general  application  and 
are  meaningful  to  the  civilian  community  as  well.  Basically, 
there  is  little  difference  between  the  drives,  the  needs,  and  the 
wants  of  the  service  man  and  his  family  in  Alaska  and  those  of 
the  resident  civilian,  the  itinerant  summer  laborer,  or  the 
sourdough. 

The  stresses  of  the  Alaskan  environment  are,  for  the  most 
part,  vastly  exaggerated.  There  is  little  objective  evidence  to 
support  the  position  that  is  commonly  gleaned  from  stateside 
accounts  of  the  hazards  of  life  in  the  northern  latitudes.  The 
first  task  of  basic  orientation  for  the  newcomer  to  Alaska  is  the 
dispelling  of  the  many  fantastic  notions  he  may  have  concern- 
ing the  Far  North.  In  place  of  these,  he  must  be  supplied  with 
a  factual  knowledge  of  the  people,  the  climate,  the  terrain,  etc. 
Once  these  preconceived  errors  are  eliminated,  a  great  step  has 
been  taken  in  the  direction  of  good  adjustment. 

For  the  past  eighteen  months  seventy-three  airmen,  all  in 

254 


Psychological  Aspects  of  Arctic  Living— McCollum     255 

Alaska  for  the  first  time,  have  been  subjected  to  intensive  psy- 
chological testing.  The  test  battery  was  designed  to  elicit  the 
changes  which  occurred  in  the  personality  patterns  of  the  men, 
in  their  attitudes  and  opinions,  and  in  their  general  efficiency 
as  members  of  a  military  unit.  While  there  was  evidence  that 
certain  stresses  had  developed,  these  stresses  were  minimal  and 
were  not  traceable  to  the  peculiarities  of  Arctic  and  sub-Arctic 
duty  (1). 

In  this  connection,  it  should  be  stated  that  after  careful 
investigation  of  both  the  large  military  installations  near  the 
centers  of  Alaskan  population  and  the  small  auxiliaries  located 
at  the  far-flung  reaches  of  the  territory,  the  morale  of  the  men 
at  the  outposts  many  times  excelled  that  of  the  men  at  the 
larger  bases  (2). 

The  first  large  focal  point  about  which  a  great  deal  has 
already  been  written  is  the  shortage  of  adequate  housing.  The 
social  consequences  of  this  bottleneck  cannot  be  overestimated. 
Most  of  the  "worries"  registered  by  married  servicemen  in  a 
recent  survey  at  Ladd  Air  Force  Base  and  Elmendorf  Air  Force 
Base  (3,  4)  clustered  around  marital  misunderstandings  fostered 
by  forced  separation  from  their  families  because  of  the  housing 
shortage,  problems  arising  from  prolonged  substandard  ex- 
istence, and  financial  encumberment  incurred  in  an  attempt 
to  solve  the  housing  problem.  The  advantages  accruing  to 
both  the  military  establishment  and  the  civilian  community 
from  an  adequate  housing  program  are  self-evident. 

A  second  source  of  tension  is  the  lack  of  common  social  and 
sexual  expressions.  The  numerical  predominance  of  males 
makes  impossible  any  kind  of  normal  social  balance.  In  such 
a  state  the  incidence  of  delinquent  behavior  increases,  alcoholic 
beverage  consumption  rises,  and  anti-social  sexual  expressions 
are  more  numerous.  Our  findings  indicated  that  the  men  were 
often  lonesome  and  without  anything  interesting  to  do.  Rec- 
reation was  largely  confined  to  various  forms  of  vicarious  es- 
capes such  as  the  movies,  reading,  etc.  No  participant  sport 
engaged  more  than  seventeen  percent  of  the  men  at  the  maxi- 
mum.    The   outdoor   recreational    aspects    of   Alaskan    living 


256  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

receive  undue  emphasis.  Only  about  fourteen  percent  of  the 
service  personnel  buy  Alaskan  small  game  and  fishing  licenses, 
and  only  five  percent  qualify  and  purchase  large  game  permits. 
The  primary  reason  more  people  did  not  engage  in  these  out- 
door activities  was  the  lack  of  suitable  transportation  to  and 
from  the  areas  where  they  may  be  enjoyed  (2). 

In  relation  to  the  social  unbalance  mentioned  in  the  fore- 
going, a  word  should  be  added  about  those  who  adjust  to  this 
total  environment  most  poorly.  A  study  was  made  of  one 
hundred  men  who  exhibited  a  pattern  of  frustration  and  mal- 
adjustment to  the  demands  of  Air  Force  duty  in  Alaska  (5). 
The  purpose  of  this  investigation  was  to  determine  the  rela- 
tionship between  "low"  morale  and  personality  structures. 
Without  question,  the  poorest  risk  in  terms  of  productive 
efficiency  in  the  environment  described  was  that  individual 
commonly  known  as  the  "psychopathic  deviate,"  the  person 
who  demonstrates  a  lack  of  deep  emotional  responses,  the  in- 
ability to  profit  by  experience,  and  a  disregard  for  the  accepted 
social  mores.  These  persons  incessantly  rebel  against  the 
limitations  imposed  upon  them  and  express  this  rebellion  in  a 
variety  of  anti-social  media. 

Another  personality  type  which  appeared  to  find  the  environ- 
ment described  especially  unfriendly  was  the  hypomanic,  that 
individual  exhibiting  chronic,  mild,  manic  excitement.  These 
persons  are  commonly  characterized  by  marked  over-produc- 
tivity without  direction  or  control.  Their  interests  rapidly  fluc- 
tuate from  one  endeavor  to  another.  Many  times  they  be- 
come habitual  drifters.  These  persons  showed  marked  inability 
to  cope  with  some  of  the  common  elements  of  the  Alaskan 
social  milieu. 

Without  further  elaboration  concerning  those  who  find  rea- 
sonable adjustment  difficult,  it  should  be  stated  that  this  investi- 
gation confirmed  the  basic  premise  that  in  any  challenging 
environment  the  best  risk  is  the  individual  who  is  mentally 
well  poised  and  well  integrated.  The  selection  of  borderline 
individuals  for  assignment  to  areas  where  the  known  problems 


Psychological  Aspects  of  Arctic  Living— McCollum     257 

are  many  is  to  invite  frictions  which,  in  the  long  run,  prove  to 
be  very  uneconomical. 

Probably  the  most  forceful  common  factor  in  determining 
human  behavior  in  most  of  Alaska  is  the  weather.  In  large 
areas  a  great  portion  of  one's  time  in  the  winter  must  be  spent 
combating  the  elements.  The  difficulties  of  transportation, 
labor,  amusement,  etc.,  are  multiplied  by  the  sub-zero  tem- 
peratures, the  deep  snow,  and  the  long  hours  of  darkness.  Basic 
groups  tend  to  become,  of  necessity,  more  isolated  and  self- 
sufficient.  With  the  range  of  activity  restricted,  the  most  com- 
mon psychological  problems  encountered  are  those  which  arise 
from  frictions  caused  by  prolonged  close  association. 

In  summary,  the  Arctic  and  sub-Arctic  areas  of  Alaska  do  not 
pose  the  psychological  problems  which  are  commonly  attributed 
to  them.  There  are,  it  is  true,  certain  principal  sources  of  un- 
usual social  friction  such  as  a  shortage  of  adequate  housing  at 
a  reasonable  cost,  the  absence  of  normal  social  and  sexual  out- 
lets in  many  communities,  and  the  limitations  imposed  by  the 
weather.  In  spite  of  these,  however,  the  normal  individual  finds 
little  difficulty  in  making  the  necessary  adjustments  intelli- 
gently and  effectively. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Selection  of  men  best  qualified  for  Arctic  and  Subarctic  duty, 

Project  21-01-007,  Program  B,  An  Eighteen  Month  Longitu- 
dinal Study  of  Airmen  Assigned  to  Alaskan  Duty. 

2.  Survey  of  human  adjustment  problems  in  the  northern  latitudes, 

Project   21-01-022,   Program   C,   Part   I-C,   Morale   Survey   of 
Alaskan  Air  Command. 

3.  Survey  of  human  adjustment  problems  in  the  northern  latitudes, 

Project  21-01-022,  Program  C,  Part  I,  Morale  Survey  of  Per- 
sonnel Assigned  to  Ladd  Air  Force  Base. 

4.  Survey  of  human  adjustment  problems  in  the  northern  latitudes, 

Project  21-01-022,  Program  C,  Part  I-B,  Morale  Survey  of  Per- 
sonnel Assigned  to  Elmendorf  Air  Force  Base. 

5.  Survey  of  human  adjustment  problems  in  the  northern  latitudes, 

Project  21-01-022,  Program  C,  Part  I-D,  Relationships  between 
Low  Morale  and  Personality  Structures, 


PLANNING   FOR  ALASKA'S    BIG   GAME 

Olaus  J.  Murie 
President,  The  Wilderness  Society 

Nowhere  on  the  continent  do  we  have  a  greater  variety  of 
big  game  species  than  in  Alaska.  Consider  the  list  of  them: 
Moose,  caribou,  black-tailed  deer,  mountain  sheep,  mountain 
goats,  black  bear,  brown  bears  and  grizzlies  in  great  variety, 
polar  bears,  and  walrus— to  mention  only  those  large  mammals 
that  have  been  hunted  for  sport.  Add  to  these  the  interesting 
non-game  species  and  you  have  an  assemblage  of  wildlife  that 
is  an  asset  in  any  country.  Certainly  such  an  asset  deserves  the 
most  thorough  study  and  planning  for  its  perpetuation. 

I  should  like  to  give  prior  attention  to  moose,  caribou,  and 
mountain  sheep.  These  three  present  the  diversity  of  character 
and  variety  of  habitat  that  pretty  well  typify  the  big  game  con- 
servation problem  for  Alaska. 

Thirty  years  ago  some  of  us  who  were  then  in  Alaska  could 
on  occasion  drive  our  dog  teams  within  rifle  shot  of  large  bands 
of  mountain  sheep.  On  upper  Chena  River  we  could  view  an 
impressive  caribou  migration.  As  I  recall  it,  each  person  was 
entitled  to  five  caribou,  three  mountain  sheep,  and  one  or  two 
moose  each  year,  and  without  a  license.  If  you  were  travelling 
in  the  back  country  you  could  take  as  many  as  you  liked.  You 
could  find  mountain  sheep,  caribou  or  moose  on  the  menu  in 
restaurants. 

Today  the  big  game  picture  is  far  different.  What  has  hap- 
pened? 

We  know  some  of  the  factors,  but  others  are  still  obscure. 
We  know  that  Alaska  has  had  a  tremendous  growth  in  popula- 
tion. A  road  now  crosses  the  route  of  the  principal  caribou 
migration,  providing  easy  access  to  the  biggest  game  herd.  With 
road  building  and  the  prevalence  of  air  travel  there  are  no 
longer  remote  areas  in  the  old  sense.  These  changed  conditions, 

258 


Planning  for  Alaska's  Big  Game—Murie  259 

reflecting  historical  events  that  we  have  already  experienced  in 
the  more  settled  parts  of  our  country,  point  to  an  inevitable 
trend  that  should  give  us  clues  to  intelligent  planning  for  the 
future. 

In  recent  years  a  striking  up-swing  in  the  wolf  population 
has  been  a  dramatic  factor  in  the  wildlife  situation,  and  this 
deserves  our  attention.  During  the  period  of  extreme  public 
interest  in  the  wolf  the  only  intensive  work  done  on  the  game 
in  a  selected  locality  took  place  in  Mt.  McKinley  National  Park, 
jointly  by  the  U.  S.  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  and  the  National 
Park  Service.  This  was  followed  by  further  research  and  check- 
up by  the  National  Park  Service  over  a  period  of  years. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  present  the  large  mass  of  data  as- 
sembled, but  it  is  of  interest  to  note  some  significant  findings 
on  mountain  sheep. 

Results  of  the  studies  were  published  by  the  National  Park 
Service  as  a  bulletin,  "The  Wolves  of  Mt.  McKinley"  by  Adolph 
Murie,  and  we  learn  that  the  winters  of  1928-29  and  1931-32 
were  disastrous  for  mountain  sheep  in  the  park  and  they  died 
in  large  numbers.  Unfortunately,  we  did  not  have  comparable 
research  from  other  parts  of  Alaska  for  those  years.  At  the  same 
time  the  wolf  population  was  increasing  in  a  striking  manner, 
and  these  animals  took  toll  of  the  remaining  sheep.  The  result 
was  a  drastic  reduction  of  the  once  numerous  mountain  sheep 
population  of  interior  Alaska.  In  his  report  Adolph  Murie 
commented:  ".  .  .  .  it  seems  apparent  that  the  wolf  is  the 
chief  check  on  the  increase  of  the  Dall  sheep  in  Mt.  McKinley 
National  Park." 

He  had  recommended  a  limited  control  of  the  wolf  and  a 
continued  check-up  on  the  mountain  sheep  population,  but 
about  this  time  the  wolves  themselves  became  scarcer  in  that 
area  and  even  the  small  number  recommended  for  removal 
were  not  obtained.  Furthermore,  the  mountain  sheep  popula- 
tion showed  signs  of  being  on  the  upswing  again. 

Prior  to  the  time  of  the  heavier  wolf  predation  the  large 
sheep  population  could  not  be  accommodated  by  the  forage 
present  on  the  more  rugged,  protected  terrain.    As  a  result, 


260  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

many  of  them  had  become  accustomed  to  feed  on  the  lower, 
gentler  slopes,  away  from  the  protection  of  rough  country.  Then 
came  the  two  adverse  winters,  and  heavier  wolf  pressure,  which 
reduced  the  sheep  numbers  and  placed  them  back  in  rugged 
territory,  where  they  found  greater  safety.  This  meant,  of 
course,  a  smaller  total  population. 

In  1920  I  found  that  there  was  a  small  group  of  mountain 
sheep  in  the  White  Mountains,  between  Fairbanks  and  Circle. 
Recently  I  learned  that  they  are  still  there.  It  is  significant  that 
after  30  years,  in  spite  of  the  unprecedented,  widely  publicized 
wolf  numbers  in  the  north,  and  living  in  a  place  that  has  had 
no  special  legal  protection,  that  handful  of  sheep  has  persisted. 

This  is  precisely  the  experience  we  have  had  in  some  other 
places.  Large  populations  have  suddenly  declined,  for  obscure 
reasons,  but  after  reaching  a  low  point  they  have  persisted  and 
in  time  began  a  slow  recovery.  That  appears  to  be  what  hap- 
pened in  Mt.  McKinley  National  Park,  where  the  numbers  are 
now  once  more  on  the  upswing.  Furthermore,  some  reports 
are  to  the  effect  that  in  the  Brooks  Range,  in  spite  of  the  wolves, 
the  mountain  sheep  are  holding  their  own. 

In  some  of  the  arid  portions  of  the  southwestern  United 
States,  where  climatic  factors  severely  affect  forage  growth  and 
consequently  animal  populations,  poaching  has  in  some  cases 
proved  to  be  an  upsetting  factor  that  prevented  sheep  popula- 
tion recovery. 

The  Alaskan  moose  may  in  time  present  a  problem,  but  we 
have  here  the  advantage  that  moose  are  widely  distributed  and 
they  are  not  confined  to  a  highly  specialized  habitat.  They  do 
require  browse,  and  it  is  essential  that  they  continue  to  have 
access  to  areas  of  heavy  willow  growth.  I  shall  refer  to  the 
moose  again  later. 

We  have  a  problem  with  the  Alaskan  caribou.  In  1921  my 
estimate  of  the  Yukon-Tanana  herd  was  568,000,  and  it  ap- 
peared at  that  time  that  the  caribou  of  Alaska  and  Yukon  may 
have  numbered  over  a  million.  Today  the  numbers  of  caribou 
are  reported  to  be  but  a  fraction  of  what  they  were. 

We  know  that  increase  in  human  population,  and  greater 


Planning  for  Alaska's  Big  Game—Murie  261 

accessibility  by  roads,  has  resulted  in  a  great  increase  in  shoot- 
ing. The  high  wolf  population  has  no  doubt  had  an  appreciable 
effect.  But  what  other  factors  are  there?  Is  it  possible  that  the 
number  present  in  1921  was  the  high  point  in  a  cycle?  Is  such 
a  cycle  beneficial  for  recovery  of  range?  And  what  really  causes 
a  cycle,  if  one  exists? 

Years  ago  L.  J.  Palmer,  of  the  Bureau  of  Biological  Survey, 
made  thorough  studies  of  lichen  growth.  He  found  that  when 
lichens  are  destroyed  they  require  about  as  long  for  recovery 
of  full  growth  as  does  a  destroyed  forest.  On  the  caribou  migra- 
tion route  of  the  Yukon-Tanana  highlands  I  found  lichens 
abundant  in  1921.  Yet  it  was  noticeable,  even  then,  that  where 
animals  were  particularly  abundant  the  lichen  growth  was 
pretty  well  scuffed  up  by  numerous  hooves,  and  did  not  present 
an  even  growth. 

In  1923,  when  my  brother  and  I  spent  a  winter  in  the  Brooks 
Range,  we  found  large  areas  on  the  Alatna  River  watershed 
where  lichens  were  unusually  luxuriant,  and  undisturbed.  No 
caribou  had  been  there  in  the  memory  of  some  of  the  Indians. 
In  the  early  winter  of  1924,  when  my  wife  and  I  visited  much 
the  same  country,  we  witnessed  an  unusual  event.  The  caribou 
herds  that  had  formerly  migrated  along  the  route  to  the  east- 
ward, this  time  swung  westward  so  as  to  take  in  the  virgin 
range  of  the  Alatna. 

May  we  look  upon  this  as  an  instance  of  natural  rotation  of 
use,  letting  a  range  lie  fallow  for  a  time?  It  is  reported  that  the 
Arctic  herd,  north  of  the  Brooks  Range,  has  actually  increased 
in  recent  years.  How  shall  we  interpret  that  fact?  Had  a  pre- 
viously hard-used  range  up  there  recovered,  permitting  another 
increase  in  animals?  Have  some  of  the  Yukon-Tanana  herd 
moved  north  to  augment  the  numbers  on  the  Arctic  slope? 
Must  we  conclude  that  we  cannot  maintain  an  animal  popula- 
tion at  a  high  level,  continuously,  without  fluctuations  to  lower 
levels? 

There  is  not  a  clear  answer  to  these  questions.  In  fact,  when 
we  begin  to  discuss  the  big  game  problem  of  Alaska,  it  becomes 
a  series  of  questions.  Yet  we  have  had  experience  with  wildlife 


262  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

management  in  North  America  and  we  have  discovered  certain 
dependable  principles.  I  should  like  to  mention  a  few  of  these, 
two  of  which  I  want  to  stress  particularly:  1.  The  need  for  pre- 
serving the  habitat,  and  2,  the  need  for  planning.  They  are,  of 
course,  closely  related. 

1.  Animals  require  a  habitat  to  which  they  have  become 
adapted,  with  the  proper  food  and  shelter  and  other  require- 
ments. Mountain  sheep  and  goats  have  the  advantage  of  occu- 
pying a  type  of  mountainous  terrain  that  is  not  likely  to  be 
sought  for  the  usual  economic  purposes,  and  the  preservation 
of  such  habitat  should  be  compatible  with  human  use.  The 
deer  of  the  southern  coast  are  not  highly  specialized  in  habitat 
choice  and  should  survive  in  the  large  forested  areas  available 
to  them,  since  their  presence  there  is  compatible  with  other 
land  uses  in  that  region.  To  some  extent  this  applies  also  to 
moose.  But  the  caribou  are  a  problem.  Apparently  their  food 
supply,  particularly  lichen,  is  critical.  There  is  evidence  that 
to  thrive  the  herds  must  have  plenty  of  room  in  which  to  travel 
about  and  be  dispersed,  in  order  to  preserve  their  range.  I 
might  point  out  that  this  principle  of  moving  the  animals  and 
keeping  them  dispersed  is  the  principle  that  national  forest 
supervisors  in  the  States  attempt  to  put  into  effect  in  herding 
domestic  sheep. 

2.  To  accomplish  habitat  preservation,  particularly  for  cari- 
bou, broad  scale  land-use  planning  for  Alaska  is  desirable.  Social 
and  economic  needs  are  both  to  be  considered,  such  as  agri- 
culture, mining,  hunting,  tourist  travel,  and  the  wilderness  type 
of  recreation  which  is  having  so  much  attention  today,  all  the 
interests  that  contribute  to  public  welfare  in  the  most  compre- 
hensive sense. 

We  have  had  discouraging  experience  in  many  parts  of  the 
States.  We  have  in  many  instances  discovered  a  herd  of  animals 
on  our  hands  with  no  place  to  put  them.  Animals  need  a  place 
to  be,  with  the  proper  food.  Yellowstone  Park,  for  example, 
was  established  in  1872,  dedicated  in  part  to  preserve  the  animal 
life.  But  the  lowland  winter  ranges  outside  have  gradually 
gone  into  agricultural  use  and  we  now  have  to  reduce  the 


Planning  for  Alaska's  Big  Game—Murie  263 

Yellowstone  herd  to  low  figures,  and  we  don't  know  what  the 
end  will  be.  It  has  been  urged  that  the  surplus  animals  be 
shipped  alive  to  other  parts  of  the  country.  But  where?  We  can 
find  no  more  places  for  elk.  We  had  no  planning  for  wildlife 
in  the  early  stages  of  the  development  of  the  West.  Even  today, 
present  reclamation  plans,  drawn  up  without  adequate  con- 
sideration of  all  public  needs,  will  in  some  instances  shrink 
wildlife  winter  range  still  further. 

Alaska  had  a  unique  opportunity  to  study  the  failures  in  the 
States,  to  study  the  needs  of  caribou  and  other  big  game,  to 
study  the  social  and  economic  needs  of  the  foreseeable  future, 
and  to  make  long-range  plans  for  land  use  in  one  of  the  most 
interesting  areas  we  have.  Alaska  could  take  the  lead  by  putting 
into  practice  integrated  planning,  and  thereby  do  a  service  to 
the  Nation.  This  is  nothing  more  disturbing  today  than  the 
spectacle  of  public  agencies  making  their  blueprints  for  the 
future,  each  in  its  specialty,  and  ignoring  the  needs  in  other 
fields  of  human  endeavor.  The  recently  established  Kenai 
National  Moose  Range,  with  a  qualified  biologist  in  charge, 
capable  of  putting  into  effect  management  plans  with  regard 
for  the  balance  between  forage  supply  and  game,  and  with 
consideration  of  the  total  fauna  and  flora,  is  a  most  encouraging 
step  in  the  right  direction. 

Reindeer  raising  is  not  compatible  with  maintaining  wild 
caribou.  It  has  been  proven  that  when  the  two  interests  occupy 
the  same  ground,  one  must  go.  There  is  range  for  only  one. 
In  some  instances  the  caribou  are  deliberately  killed  off,  since 
they  interfere  with  reindeer  herding.  This  has  happened  over 
much  of  the  reindeer  country  along  Bering  Sea.  Or  the  caribou 
will  lead  away  the  reindeer  in  their  migrations,  until  few  or 
none  remain.  A  classical  example  was  the  unfortunate  attempt 
years  ago  to  place  a  federal  reindeer  herd  in  Broad  Pass.  It  was 
doomed  to  failure  from  the  start,  for  this  was  in  the  migration 
route  of  the  caribou. 

A  zoning  system  is  essential,  reserving  certain  areas  for  do- 
mestic reindeer,  and  other  areas  for  caribou.  Perhaps  a  fresh, 
objective  inquiry  into  the  status  of  reindeer  is  desirable.    In 


264  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

past  years  there  have  been  instances  when  reindeer  were  placed 
where  they  were  not  wanted  and  not  needed;  for  example,  on 
Atka  Island,  where  the  inhabitants  didn't  care  for  them;  on 
Umnak  Island,  where  for  years  everybody  had  forgotten  about 
them;  and  on  Alaska  Peninsula,  where  hybridizing  is  doing 
away  with  the  native  species  of  Grant's  caribou.  These  are 
examples  of  single-track  planning  without  regard  for  other 
interests.  We  must  insist  on  coordination  of  activities  of  differ- 
ent bureaus. 

I  would  point  out  that  the  dedication  of  extensive  areas  for 
conservation  of  caribou  herds  could  be  combined  with  other 
compatible  uses.  Sportsmen,  and  those  who  take  game  pri- 
marily for  home  use,  of  course  welcome  provisions  for  main- 
taining a  substantial  game  supply.  Many  of  these  areas  could 
also  be  considered  primitive  or  wilderness  land,  useful  in  the 
field  of  science,  particularly  ecology,  for  education,  and  for 
many  types  of  recreation.  Certain  non-agricultural  portions  of 
Alaska  could  well  be  designated  for  such  multiple  use,  featuring 
the  caribou  herds  as  the  special  object  of  concern. 

Certain  well  meaning  people  have  proposed  that  elk  be 
brought  into  interior  Alaska.  I  can  think  of  nothing  more 
dangerous  to  Alaska's  game  animals,  if  the  elk  should  succeed 
in  establishing  themselves.  Elsewhere  we  have  found  elk 
competing  with  mountain  sheep  and  moose.  Some  years  ago 
I  had  several  sacks  of  reindeer  lichens  shipped  from  Alaska  to 
Wyoming  to  try  out  on  elk.  Though  this  was  a  strange  food  to 
the  elk,  and  it  had  been  dried  a  long  time,  they  ate  it.  We  know 
that  elk  eat  other  lichens  native  to  their  range.  We  can  not 
afford  to  add  to  the  caribou  problem  by  introducing  another 
herd  animal  that  would  deplete  their  favorite  food. 

Unfortunately,  there  are  also  proposals  to  introduce  the  coast 
black-tailed  deer  into  the  moose  range  on  Kenai  Peninsula. 
Here  again  the  present  forward-looking  program  aims  to  keep 
a  famous  moose  herd  in  balance  with  the  browse  supply.  Such 
worthy  effort  should  not  be  thwarted  by  placing  there  a  com- 
petitor. 

A  word  should  be  said  about  the  walrus.  From  ancient  times 


Planning  for  Alaska's  Big  Game— Marie  265 

the  walrus  herds  living  in  Bering  Sea  and  adjacent  parts  of  the 
Artie  Ocean  moved  over  their  migration  routes  with  the  sea- 
sons, and  contributed  to  the  livelihood  of  the  original  inhabi- 
tants of  those  shores.  The  walrus  supply  was  maintained,  since 
only  enough  was  taken  by  the  people  to  meet  their  personal 
needs. 

Today  it  is  different.  Two  major  changes  have  been  made. 
There  is  an  outside  demand  for  ivory  products,  beyond  the 
personal  needs  of  the  Eskimo.  And  the  Eskimo  are  using  modern 
firearms. 

Formerly  the  walrus  were  harpooned,  with  little  waste. 
Today,  when  walrus  are  shot  with  rifles,  an  alarming  percent- 
age of  the  animals  killed  sink  and  are  lost. 

The  Eskimo,  when  governing  themselves  in  their  original 
society,  showed  wisdom  in  meeting  their  problems.  The  present 
walrus  problem  should  be  approached  by  consultation  with 
representative  Eskimo  leaders,  who  should  be  in  a  position  to 
offer  practical  suggestions  for  solving  a  problem  that  concerns 
their  own  future  so  directly. 

A  game  management  program  should  be  based  strictly  on 
scientific  findings,  with  emphasis  on  ecology  and  with  considera- 
tion of  the  total  interest  in  wildlife.  Any  animal  population 
must  exist  in  accordance  with  biological,  ecological,  law.  It  is 
necessary  to  discover  those  laws  and  apply  them. 

Furthermore,  it  is  desirable  that  the  public  be  made  familiar 
with  scientific  management  of  wildlife.  Recently  the  U.  S.  Fish 
and  Wildlife  Service  and  the  University  of  Alaska  have  com- 
pleted arrangements  for  a  Cooperative  Wildlife  Research  Unit 
at  the  University.  This  is  another  of  several  developments  in 
Alaska  that  point  the  direction  toward  effective  management 
of  wildlife  and  public  appreciation  of  the  true  problem. 

Predation  is  a  subject  too  complex  to  discuss  in  detail  here, 
but  it  has  had  great  publicity  in  Alaska  in  recent  years.  When 
predation  becomes  serious  it  should  not  be  ignored,  and  control 
should  be  applied  as  needed.  But  in  such  instances  it  is  difficult 
to  maintain  public  objectivity.  The  subject  lends  itself  so  well 
to  journalistic  writing  and  emotional  expression  that  it  becomes 


266  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

extremely  hard  to  get  facts  before  the  public.  Too  often  the 
subject  of  predation,  with  all  its  heated  repercussions,  beclouds 
the  real  problem  and  draws  attention  and  enthusiasm  way  from 
the  fundamental  ecological  basis  for  management. 

In  the  final  analysis,  should  wildlife  management  be  an 
isolated  field  apart  from  other  public  planning?  Conversely, 
should  commercial  fisheries,  agriculture,  any  one  business  ven- 
ture, be  planned  and  established  as  special  fields  of  endeavor, 
apart  from  each  other,  and  apart  from  wildlife  management? 
And  should  wildlife  management  be  pursued  without  con- 
sideration of  all  the  facets  of  recreation?  We  are  discovering 
that  a  single  field  of  planning  can  not  be  successful  in  the  demo- 
cratic sense  if  it  exists  with  complete  indifference  toward  other 
fields.  The  conservation  effort  today  has  taken  new  direction. 
The  emphasis  lies  in  a  widespread  plea  for  integration  of  the 
many  phases  of  public  planning.  The  earnest  plea  is  for  sym- 
pathetic consideration  for  each  interest  that  may  be  in  conflict 
with  another.  Especially,  the  plea  is  for  the  elimination  of 
political  bias  from  planning,  for  a  sharing  of  opportunity,  for 
democracy. 

Wildlife  planning  for  Alaska  is  part  of  a  wider  endeavor.  It 
is  being  recognized  that  mountains,  streams,  forests,  and  wild- 
life are  an  important  part  of  human  environment,  which  con- 
tribute in  diverse  ways  to  the  many  kinds  of  human  aspirations 
and  enjoyment.  Physical  welfare  alone,  of  material  goods  and 
opportunities  for  individual  accumulation  of  dollars,  are  use- 
less without  the  opportunity  for  contentment  in  a  suitable 
environment. 

To  be  more  specific,  planning  for  wildlife  in  Alaska  involves 
a  procedure  that  completely  ignores  the  spirit  of  personal  ex- 
ploitation of  resources.  It  means  careful  study  of  land  use 
possibilities,  on  a  regional  basis,  with  an  eye  to  determining 
what  areas  are  best  fitted  for  agriculture,  what  localized  places, 
if  any,  are  suitable  for  national  parks,  which  should  be  left  in 
a  primitive  state  for  the  wilderness  type  of  recreation.  Several 
of  these  needs,  especially  in  the  diverse  field  of  recreation,  can 
be  combined  in  the  same  area,  provided  that  the  management 


Planning  for  Alaska's  Big  Game—Murie  267 

or  administrative  plan  is  not  too  narrow  in  application.  For 
example,  conservation  of  caribou  and  mountain  sheep  could 
well  be  combined  with  a  system  of  wilderness  areas,  selected  so 
as  not  to  encroach  on  agricultural  land.  These  two  purposes  go 
very  well  together. 

Above  all,  in  planning  for  Alaska's  big  game,  personnel  should 
be  called  on  who  are  competent  to  evaluate  the  emerging  human 
needs. 

I  would  repeat,  that  Alaska  today  has  a  unique  opportunity 
to  study  the  mistakes  and  disasters  that  have  occurred  in  the 
more  settled  parts  of  our  country.  Alaska  has  the  opportunity 
to  offer  leadership  in  wildlife  management  on  a  scientific  basis, 
leadership  in  land  use  planning  that  will  contribute  most  to  the 
satisfactions  we  are  all  striving  for. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Murie,  Adolph.  The  wolves  of  Mt.  McKinley.  Fauna  Series  No. 

5,  U.  S.  Nat.  Park  Service.    1944 

2.    .  Another  look  at  McKinley  Park  sheep.  The  Living  Wil- 
derness, 2,  No.  19.   December,  1946. 

3.  Murie,  Olaus  J.  Alaska-Yukon  caribou.  North  American  Fauna 

No.  54,  U.S.D.A.   1935. 

4.    .    Wildlife  introductions  in  Alaska.    Trans.  Fifth  North 

American  Wildlife  Conference.    1941. 

5.  Nelson,  Edward  W.    Report  upon  natural  history  collections 

made  in  Alaska  between  the  years  1877  and  1881.  No.  Ill, 
Arctic  Series  of  Publications  issued  in  connection  with  the 
Signal  Service,  U.S.  Army.    1887. 

6.  Palmer,  Lawrence  J.  Progress  of  reindeer  grazing  investigations 

in  Alaska.   U.S.D.A.  Bulletin  no.  1423.    1926. 

7.    .  Improved  reindeer  handling.   U.S.D.A.  Circular  No.  82. 

1929- 

8.  - — ■ .  Raising  reindeer  in  Alaska.  U.S.D.A.  Misc.  Publications 

No.  207.    1934. 

9.  Sheldon,  Charles.  The  wilderness  of  Denali.   New  York.    1930. 


PRESSING  PROBLEMS  IN  ADMINISTRATION   OF 
WILDLIFE  RESOURCES  IN  ALASKA 

W.  A.  Elkins 

Fish  and  Wildlife  Service 
Juneau,  Alaska 

Administration  of  fish  and  wildlife  resources  in  Alaska  is  a 
function  of  a  federal  agency,  the  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service. 
Since  Alaska  is  a  territory  the  Service  is  operating  both  as  the 
federal  wildlife  agency  and  the  Game  and  Fish  Department  as 
constituted  in  many  states.  In  addition,  a  regulatory  and  policy- 
making body,  the  Alaska  Game  Commission,  represents  the 
people  of  each  of  the  four  judicial  divisions  of  Alaska.  In 
Alaska,  the  Service  is  organized  in  three  operating  divisions: 
commercial  fisheries,  law  enforcement  and  wildlife  manage- 
ment. 

To  describe  adequately  the  range  of  problems  would  require 
first  a  description  of  the  varied  wildlife  habitats  from  the  dense 
coastal  rain  forests  of  southeastern  Alaska  to  the  Arctic  tundra 
and  the  variation  from  the  windswept  treeless  heath  of  the 
Aleutians  to  the  dry  cold  interior.  Instead  I  have  chosen  here 
to  consider  three  types  of  problems:  those  involving  land  and 
climate,  problems  of  animal  behavior  and  those  wildlife  prob- 
lems brought  about  by  the  human  population.  There  are  im- 
portant differences  and  many  similarities  to  stateside  wildlife 
problems.  One  difference  can  best  be  understood  by  comparing 
the  motives  of  the  stateside  hunter  and  the  Alaska  hunter.  Here 
in  Washington  the  term  "meat  hunter"  would  be  generally 
regarded  as  a  form  of  name-calling  with  considerable  stigma 
attached.  Most  Alaskan  hunters  would  consider  it  a  compli- 
ment and  look  down  their  noses  at  the  "sportsman"  or  "sport 
hunter."  We  are  dealing  with  a  resource  that  means  food  and 
clothing  to  the  people  and  not  with  game  harvested  by  a  recre- 
ational group  out  for  a  weekend  pheasant  hunt.   Fish,  fur  and 

268 


Administration  of  Wildlife  Resources— Elkins         269 

game  is  the  basis  for  the  economy  of  much  of  Alaska  particu- 
larly the  Arctic  and  Subarctic  regions  and  without  these  re- 
sources these  regions  and  much  of  the  interior  would  not  be 
habitable  by  man. 

I.  Basic  Land— Climate— Wildlife  Relationship 

Agriculturists  are  well  aware  of  the  limitations  Alaska's  soil 
and  climate  impose  on  the  yield  of  grain  and  livestock.  Iowa 
magnitude  hundred-bushel-to-the-acre  grain  yields  or  a  cow  to 
every  two  acres  is  not  claimed  and  we  accept  the  fact  that  neither 
the  climate  nor  the  soil  will  permit  such  yields  or  such  density 
of  animals.  With  fish  and  wildlife,  however,  we  are  not  so 
inhibited  and  the  outdoor  magazines  carry  Alaska  hunting  and 
fishing  stories  that  seem  to  say,  "come  to  Alaska  where  the 
brown  bear  and  caribou  abound  and  everv  lake  and  stream  is 
teeming  with  fish."  I  suppose  the  impression  of  great  abun- 
dance results  from  the  telescoping  of  a  month  long  hunt  into  a 
few  brief  pages;  the  gameless  days  and  the  endless  miles  of 
spruce  between  fishing  holes  do  not  stand  out  in  such  an 
account. 

A  few  years  ago  the  Tanana  Valley  Sportsmen's  Association 
posted  a  notice  at  Tok  Junction  where  Alaska  Highway  visitors 
entered  the  territory  from  Canada.  The  notice  began,  "Alaska 
is  not  teeming  with  game  and  fish—."  But  practically  nobody 
believed  it  until  they  had  been  in  the  territory  for  some  time. 
Here  then  is  a  basic  problem;  to  determine  actual  wildlife  popu- 
lation densities  in  the  various  soil  and  cover  types  and  in  the 
several  climates  of  Alaska.  Some  of  the  findings  to  date  in  this 
type  of  survey  have  been  significant;  for  example  a  winter 
moose  density  of  1  y2  per  square  mile  was  found  on  the  Kenai 
National  Moose  Range  in  contrast  to  3  moose  per  mile  in  the 
Susitna  Valley.  Yet  both  areas  were  short  of  winter  food,  the 
difference  being  that  the  Kenai  had  supported  a  large  winter 
moose  herd  for  many  years  and  in  that  time  the  forest  succession 
had  matured  and  some  moose  browse  such  as  birch  had  erown 
out  of  reach  of  moose  and  other  such  as  willow  had  been  re- 
placed by  spruce.    The  remaining  browse  in  the  concentrated 


270  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

wintering  area  around  Kasilof  and  Kenai  is  severely  over- 
browsed  each  hard  winter.  The  Susitna  moose  population  has 
been  building  up  in  recent  years  but  is  now  beginning  to  ex- 
ceed the  winter  browse  supply  in  years  of  deep  snow. 

The  remedy  is  simple:  cut  down  the  moose  heard  to  the  carry- 
ing capacity  of  the  winter  range;  but  putting  that  remedy  in 
practice  may  be  far  from  simple  considering  the  uneven  distri- 
bution of  hunting  effort  according  to  accessibility.  A  step  in  this 
direction  was  taken  this  year  by  opening  to  hunting  the  Susitna 
section  of  the  Alaska  Railroad  and  by  lengthening  the  season  on 
the  Kenai. 

Relationship  of  wildlife  to  land  forms  is  especially  pro- 
nounced among  ducks  and  geese.  Table  I  (1)  shows  relative 
densities  of  breeding  waterfowl  as  determined  from  the  aerial 
transects: 

Table  1.— Density  of  Breeding  Waterfowl 

Waterfowl  per  square  mile 

A 

Region                                                                                   1948  1949  1950 

Arctic   Slope    3.9  2.5  2.6 

Interior— Innoko— Lower  Yukon   —  10.7  14.0 

Interior—  Minto    Lakes    —  —  8.7 

Kotzebue  Sound— mainly  river  deltas —  36.2  30.2 

Yukon    Delta    —  16.5  17.4 

The  pronounced  difference  between  the  Arctic  tundra  (3 
waterfowl  per  sq.  mile)  and  the  delta  areas  (17  to  30  per  mile) 
provides  a  clue  to  the  reasons  for  the  contrast  in  productivity. 
It  also  tells  us  the  type  of  habitat  with  highest  priority  for 
waterfowl  management.  Like  deltaic  formations  the  world 
over,  the  Yukon  Delta  contains  the  concentrated  fertility  from 
the  whole  drainage  basin. 

With  fresh-water  fish,  the  myth  of  uncounted  numbers  has, 
like  the  big  game,  been  repeated  in  glowing  terms.  Actually  the 
fresh  waters  are  relatively  low  in  productivity  when  considered 
as  a  year-round  habitat.  The  huge  runs  of  anadromous  species 
give  the  impression  of  great  abundance  in  streams  and  lakes 
accessible  to  salt  water  but  these  salmon  and  trout  have  been 
feeding  and  made  most  of  their  growth  in  the  sea.   Land-locked 


Administration  of  Wildlife  Resources— Elkins         271 

fish,  on  the  other  hand,  must  depend  on  the  plankton,  bottom 
fauna  and  small  fish  present,  without  the  assistance  of  the  ocean 
to  furnish  tons  of  organic  material.  It  is  patent  that  lakes  and 
streams  reflect  the  productivity  of  the  land  in  their  drainage. 
A  lake  surrounded  by  rocky  ridges  and  sparse  spruce  will  be 
relatively  infertile  and  management  must  be  geared  to  that 
hard  and  uninviting  fact. 

This  then  is  the  basic  problem:  the  climate  and  soil  of  Alaska 
is  capable  of  producing  on  a  sustained  yield  basis  a  low  crop  of 
game  and  fish  per  unit  of  area.  There  are  some  important  ex- 
ceptions to  this  statement  but  successful  management  must 
recognize  the  need  to  disperse  hunting  and  fishing  pressure 
widely.  Equally  necessary  is  continued  recognition  that  most 
of  the  land  in  Alaska  is  better  suited  for  producing  a  crop  of 
game  and  fur  than  for  any  other  purpose. 

II.  Animal  Behavior  Problems 

A  second  set  of  problems  to  which  answers  are  badly  needed 
concern  the  behavior  patterns  of  game  animals. 

Caribou  are  the  most  numerous  big  game  animals  and  the 
least  understood.  For  example  we  need  to  know  what  makes 
the  caribou  run.  We  need  to  know  why  some  caribou  migrate 
while  others  remain  as  resident  herds.  If  anyone  doubts  the 
importance  of  this  line  of  investigation  let  him  consider  that  we 
now  have  three  or  possibly  four  caribou  herds  that  migrate  back 
and  forth  across  the  Yukon— Alaska  border.  We  need  a  great 
deal  more  knowledge  if  these  herds  are  to  be  perpetuated,  har- 
vested within  reason,  and  protected  properly  on  both  sides  of 
the  international  boundary. 

According  to  Murie  (2)  the  large  caribou  herd  between  the 
Yukon  and  Tanana  Rivers  numbered  between  one-half  and  one 
million  animals.  This  herd  is  no  longer  present.  There  are 
some  indications  that  these  caribou  migrated  northwest  to  the 
Noatak  Valley,  an  airline  distance  of  nearly  600  miles.  If  they 
did,  think  of  the  complexities  that  can  arise  when  100,000  or 
more  caribou  leave  one  range  and  appear  on  an  entirely  differ- 
ent range.    Neither  the  native  economy  nor  the  machinery  of 


272  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

regulations,  patrol  and  protection  is  flexible  enough  to  meet 
such  drastic  changes  without  some  hardship  and  turmoil. 

The  Nelchina  caribou  are  an  example  of  a  more  or  less  resi- 
dent herd  that  remains  in  a  definite  area  the  year  around.  This 
tendency  simplifies  greatly  the  broad  management  practices  of 
protection  from  predators  and  regulation  of  the  take. 

Why  do  caribou  migrate?  And  what  determines  the  time  and 
route?  Why  do  some  herds  follow  a  pattern  while  others  appear 
completely  erratic  in  their  movements?  And  why  do  still  others 
not  migrate  at  all?  Do  caribou  always  move  into  the  prevailing 
wind?  Or  is  it  lack  of  food  or  harassment  by  wolves  that  starts 
the  herd  moving?  What  of  the  influence  of  insect  pests  or  the 
disturbance  by  man?  Has  highway  or  railroad  construction 
been  a  factor  in  changing  migration  routes?  And  what  of  the 
effect  of  the  airplane?  Or  is  the  answer  not  to  be  found  in  ex- 
ternal factors  but  instead  in  a  temperature  change  or  some  other 
stimulus  affecting  the  internal  physiology  of  the  animal? 

We  now  have  information  on  the  approximate  caribou  popu- 
lation, the  kill  by  licensed  hunters  and  the  winter  foods.  Also 
the  effect  of  tundra  fires  on  the  caribou  range  is  known.  Beyond 
that  a  great  many  answers  are  needed  before  intelligent  man- 
agement of  caribou  becomes  a  reality. 

Obviously  neither  time  nor  the  caribou  will  stand  still  until 
all  the  answers  are  in.  The  present  caribou  surveys  are  financed 
by  Federal  Aid  in  Wildlife  Restoration  funds  with  active  co- 
operation from  several  agencies  maintaining  field  parties  in  the 
caribou  country  such  as  the  Geological  Survey,  Arctic  Institute, 
Public  Health  Service,  the  Air  Force,  the  Navy  and  the  Alaska 
Native  Service.  New  measures  adopted  as  a  result  of  the  find- 
ings to  date  include:  closure  of  the  Mt.  Sanford  area  to  hunting 
in  order  to  protect  a  remnant  herd,  more  liberal  bag  limits 
north  of  the  Arctic  circle,  and  intensive  predator  control  on 
the  Nelchina  range. 

Sea  Otter 

The  original  sea  otter  ranee  in  Alaska  included  all  of  the 
North  Pacific  coast  and  islands  and  extended  in  Bering  Sea 


Administration  of  Wildlife  Resources— Elkins         273 

especially  on  the  Pribilof  Islands.  The  present  range,  Aleutian 
and  Shumagin  Islands,  Prince  William  Sound  and  Cook  Inlet 
is  very  restricted  and  is  unusual  because  of  the  spotty  pattern 
of  distribution.  Otter  are  now  found  at  widely  separated  loca- 
tions with  apparently  similar  habitat  between  and  it  would  be 
relevant  to  know  whether  these  are  remnants  of  the  original 
population  or  whether  they  have  become  established  by  migra- 
tion from  the  Aleutian  Islands  nucleus. 

How  important  this  question  looms  may  be  appreciated  by 
the  difference  the  answer  would  make  in  attempting  to  repopu- 
late  much  of  the  original  sea  otter  range.  On  the  one  hand  we 
would  transplant  animals  to  unoccupied  islands  and  build  up 
new  pods  while,  on  the  other  hand,  if  migrations  take  place  we 
would  intensify  protective  measures  on  the  presently  occupied 
otter  islands  and  attempt  to  build  up  breeding  pods. 

The  Aleutian  Chain  and  other  otter  locations  are  not  easy 
places  to  work,  one  good  reason  why  we  know  less  about  sea 
otter  than  other  fur  animals.  The  Aleutian  Island  Refuge  man- 
ager and  his  assistant  located  at  Cold  Bay  near  the  tip  of  the 
Alaska  Peninsula  are  presently  the  chief  Service  source  of  in- 
formation on  the  status  of  the  sea  otter. 

Waterfowl 

Unsolved  waterfowl  problems  in  Alaska  are  sufficient  to 
stagger  the  imagination.  I  will  here  touch  on  only  one  segment 
of  one  problem— migration  behavior  in  three  species  of  geese 
and  one  species  of  duck. 

In  1948,  we  began  banding  waterfowl  in  the  Innoko  River 
area  of  west  central  Alaska  and  in  1949  the  work  was  expanded 
to  include  the  concentrated  goose  nesting  grounds  of  the  Yukon 
Delta.  At  that  time  we  did  not  know  whether  most  of  the  black 
brant  from  the  delta  moved  down  our  Pacific  coast  or  if  they 
followed  the  Aleutian  chain  to  Siberia  and  on  down  the  Asiatic 
coast.  The  recoveries  from  the  1949  bands,  however,  came 
mainly  from  California  and  we  know  that  some  of  the  Yukon 
birds  were  going  to  the  Pacific  coast  states.  There  was  still  no 
tie-up,  however,  with  the  fall  brant  concentrations  at  Cold  Bay 


274  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

on  the  tip  of  the  Alaska  Peninsula.  Just  two  weeks  ago  Yukon 
Delta  bands  were  recovered  from  three  black  brant  at  Cold  Bay 
so  we  now  are  beginning  to  fill  in  the  blanks  on  this  migration 
from  the  Yukon  Delta,  along  the  Bering  Sea  side  of  the  Alaska 
Peninsula,  thence  across  the  Gulf  of  Alaska  to  the  British 
Columbia  coast  and  on  to  Washington,  Oregon  and  California. 

Cackling  geese,  the  smallest  sub-species  of  the  Canada  goose 
is  believed  to  follow  much  the  same  southward  route  as  the 
brant.  Of  38  band  recoveries  in  recent  years  all  but  one  have 
been  from  California  and  Oregon  or  near  the  banding  area. 
Peak  concentrations  estimated  up  to  one  million  geese  occur  at 
Cold  Bay  and  while  there  is  still  no  established  connection 
through  banding  between  Yukon  Delta  cacklers  and  those  at 
Cold  Bay,  radar  tracking  shows  a  great  circle  route  of  about 
1,400  miles  over  water  to  the  vicinity  of  Vancouver  Island.  The 
absence  of  band  recoveries  from  other  parts  of  Alaska  and  Brit- 
ish Columbia  seems  to  confirm  this  surmise.  The  importance 
of  this  information  in  protection  and  a  regulated  harvest  of 
these  geese  is  obvious.  In  addition,  we  would  like  to  know  how 
many  are  heading  for  our  states  and  how  many  for  the  iron 
curtain. 

In  marked  contrast  to  the  narrow  flight  routes  of  the  brant 
and  cackler  is  the  behavior  of  the  white-fronted  geese  and  pin- 
tail ducks.  The  white-front  is  the  only  species  to  date  which 
shows  migration  out  of  the  Pacific  flyway  at  least  as  far  as  the 
prairie  provinces  of  Canada.  Based  on  66  recoveries  of  pintails 
banded  at  widely  separated  locations— Innoko,  Kotzebue  Sound 
and  the  Arctic  Slope— it  appears  that  these  ducks  go  mainly  to 
the  Pacific  Coast  with  a  spread  into  the  Central  Flyway,  re- 
coveries ranging  from  Alaska  to  Mexico  and  from  Nebraska  to 
California. 

Most  of  the  waterfowl  problems  faced  in  the  states  are  en- 
countered in  Alaska,  the  single  exception  being  waterfowl 
depredations  on  grain  and  other  crops.  Problems  unique  to 
Alaska  involve  the  Emperor  goose  and  the  Western  Canada 
goose,  neither  of  which  apparently  ever  leaves  the  Territory, 
and  the  European  teal  with  an  essentially  east  and  west  migra- 
tion between  the  Aleutians  and  Asia. 


Administration  of  Wildlife  Resources— Elkins         275 
III.  Problems  Relating  to  the  Human  Population 

It  has  been  said  that  America  needs  not  so  much  game  man- 
agement but  more  hunter  management.  This  is  almost  as  true 
of  Alaska  as  it  is  in  the  states. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  stateside  problems  we  do  not 
have  in  Alaska,  the  problem  of  getting  on  the  land  to  hunt. 
Most  of  Alaska  is  public  land  and  the  Alaska  hunter  is  seldom 
confronted  with  "No  Trespassing"  signs.  Near  some  of  the 
towns  there  are  exceptions  to  this  condition  and  the  amount 
of  land  in  private  ownership  is  increasing.  In  the  foreseeable 
future,  however,  there  will  be  no  shortage  of  places  to  hunt, 
our  problem  will  be  to  maintain  a  game  population  on  these 
public  lands.  Of  a  gross  acreage  of  365,481,000  some  486,000 
acres  were  in  private  ownership  in  1947  (7)  and  some  7,000,000 
acres  in  National  parks  and  monuments.  These  private  areas 
can  be  closed  to  hunting  at  the  owner's  discretion  and  the  park 
lands  are  closed  to  hunting  and  trapping  but  open  to  fishing. 
There  are  some  restrictions  on  hunting  in  the  military  reserva- 
tions and  Indian  reservations  and  in  the  Aleutian  Island  Na- 
tional Wildlife  Refuge  but  considerable  hunting  is  possible  in 
these  reservations  and  the  two  large  wildlife  areas,  Kenai  and 
Kodiak  are  open  to  hunting.  The  nearly  21,000,000  acres  in  the 
National  Forests  are  open  to  all.  Thus  approximately  358 
million  acres  are  open  to  some  form  of  hunting.  This  amounts 
to  98  percent  of  the  land  area  of  Alaska  and  is  a  reassuring 
guarantee  that  the  American  system  of  free  hunting  ranges  will 
be  with  us  for  some  time. 

The  first  great  problem  relating  to  human  use  is  caused  by 
the  transient  population.  Alaska's  population  in  1940  was 
72,000  (4);  while  preliminary  estimates  for  the  1950  census  are 
about  131,000.  About  35,000  comprise  the  native  population 
which  has  shown  no  marked  increase.  The  increase  then  has 
been  largely  in  the  white  population,  an  increase  of  156  per- 
cent. Many  of  these  people  are  transients,  construction  workers 
as  well  as  civilian  government  employees  whose  tour  of  duty  in 
Alaska  is  frequently  less  than  two  years.    Others,  including  the 


276  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

homesteaders,  intend  to  become  permanent  residents  but  in- 
stead move  on  in  a  year  or  two  and  so  far  as  their  relationship 
to  the  wildlife  population  is  concerned  can  be  considered  tran- 
sients. Added  to  the  civilians  are  the  military  personnel:  Air 
Force,  Army  and  Navy  who  are  rotated  usually  in  two  years  to 
posts  outside  Alaska.  Figures  on  the  military  strength  are  not 
available  for  this  report.  In  addition  there  are  large  numbers 
of  even  more  transitory  workers— the  summer  temporary  em- 
ployees not  included  in  Alaska  census  figures. 

Transients  are  not  likely  to  have  the  same  deep  interest  in 
conservation  of  game,  fish  and  fur  as  do  the  long-term  residents. 
Many  transients'  recreational  pursuits  included  hunting  and 
fishing  in  the  states,  many  others  turn  from  golf,  tennis  or  base- 
ball to  hunting  and  fishing  because  the  latter  are  the  chief 
recreational  outlets  for  them  in  Alaska.  But  the  expert  and  the 
novice  have  caused  a  critical  upswing  in  the  hunting  and  fish- 
ing pressure. 

The  resident  sportsman  is  interested  in  a  permanent  sheep 
population  in  his  favorite  sheep  hills  and  grayling  for  all  time 
to  come  in  the  nearest  stream.  Your  transient  hunter  is  moti- 
vated by  the  souvenir  instinct,  he  must  have  a  brown  bear  rug, 
a  set  of  caribou  antlers  or  a  goat  head  to  show  the  folks  back 
home.  What  matter  if  he  shoots  three  bears  before  getting  one 
in  the  trophy  class  or  if  his  first  two  goats  are  crippled  or  fall 
down  the  cliff. 

Among  transients  there  are  careful,  conservation-conscious 
sportsmen  as  well  as  many  who  hunt  with  the  camera  instead  of 
the  gun.  Also  it  should  be  recorded  that  military  personnel  are 
individually  better  disciplined  than  their  civilian  contempo- 
raries. A  check  made  last  year  in  the  Anchorage  area  showed 
fewer  violations  of  game  and  fish  regulations  by  the  military 
than  for  a  comparable  group  of  civilian  license  holders.  The 
fact  remains,  however,  that  both  because  of  sheer  numbers  and 
through  a  "get  it  now— we  won't  be  here  tomorrow"  attitude, 
the  transient  population  has  caused  a  serious  wildlife  manage- 
ment problem. 

Continued  close  cooperation  between  the  National  Military 


.    Administration  of  Wildlife  Resources— Elkins         277 

Establishment  and  the  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service,  including 
indoctrination  with  the  rudiments  of  conservation  of  Alaska- 
bound  troops,  is  the  best  answer  to  the  military  part  of  the 
problem.  For  those  transients  who  can  be  interested  in  active 
participation  in  the  Izaak  Walton  League  or  other  conserva- 
tion clubs  the  battle  is  half  won.  For  the  remainder  a  vigorous 
enforcement  program  is  the  only  answer. 

The  second  great  problem  concerns  the  native  people:  Eski- 
mo, Aleut  and  Indian,  and  their  dependence  on  wildlife  for  a 
living.  This  is  a  subject  that  will  undoubtedly  be  described  in 
more  detail  by  other  speakers.  We  can  narrow  the  problem  in 
order  to  get  at  the  critical  portions  of  it.  In  southeastern  Alaska, 
at  Kodiak  and  at  Bristol  Bay,  commercial  fishing  provides  a 
livelihood  for  most  of  the  natives  as  well  as  whites.  Hunting 
and  trapping  are  important  but  are  not  the  basic  resource.  In 
these  areas  and  in  parts  of  the  Interior,  the  native  people  have 
left  the  primitive  way  of  life  and  have  come  to  the  white  man's 
ways. 

Along  the  Arctic  coast,  on  parts  of  the  Bering  sea  coast,  on 
the  Yukon-Kuskokwim  delta,  and  in  the  interior  villages  such 
as  Christian,  Stevens,  Arctic  Village,  Shungnak,  and  Noatak, 
the  primitive  life  is  still  lived.  These  people  must  live  by 
fur,  fish  and  game;  the  alternatives  are  charity,  the  dole  or 
starvation. 

Pressing  problems  of  wildlife  resource  administration  and  the 
native  are  of  several  types: 

1.  Should  the  native  and  the  white  be  bound  by  the  same 
hunting  and  trapping  regulations?  Generally  speaking,  except 
for  the  license  requirement,  that  is  now  the  situation  and  the 
recently  liberalized  regulations  in  the  Arctic  apply  to  all. 

2.  What  can  Alaska  learn  from  Canada's  experience?  In  the 
Northwest  Territories  preserves  are  set  aside  where  only  natives 
may  hunt  and  trap,  and  in  the  unorganized  portions  of  some 
of  the  provinces  special  provisions  apply  to  natives.  Recogniz- 
ing that  the  training  and  environment  of  the  Eskimo  requires 
living  off  the  land  some  special  provision  may  be  necessary  but 
the  reservation  idea  is  a  doubtful  solution.    At  present  there 


278  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

are  not  enough  white  hunters  in  the  Arctic  to  cause  a  conflict. 
In  the  sub-arctic  portions  of  the  interior,  however,  there  is  con- 
siderable conflict  especially  on  trap  lines. 

3.  As  would  be  expected  the  policy  and  practices  of  the  lead- 
ing white  man  in  the  primitive  villages  greatly  influences  the 
conservation  attitude  in  the  district.  Usually  this  individual 
is  the  trader,  in  some  villages  it  may  be  the  teacher  but  the 
teacher's  tenure  is  frequently  temporary  while  the  trader  is  a 
permanent  resident.  Besides,  the  trader  controls  the  purse 
strings  and  the  credit.  If  the  trader  has  a  reasonable  respect  for 
wildlife  conservation  the  people  in  the  village  reflect  this.  If, 
on  the  other  hand  the  trader  buys  summer-caught  beaver  or 
condones  a  caribou  slaughter,  waste  and  poor  conservation  prac- 
tice results. 

4.  Migratory  waterfowl  and  the  native  villages  pose  a  unique 
question.  Here  we  are  concerned  not  with  resident  game,  but 
with  a  resource  produced  in  Alaska,  overwintered  largely  in 
the  states  and  Mexico,  and  harvested  all  along  the  Pacific  Fly- 
way.  In  the  spring  when  food  is  scarce  in  the  villages  and  the 
rat  camps,  few  would  begrudge  the  Indians  and  Eskimo  some 
fresh  meat  and  the  total  effect  is  probably  not  great.  But  it  is 
poor  management  to  kill  the  breeding  birds,  those  that  have 
survived  the  vicissitudes  of  the  long  flight  south  and  the  return 
trip  northward,  and  especially  is  it  undesirable  if  birds  are 
killed  before  they  nest.  It  may  not  be  completely  fantastic  to 
suggest  that  a  few  carloads  of  Spam  might  be  the  best  invest- 
ment duck  hunting  clubs  could  make  as  insurance  for  their 
sport,  at  least  that  portion  of  it  dependent  on  the  Alaska  nesting 
grounds. 

One  school  of  thought  holds  to  the  view  that  the  native  cannot 
be  changed.  Those  who  have  seen  him  adopt  the  outboard 
motor  for  water  travel,  the  30-06  rifle  for  hunting  and  the  white 
man's  rain  gear  for  wet  weather  hold  the  opposite  view.  They 
believe  that  if  convinced  of  the  reason  and  need  and  ultimate 
advantage  to  himself  and  family,  the  native  will  respond  to 
conservation  education.  The  great  need,  however,  is  for  educa- 
tion of  the  right  sort  probably  much  of  it  by  means  of  visual 


Administration  of  Wildlife  Resources— Elkins         279 

aids.  Certainly  the  teachers  need  help  on  this,  and  existing 
textbooks  with  examples  of  corn  and  pheasants,  quail  and 
lespedeza  are  not  to  the  point. 

Many  other  wildlife  problems  in  relation  to  the  human 
factor  come  to  mind,  such  as  airplane  hunting  and  public  atti- 
tudes toward  bear  and  toward  sea  lion.  Also  there  is  the  critical 
problem  of  public  awareness  and  support  for  an  adequate  sys- 
tem of  waterfowl  refuges  at  the  great  nesting  and  concentration 
areas  where  the  hunting  pressure  is  increasing  each  year. 

The  problem  which  I  wish  to  touch  on  briefly,  however,  is 
something  which  might  be  called  the  lack  of  an  incentive  for 
husbandry.  The  problem  is  best  illustrated  by  the  fur  resources. 
A  trapper  handles  his  trap  line  conservatively  and  takes  a  rea- 
sonable crop  from  his  marten  line  and  a  reasonable  crop  from 
his  mink  line.  Another  trapper  takes  every  last  pelt  he  can 
from  his  line  including  most  of  the  seed  stock  and  then  moves 
on  to  greener  pastures.  One  year  his  movements  may  bring  him 
to  the  first  trapper's  line  and  there  is  the  end  of  the  conservative 
trapper's  carefully-husbanded  fur  crop.  Another  abuse  is  the 
practice  of  town  and  city  part-time  trappers  taking  the  cream 
of  the  fur  crop  from  an  area  where  fur  is  the  basis  for  the 
economy  of  the  local  inhabitants. 

In  some  places,  registered  trap  lines  have  proved  to  be  a  rea- 
sonably successful  solution.  In  others,  trapping  areas  assigned 
to  either  the  individual  or  a  group  or  a  village,  have  resulted 
in  a  sustained  yield  and  more  stable  income.  We  need  many 
more  facts  on  which  to  base  a  sound  wild-fur  management  pro- 
gram for  Alaska.  This  is  one  of  the  principal  objectives  of  the 
Cooperative  Wildlife  Research  Unit  at  the  University  of  Alaska. 
The  present  research  is  concentrated  on  beaver  and  muskrat 
but  will  later  be  broadened  to  include  other  species. 

Some  measures  in  fur  management  have  been  taken  on  an 
extensive  rather  than  intensive  basis.  Alaska  has  been  divided 
into  eight  fur  districts  with  regulations  varied  to  meet  con- 
ditions in  the  individual  districts.  Also  a  sealing  system  has 
been  put  into  effect  which  limits  the  trapper  to  10  beaver,  the 
only  species  so  regulated.    Neither  measure  is  tied  in  with  the 


280  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

land,  the  fur  animals  and  the  trapper.  This  must  be  accom- 
plished if  the  fur  crop  is  to  be  sustained  and  increased  in  the 
face  of  increasing  trapping  pressure.  Trappers  will  welcome 
relief  from  cutthroat  competition  for  trapping  grounds  and  an 
opportunity  to  manage  a  fur  crop  on  a  trap  line  that  is  theirs 
to  use  so  long  as  they  take  care  of  it. 

Summary 

Fish  and  wildlife  resources  of  Alaska  are  administered  by  the 
Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  with  the  Alaska  Game  Commission 
as  the  regulatory  and  policy-making  body. 

Basic  soil  and  climatic  limitations  result  in  low  densities  of 
game  and  fish  per  unit  of  area.  Except  in  the  case  of  anadro- 
raous  fish,  heavy  crops  of  game  and  fish  are  not  produced  but 
there  is  a  huge  acreage  comprising  most  of  Alaska  which  is  more 
suitable  for  game  and  fur  production  than  for  any  other 
purpose. 

Animal  behavior  patterns  pose  serious  problems  in  wildlife 
management.  For  example  the  migrations  of  the  caribou  have 
to  date  proved  unpredictable.  Studies  have  shown  the  total 
population  and  the  licensed  kill  but  more  information  is  needed 
on  factors  causing  migration.  The  present  discontinuous  dis- 
tribution of  the  sea  otter  may  be  caused  by  remnant  relatively 
stationary  pods  or  by  migration  from  a  nucleus  in  the  Aleutians. 
Restorative  measures  will  be  quite  different  if  the  otter  prove 
sedentary  instead  of  migratory.  A  third  example  of  animal 
behavior  is  the  migration  pattern  of  waterfowl.  Banding 
studies  show  the  fall  migration  of  the  black  brant  from  the 
Yukon  Delta,  out  along  the  Alaska  Peninsula  thence  straight 
across  the  Gulf  of  Alaska  presumedly  to  the  British  Columbia 
coast  thence  south  to  the  Pacific  states.  Migration  of  the  cack- 
ling goose  is  similar  to  that  of  the  brant.  White-fronted  geese,  on 
the  other  hand,  tend  to  cross  to  the  Central  Flyway  and  pintail 
ducks  nesting  in  Alaska  spread  out  quite  widely  in  the  south- 
ward migration.  These  variations  in  migration  pose  serious 
problems  in  regulation  and  protection. 


Administration  of  Wildlife  Resources— Elkins         281 

Wildlife  problems  relating  to  the  human  population  do  not 
include  one  common  stateside  problem— that  of  getting  on  the 
land  to  hunt.  The  three  most  important  problems  are  those 
caused  by  the  influx  of  transients,  those  related  to  the  economy 
of  the  native  people,  and  those  caused  by  competition  for  trap 
lines.  A  better  system  for  handling  the  fur  resources  is  one  of 
the  first  priority  management  jobs. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Elkins,  W.  A.  Pacific  Fly  way  report — Alaska.  Pacific  Waterfowl 

Flyway  Report,  11:  A1-A6.    1950. 

2.  Murie,  O.  J.    Alaska-Yukon  caribou.    North  American  Fauna 

No.  54.    1935. 

3.  Scott,  Robert  F.,  Edward  F.  Chatelain,  and  Winston  A.  El- 

kins. The  status  of  Dall  sheep  and  caribou  in  Alaska.  Trans. 
15th  North  American  Wildlife  Conference.    1950. 

4.  Alaska  Almanac.    Tewksbury  Publishers.    1950. 

5.  Alaska   Game    Commission.     10th   and    11th   Annual   Reports, 

Alaska  Game  Commission.    1950. 

6.  Lands  and  Development  Services  Branch,  Ottawa.   The  North- 

west  Territories — Administration — Resources — Development. 
1948. 

7.  Statistical  Abstracts  of  the  United  States.    1947. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  MARINE  RESOURCES 

OF  ALASKA 

Seton  H.  Thompson 

Chief,  Branch  of  Alaska  Fisheries 
U.  S.  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service 

Alaska's  sea  fisheries  currently  are  her  most  valuable  asset. 
They  are  the  basis  for  her  most  important  industry,  the  greatest 
field  of  employment  for  her  citizens,  and  the  chief  source  of  her 
tax  revenue.  The  wealth  of  the  Territory  and  the  welfare  of 
her  citizens  parallel  exactly  the  success  or  failure  of  fishing. 
Times  are  good  when  fishing  is  good;  gloom  and  depression  pre- 
vail when  fishing  is  poor. 

The  marine  resources  of  Alaska  which  have  been  subjected  to 
commercial  utilization  include  some  25  species  of  fish  and  shell- 
fish, as  well  as  several  marine  mammals,  including  whales,  fur 
seals,  hair  seals,  sea  lions,  and  walruses.  The  fur  seals  have  been 
exploited  intensively  and  continuously  for  164  years;  salmon 
have  contributed  substantially  to  the  annual  fishery  harvest  for 
more  than  80  years,  and  halibut  for  about  60  years.  Herring, 
clams,  crabs,  shrimp,  cod,  flounders,  lingcod,  sablefish,  rock- 
fishes,  sharks,  skates,  and  trout  have  had  a  more  varied  record. 

Having  withstood  the  drain  of  commercial  utilization  for  so 
many  years,  it  could  very  well  be  expected  that  the  problems  of 
management  have  been  solved.  Such  is  not  the  case,  however. 
These  are  dynamic  resources,  ever  changing,  and  the  exploiting 
forces  also  are  highly  variable.  They  must  be  kept  under  con- 
stant surveillance  so  as  to  limit  commercial  utilization  to  sur- 
plus stocks.  Protective  measures  must  be  adjusted  to  meet 
changing  conditions  both  in  the  resources  and  in  the  industries 
dependent  upon  them. 

Let  us  examine  resource  management  as  it  has  been  applied 
to  several  of  the  marine  fisheries  of  the  Territory. 

The  salmon  fishery  probably  is  best  known,  and  rightly  so 
for  it  yields  two-thirds   of  the  world's   entire   production   of 

282 


Marine  Resources  Management— Thompson  283 

canned  salmon.  Few  of  the  world's  fisheries  exceed  this  one  in 
productivity  and  value,  and  none  has  shown  such  remarkable 
growth.  The  exploitation  of  this  resource  began  in  1878,  11 
years  after  the  purchase  of  the  Territory  from  Russia,  when  the 
first  salmon  cannery  was  built  at  Klawock.  There  had  been 
some  salting  of  salmon  by  both  Russians  and  Americans  before 
that  time,  and,  of  course,  salmon  was  a  major  item  in  the  diet 
of  the  Indians.  Not  until  the  spectacular  development  of  the 
canning  industry,  however,  were  any  real  inroads  made  on  this 
resource.  Salmon  canning  operations  were  inconsequential 
until  about  1885,  but  after  that  there  was  a  steady  increase  until 
1918,  when  135  plants  packed  about  6,600,000  cases,  repre- 
senting more  than  100  million  salmon.  During  this  period  of 
rapid  growth,  operations  were  extended  throughout  even  the 
remote  areas  of  the  Territory,  and  all  five  species  of  salmon 
were  sought  whereas  initially  only  the  more  valuable  red 
salmon  were  taken.  The  production  of  1918  has  been  exceeded 
only  six  times,  although  there  have  been  many  technological 
improvements  both  in  fishing  and  canning  methods.  Nearly 
every  year  since  1918  has  seen  this  resource  fully  utilized,  and 
the  average  annual  production  of  canned  salmon  has  been  514 
million  cases. 

Fishing  was  virtually  unrestricted  in  the  early  years  of  the 
industry  and  bitter  competition  over  control  of  the  fish  supplies 
led  to  the  use  of  stream  barricades  and  other  destructive 
methods.  The  inevitable  result  was  depletion  of  the  runs  where 
these  devices  were  used.  This  is  not  reflected  in  the  total  pro- 
duction figures  because  output  was  maintained  by  utilization 
of  additional  species  and  by  expansion  to  new  streams.  Some 
of  the  damage  done  in  this  period  has  not  been  entirely  re- 
paired even  now. 

Although  conservation  measures  were  enacted  as  early  as 
1896,  they  were  generally  disregarded  and  adequate  legislative 
authority  for  the  protection  of  the  salmon  fisheries  did  not 
become  effective  until  1924,  some  time  after  full  exploitation 
had  been  realized.  By  this  time  a  fund  of  biological  informa- 
tion had  been  accumulated  on  which  to  base  regulatory  con- 


284  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

trols.  The  age  at  maturity  had  been  determined  with  certainty, 
routes  of  migration  through  the  coastal  waters  of  the  Territory 
had  been  charted,  the  time  of  arrival  and  duration  of  the 
various  runs  had  been  determined,  and  actuarial  data  had  been 
amassed  to  indicate  the  size  of  runs  to  be  expected  from  broods 
of  varying  size.  It  was  known  also  that  all  species  of  Pacific 
salmon  exhibit  a  strong  tendency  to  return  to  the  stream  in 
which  they  were  hatched,  and  invariably  die  after  spawning 
once. 

The  salmon  resource  is  very  much  like  an  agricultural  crop 
in  that  we  must  plant  if  we  are  to  have  a  harvest.  If  too  few  fish 
are  allowed  to  escape  the  commercial  fishery  to  properly  seed 
the  spawning  grounds,  the  run  of  the  succeeding  cycle  will  be 
smaller  than  it  should  be.  If  more  fish  escape  than  are  required 
for  seeding  the  spawning  grounds,  there  is  an  immediate  eco- 
nomic waste.  All  statutory  and  regulatory  controls  are  directed 
toward  reserving  salmon  in  sufficient  numbers  so  that  over  the 
years  there  will  be  the  greatest  return. 

Long  range  forecasts  of  abundance  are  made  upon  the  basis 
of  the  best  information  available  concerning  extent  of  spawn- 
ing in  the  parent  year  and  survival  of  young.  The  industry  is 
notified  and  regulations  are  adjusted  so  that  the  optimum  es- 
capement may  be  achieved.  While  the  runs  are  on  and  fishing 
is  in  progress,  daily  records  are  kept  of  the  catch  per  unit  of 
effort  within  the  several  independent  producing  areas,  and 
further  regulatory  adjustments  are  made  to  correct  for  devia- 
tions from  the  predicted  runs  or  to  correct  for  deviations  from 
the  anticipated  intensity  of  fishing.  When  the  runs  of  salmon 
are  larger  than  expected  or  when  the  drain  of  the  commercial 
fishery  is  less,  it  is  possible  to  permit  additional  fishing  time  so 
that  all  surplus  salmon  may  be  taken.  The  converse  also  is  true; 
when  the  runs  are  smaller  than  anticipated  or  when  the  num- 
ber of  units  of  gear  is  greater,  fishing  is  curtailed.  Regulatory 
changes  are  made  in  the  field  simultaneously  with  the  determi- 
nation of  their  need. 

Total  salmon  production  has  been  below  normal  in  Alaska 
for  the  last  six  years  because  of  reduced  abundance  in  one  or 


Marine  Resources  Management— Thompson  285 


0 


more  areas,  primarily  from  natural  causes.  A  disproportion- 
ately large  part  of  these  runs  was  reserved  for  spawning  pur- 
poses to  provide  for  runs  of  normal  volume  in  the  next  cycle. 
There  is  every  reason  to  be  optimistic  that  this  watchful  man- 
agement will  maintain  this  resource  at  its  most  productive  level. 
Not  all  of  the  effort  in  the  management  of  this  resource  is 
directed  toward  regulating  commercial  salmon  fishing.  An 
aggressive  program  of  stream  improvement  is  being  carried  on 
by  the  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  throughout  the  Territory. 
A  determined  effort  is  being  made  to  provide  a  maximum 
amount  of  readily  available  spawning  area  by  removal  of  beaver 
dams,  log  jams,  and  other  obstructions  to  the  upstream  migra- 
tion of  adult  salmon  and  the  downstream  migration  of  vounsr 

O  J  o 

salmon.  In  1949  construction  was  started  on  three  fish  ladders 
over  natural  barriers,  and  more  than  100  log  jams  and  beaver 
dams  were  removed  where  they  blocked  the  ascent  of  salmon. 
Of  these  barriers,  40  were  impassable  for  salmon  at  all  times, 
and  many  of  the  others  were  complete  barricades  at  certain 
stages  of  water. 

The  development  of  Alaska  in  itself  presents  some  problems 
in  the  management  of  the  salmon  fisheries,  if  we  are  to  judge 
by  the  experience  of  the  Pacific  Coast  states.  Indiscriminate 
logging  operations,  with  attendant  rapid  run-off  of  surface 
waters,  could  cause  scouring  and  silting  of  spawning  streams. 
Unrestricted  disposal  of  pulp-mill  and  other  industrial  wastes 
could  do  irreparable  damage  to  salmon  as  well  as  other  fishery 
resources.  Development  of  hydroelectric  power  by  construction 
of  dams,  as  already  proposed,  could  wipe  out  entirely  the  salmon 
runs  to  certain  rivers.  We  are  aware  of  these  potential  dangers 
of  the  future  and  studies  are  in  progress  now  to  develop  the 
facts  needed  for  management  guides. 

The  razor  clam  fishery  of  Central  Alaska  is  another  example 
of  marine  resource  management.  This  resource  supports  an 
industry  which  is  insignificant  when  compared  with  salmon, 
but  nevertheless  is  extremely  important  locally  because  it  offers 
an  opportunity  to  the  small  businessman  in  one  of  the  few 
virtually  nonseasonal  occupations.    The  most  important  razor 


286  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

clam  beds  in  the  Territory  are  those  near  Cordova.   Here,  razor 
clam  canning  started  in  1916,  and  exploitation  of  the  beds  fol- 
lowed the  usual  pattern.  Excessively  large  packs  were  produced, 
first  drawing  heavily  on  the  older,  larger  clams,  then  when  the 
supply  was  exhausted,  an  effort  was  made  to  maintain  produc- 
tion by  drawing  on  immature  stocks.    The  results  were  dis- 
astrous and  in  8  years  production  dropped  to  10  percent  of  its 
former  peak.    Research  entered  the  picture  at  this  point,  and 
precise  information  was  obtained  concerning  the  age  and  size 
at  maturity,  rate  of  growth,  and  age  composition  of  the  clam 
population.   A  minimum  size-limit  was  made  effective  immedi- 
ately to  protect  immature  clams  until  they  had  an  opportunity 
to  spawn  at  least  once,  thus  assuring  a  limited  breeding  reserve. 
Next,  an  arbitrary  limit  was  placed  on  the  quantity  of  clams 
that  could  be  taken,  and  studies  were  commenced  to  show  what 
effect  these  control  measures  had  on  the  resource.    The  age 
composition  of  the  catch,  and  the  catch  per  unit  of  effort  were 
the  guides  to  its  condition.    The  proportion  of  older  clams  in 
the  population  increased  and  the  average  catch  per  unit  of 
effort  increased.    Gradually  and  cautiously  the  catch  limitation 
or  quota  was  raised.    In  time  this  quota  exceeded  the  surplus 
stock  of  the  resource,  and  very  soon  there  was  a  decline  in  the 
relative  abundance  of  the  older  year  classes  and  a  falling  off  of 
the  catch  per  unit  of  effort.  The  quota  was  lowered  when  these 
danger  signals  appeared,  then  when  they  disappeared  it  was 
raised  again  slowly.   For  about  10  years  now  the  quota  or  catch 
limitation  has  been  constant.  It  appears  that  the  present  quotas 
assure  a  sustained  yield,  but  the  fishery  is  under  constant  sur- 
veillance for  those  warning  signals  that  would  indicate  either 
need  for  greater  protection  or  availability  of  unutilized  surplus 
stocks. 

The  Pribilof  fur-seal  herd  is  often  cited  as  an  outstanding 
example  of  resource  conservation.  Let  us  examine  its  manage- 
ment. 

It  was  in  1786,  45  years  after  the  discovery  of  Alaska,  that  the 
Pribilofs  were  discovered  and  named  for  the  explorer  who 
found  them.    Ruthless  exploitation  of  the  fur-seal  herd  com- 


Marine  Resources  Management— Thompson  287 

menced  immediately,  and  some  two  million  seals  were  killed 
for  their  fur  in  the  next  40  years.  A  crisis  was  reached  in  1835, 
and  Russia  imposed  severe  restrictive  measures  including  pro- 
tection of  all  females.  The  herd  responded  to  this  protection, 
and  at  the  time  of  the  Alaska  purchase  in  1867  it  was  reported 
to  have  been  restored  fully. 

Exploitation  under  American  ownership  was  almost  as  devas- 
tating as  under  the  early  Russian  operations,  not  because  of 
indiscriminate  land  killing  but  because  of  the  highly  wasteful 
and  objectionable  practice  of  killing  seals  at  sea  irrespective  of 
season,  sex,  or  condition.  Pelagic  sealing,  as  this  was  called, 
drew  heavily  on  the  females  which  were  not  killed  on  land.  The 
sealing  fleet  followed  the  seals  on  their  ocean  migration  from 
the  California  coast  northward  to  Bering  Sea,  taking  its  toll 
throughout  that  3,000  mile  range.  Decimation  of  the  herd  was 
inevitable,  and  by  1910  only  130,000  animals  remained.  Exter- 
mination of  this  resource  was  not  far  away  when  by  interna- 
tional convention  signed  in  1911,  the  United  States,  Great 
Britain,  Japan,  and  Russia  agreed  to  prevent  pelagic  sealing 
in  the  North  Pacific  Ocean  by  their  own  nationals.  This  treaty 
remained  in  effect  until  1941  and  protected  the  fur  seals  of 
Japan's  Robben  Island  and  Russia's  Commander  Islands,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  Pribilofs.  At  present  a  treaty  between  the 
United  States  and  Canada  protects  the  Pribilof  herd  from 
pelagic  sealing. 

No  mammal  in  the  wild  state  lends  itself  more  conveniently 
to  rational  exploitation  than  the  fur  seal.  It  is  a  highly  polyga- 
mous animal  with  harems  numbering  40  to  60  cows,  yet  the 
sexes  are  born  in  equal  numbers.  There  is,  therefore,  a  large 
surplus  of  males  which  can  be  removed  without  disturbing  the 
breeding  potential  of  the  herd.  Conveniently,  the  immature 
males  not  only  haul  out  at  the  Pribilofs,  but  they  haul  out  apart 
from  the  breeding  animals.  Killing  is  restricted  to  males  of  only 
one  age— 3-year-olds.  The  fur  is  prime  on  these  animals  and 
the  skins  are  unscarred  by  the  fighting  that  occurs  among  the 
older  animals.  The  Pribilof  fur-seal  herd  has  been  cropped 
in  this  way,  and  in  recent  years  the  take  has  fluctuated  between 


288  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

60,000  and  70,000  animals.  The  skins  are  dressed,  dyed,  and 
sold  at  public  auction  under  contract.  The  net  profit  to  the 
Government,  over  and  above  all  expenditures  for  management 
of  the  resource  and  for  administration  of  the  Pribilof  Islands, 
has  been  $11,500,000  since  1910. 

The  primary  objectives  of  the  Fur-Seal  Treaty  of  1911  have 
been  splendidly  fulfilled.  There  has  been  an  enormous  increase 
in  the  herd  in  the  past  40  years,  as  even  casual  observation  will 
testify.  There  is  evidence  now  that  the  herd  has  reached  maxi- 
mum size;  the  number  of  animals  available  for  killing  has  been 
fairly  constant  for  the  past  10  years.  Is  the  herd  to  be  managed 
now  in  the  same  manner  as  when  it  was  growing  or  are  new 
methods  indicated?  To  answer  these  and  other  related  ques- 
tions, biologists  are  making  an  accurate  appraisal  of  the  num- 
ber of  animals  in  the  herd,  assembling  current  mortality  data, 
and  evaluating  the  herd's  reproductive  capacity.  We  must 
know  at  what  size  it  will  yield  the  greatest  number  of  sealskins 
for  commerce,  and  from  what  sex  and  age  group  these  skins 
should  come.  This  information  must  be  supplied  by  intensive 
research  to  guide  future  management  of  the  herd. 

Through  international  agreement  and  sound  management 
policies,  this  resource  has  been  restored  and  is  in  a  highly  pro- 
ductive state  today.  Continued  international  cooperation  and 
scientific  management  will  perpetuate  it. 

The  North  Pacific  halibut  fishery  is  another  example  of  a 
marine  resource  saved  by  international  cooperation.  Strictly 
speaking  this  is  not  an  Alaskan  resource,  for  the  halibut  banks 
are  beyond  Territorial  limits.  Nevertheless,  the  most  pro- 
ductive banks  are  adjacent  to  Alaska,  and  contribute  in  a  very 
material  way  to  the  wealth  of  the  Territory.  More  than  half 
the  catch  is  landed  in  Alaskan  ports  and  halibut  ranks  third  in 
importance  among  Alaska  fishery  products,  being  subordinate 
only  to  salmon  and  herring. 

The  history  of  the  halibut  fishery  is  similar  to  that  of  our 
other  modern  marine  fisheries.  Beginning  in  1888,  it  was  con- 
centrated in  a  relatively  small  area  near  the  entrance  to  Puget 
Sound.  As  markets  expanded  and  the  demand  for  halibut  grew, 


Marine  Resources  Management— Thompson  289 

production  was  increased  first  by  adding  more  vessels  to  the 
fleet,  then,  when  the  nearby  banks  were  exhausted,  by  extend- 
ing operations  to  more  and  more  distant  banks.  By  1910  this 
growing  and  more  efficient  fleet  was  operating  in  the  Gulf  of 
Alaska,  and  a  few  years  later  covered  the  entire  range  of  halibut 
from  Bering;  Sea  to  California.  The  annual  catch  was  main- 
tained  during  this  period  of  expansion,  effectively  hiding  the 
successive  depletion  of  bank  after  bank,  but  production  de- 
clined sharply  when  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  increase  the 
exploited  area. 

It  was  evident  that  the  supply  of  halibut  was  not  inexhausti- 
ble, and  the  need  for  conservation  became  more  and  more 
apparent.  Since  this  fishery  from  the  very  beginning  was  prose- 
cuted by  the  nationals  of  both  Canada  and  the  United  States, 
there  was  increasing  insistence  on  the  part  of  the  halibut  in- 
dustry for  joint  action  by  the  two  Governments.  It  was  not 
until  1923,  however,  that  a  treaty  for  this  purpose  was  signed. 
An  International  Commission  was  established  and  empowered 
to  investigate  and  recommend  measures  for  the  preservation  of 
the  resource.  These  investigations  revealed  that  the  fishery  was 
in  a  very  unsound  condition;  that  landings  were  being  made 
only  by  constant  increases  in  fishing  intensity.  It  was  shown 
that  where  once  300  pounds  of  halibut  were  taken  on  a  standard 
unit  of  gear,  the  yield  on  the  southern  banks  had  fallen  by 
1930  to  35  pounds,  and  on  the  western  banks  to  65  pounds. 
Information  was  obtained  concerning  the  age  at  maturity,  the 
migrating  habits,  and  the  independence  of  the  various  stocks 
of  halibut.  Recommendations  based  on  these  and  other  find- 
ings led  to  a  revision  of  the  treaty  in  1930  to  authorize  the  Com- 
mission to  regulate  the  fishery.  Regulations  issued  annually 
since  1930,  have  divided  the  convention  waters  into  areas, 
limited  the  catch  of  halibut  to  be  taken  from  each,  fixed  the 
type  of  gear  to  be  used,  closed  grounds  found  to  be  populated 
by  small  immature  fish,  and  required  submission  of  statistics 
necessary  for  administering  catch  limits  and  for  determining 
the  condition  of  the  fishery. 

These    regulations,    guided   by    investigations,    stopped    the 


2 go  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

decline  of  the  fishery  and  commenced  its  restoration.  The 
abundance  of  halibut  has  increased  about  150  percent  under 
the  management  of  the  Commission,  and  the  average  annual 
yield  of  56  million  pounds  in  recent  years  is  13  million  pounds 
greater  than  it  was  in  the  unrestricted  fishery  of  1931.  Further- 
more, these  larger  catches  are  being  made  with  35  percent  less 
fishing  effort. 

The  Commission's  objective  is  to  rebuild  the  halibut  stocks 
to  a  level  of  maximum  yield  and  stabilize  them  there.  Excellent 
progress  has  been  made  toward  achieving  this  objective,  and 
full  attainment  is  in  sight. 

The  resources  of  the  sea  are  not  inexhaustible  and  the  in- 
evitable result  of  unrestrained  exploitation  is  depletion.  The 
hope  of  the  future,  therefore,  lies  in  scientific  management 
which  will  limit  the  annual  take  to  such  quantities  and  main- 
tain the  resources  at  such  levels  that  maximum  production  for 
all  time  will  be  assured. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Gregory,  H.  E.  and  K.  Barnes.  North  Pacific  fisheries.  Ameri- 

can Council,  Institute  of  Pacific  Relations.   New  York.    1939. 

2.  International  Fisheries  Commission.  Investigations  of  the  Inter- 

national Fisheries  Commission  to  December  1930,  and  their 
bearing  on  regulation  of  the  Pacific  halibut  fishery.    Seattle. 

1930- 

3.    .   Report  of  the  International  Fisheries  Commission  No. 

1.   Seattle.    1931. 

Regulation  and  investigation  of  the  Pacific  halibut 


fishery  in  1947.  Rept.  International  Fisheries  Comm.  No.  13. 
Seattle.   1948. 

Regulation  and  investigation  of  the  Pacific  halibut 


fishery  in  1948.   Rept.  International  Fisheries  Comm.  No.  14. 
Seattle.  1949. 

6.  National  Resources  Committee.   Alaska — Its  resources  and  de- 

velopment.   House  of  Representatives  Doc.  No.  485    (75th 
Cong.  3rd  Session)  Washington.    1938. 

7.  Osgood,  W.  H.,  E.  A.  Preble,  and  G.  H.  Parker.  The  fur  seals 

and  other  life  of  the  Pribilof  Islands,  Alaska,  in  1914.   Bull. 
Bureau  of  Fisheries  XXXIV.    Washington.    1915. 


Marine  Resources  Management— Thompson  291 

8.  Rich,  W.  H.  and  E.  M.  Ball.   Statistical  review  of  the  Alaska 

salmon  fisheries.    Part  I:  Bristol  Bay  and  the  Alaska  Penin- 
sula. Bull.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  XLIV.  Washington.  1918. 

9.    .   Statistical  review  of  the  Alaska  salmon  fisheries.   Part 

II:  Chignik  to  Resurrection  Bay.    Bull.  Bureau  of  Fisheries, 
XLIV.    Washington.    1931. 

10.    .   Statistical  review  of  the  Alaska  salmon  fisheries.    Part 

III:  Prince  William  Sound,  Copper  River,  and  Bering  River. 
Bull.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  XLVII.   Washington.    1932. 

11.    .   Statistical  review  of  the  Alaska  salmon  fisheries.    Part 

IV:  Southeastern  Alaska.   Bull.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  XLVII. 
Washington.    1933. 

12.  Thompson,  Seton  H.    Condition  of  razor  clam  fishery  in  the 

vicinity  of  Cordova,  Alaska.    Investigational  Rept.  No.  29, 
Bureau  of  Fisheries.  Washington.    1935. 

13.  Thompson,  W.  F.  Conservation  of  the  Pacific  halibut,  an  inter- 

national experiment.  Smithsonian  Rept.  for  1935.  Washing- 
ton.  1936. 

14.  Thompson,  W.  F.  and  N.  L.  Freeman.    History  of  the  Pacific 

halibut  fishery.   Rept.  International  Fisheries  Comm.  No.  5. 
Seattle.    1930. 

15.  U.  S.  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service.  Annual  statistical  digest  entitled 

Alaska  fishery  and  fur-seal  industries.  Washington. 

16.  Van  Hise,  C.  R.  and  L.  Havemeyer.  Conservation  of  our  natu- 

ral resources.  New  York.  1931. 


ALASKAN  WATERFOWL  AND    THEIR 
MANAGEMENT 

Ira  N.  Gabrielson,  President 
Wildlife  Management  Institute 

Alaska's  waterfowl  have  excited  interest  since  the  first  Ameri- 
can naturalists  visited  the  territory.  Interestingly  enough,  the 
earliest  ornithological  reports  were  from  areas  now  known  to 
be  key  waterfowl  breeding  grounds.  These  came  from  a  corps 
of  scientists,  including  W.  H.  Dall  and  H.  M.  Bannister,  under 
the  leadership  of  Robert  Kennicott,  that  accompanied  the 
Russian-American  Telegraph  Expedition.  This  venture  was 
financed  by  a  group  of  San  Francisco  capitalists  who  dreamed  of 
constructing  a  telegraph  line  to  St.  Petersburg. 

The  advance  parties  entered  Alaska  in  1865  prior  to  its 
acquisition  by  the  United  States,  and  visited  among  other  places 
St.  Michael,  the  lower  Yukon,  and  the  Yukon  Flats  at  Fort 
Yukon.  Their  reports  provide  a  story  of  an  abundance  of 
breeding  birds  that  excited  the  imagination  of  men  accustomed 
to  seeing  concentrations  of  wildlife. 

L.  M.  Turner,  a  member  of  the  U.  S.  Signal  Corps,  the  next 
to  visit  the  great  marshes  of  the  Yukon  Delta,  was  stationed  at 
St.  Michael  from  May  1874  until  relieved  by  E.  W.  Nelson  in 
July  1877.  Nelson,  who  later  became  chief  of  the  Biological 
Survey,  remained  at  that  station  until  June  1881,  providing 
continuous  reports  for  seven  years  from  this  important  water- 
fowl area. 

Nelson,  in  addition  to  local  observations,  made  sled  trips 
each  winter  and  one  extensive  spring  trip  by  boat.  In  this  way 
he  visited  Nelson  Island,  the  lower  Kuskokwim,  the  lower 
Yukon,  Golovin  Bay,  and  Sledge  Island  on  the  north  side  of 
Norton  Sound,  and  the  Yukon  as  far  upstream  as  the  mouth  of 
the  Innoko  River. 

Dall  returned  to  Alaska  as  a  member  of  the  U.  S.  Coastal 

292 


Alaskan   Waterfowl  Management— Gabrielson  293 

Survey,  working  from  the  Shumagins  to  Attu.  Turner  also 
returned  to  the  Territory  and  worked  at  various  points  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Nushagak  to  Attu.  The  reports  of  these  men 
furnished  much  information  regarding  wildlife  on  these  islands 
and  are  still  of  value  in  analyzing  present  conditions. 

These  observers  worked  some  of  the  key  areas  that  are  now 
known  to  concern  the  future  of  Alaska's  waterfowl.  These  men 
were  impressed  with  the  enormous  numbers  of  breeding  water- 
fowl, especially  geese,  and  subsequent  visitors  have  been  equally 
impressed.  However,  it  is  only  recently  that  definite  informa- 
tion has  commenced  to  be  available.  I  spent  some  time  at 
St.  Michael  and  in  the  Yukon  Delta  comparing  present  con- 
ditions with  those  found  by  Nelson.  I  had  his  report  with  me, 
and  enjoyed  the  novelty  of  comparing  my  daily  observations 
with  his  narratives  referring  to  the  same  ponds,  streams  and 
willow  patches. 

When  Alaska  is  viewed  from  the  air,  as  most  travelers  see  it, 
the  vast  number  of  lakes  makes  a  definite  impression.  While 
lakes  are  sprinkled  liberally  through  much  of  the  Territory, 
certain  areas  in  the  interior  and  in  coastal  units  on  the  Bering 
Sea  and  the  Arctic  slope  show  unusually  heavy  concentrations 
of  water  areas.  From  the  air  the  landscape  at  these  points 
appears  to  be  composed  almost  entirely  of  water,  with  only 
enough  land  interspersed  to  give  it  form  and  hold  it  together. 
These  areas  of  wet  and  marshy  tundra  are  favored  breeding 
grounds  for  geese  which  tend  to  colonize  as  well  as  for  other 
waterfowl  which  do  not. 

In  addition,  there  are  interior  areas  which  are  of  importance 
to  other  waterfowl.  The  Yukon  Flats  have  been  known  orni- 
thologically  since  Kennicott's  first  visit  in  1865.  Many  of  the 
specimens  collected  by  him  in  this  then  unknown  country  are 
still  in  the  National  Museum  to  substantiate  his  reports.  The 
Innoko  Flats,  another  intricate  complex  of  marshes  and  pools, 
lying  at  the  junction  of  the  Innoko  and  Iditarod  Rivers,  is  also 
an  important  breeding  area.  Tetlin  Lakes  which  have  not  been 
surveyed  extensively  were  reported  by  early  visitors  to  be  the 
home  of  numerous  waterfowl.  The  Minto  Lakes,  between  Fair- 


294  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

banks  and  Nenana,  are  smaller,  but  have  a  considerable  popu- 
lation of  breeding  waterfowl. 

On  the  Arctic  Slope  there  are  heavy  concentrations  of  water- 
fowl in  favorable  areas,  the  most  important  being,  on  the  basis 
of  present  information,  one  lying  on  the  south  and  east  sides  of 
Kotzebue  Sound,  and  another  between  Point  Barrow  and  the 
great  delta  formed  by  the  Colville  River.  Other  important 
areas  include  the  Cold  Bay  district  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula,  a 
breeding  ground  for  a  substantial  number  of  both  ducks  and 
geese,  the  Copper  River  Flats  near  Cordova,  and  the  Stikine 
River  Flats  at  the  mouth  of  that  stream  near  Wrangell.  The 
last  three  probably  have  their  greatest  value  as  feeding  and 
resting  areas  for  migrating  flocks  of  waterfowl. 

Much  of  Alaska,  while  having  considerable  water  area,  is 
thinly  populated  with  waterfowl.  It  is  more  heavily  populated 
and  probably  more  productive  than  similar  territory  in  the 
Canadian  shield  (in  interior  Canada  and  Labrador)  where  the 
underlying  rocks  furnish  relatively  little  fertility.  Many  of 
these  more  eastern  waters  are  relatively  sterile,  produce  little 
or  no  plant  or  animal  life,  and  waterfowl  breeding  populations 
are  correspondingly  limited.  While  there  are  some  Alaskan 
waters  which  belong  in  this  same  class,  the  majority  lie  in  the 
tundra  and  in  the  great  river  valleys  where  better  soils  and 
more  favorable  growing  conditions  prevail. 

Not  all  tundra  ponds  are  suitable  for  waterfowl,  or  at  least 
used  by  waterfowl.  This  condition  may  be  due  to  insufficient 
breeding  populations  to  occupy  all  breeding  territory,  or  it 
may  be  due  to  some  less  favorable  condition  that  exists  in  these 
waters.  It  is,  however,  difficult  to  travel  anywhere  in  Alaska 
during  June  or  July  without  finding  breeding  waterfowl  wher- 
ever water  is  available.  This  is  true  even  in  the  Copper  River 
drainage  where  lakes  are  relatively  less  numerous  than  in  other 
areas. 

On  my  first  visit  to  the  Yukon-Kuskokwim  area,  Bristol  Bay, 
and  the  upper  part  of  the  Yukon  Valley  in  1940,  I  formed  the 
opinion  that  the  importance  of  Alaskan  waterfowl  has  been 
underestimated  in  the  prevailing  preoccupation  with  the  critical 


Alaskan   Waterfowl  Management— Gabriehon  295 

conditions  that  existed  in  the  breeding  grounds  of  the  north 
central  states  and  in  the  Canadian  Prairie  Provinces.  Only 
since  the  end  of  the  war  has  a  sustained  effort  to  secure  detailed 
data  of  Alaska's  breeding  waterfowl  populations  been  possible. 
The  work  is  still  too  new  to  provide  as  complete  and  accurate 
information  as  is  available  from  many  other  parts  of  the  conti- 
nent. I  may  say,  however,  that  each  subsequent  visit  has 
strengthened  my  belief  in  the  importance  of  Alaska  to  conti- 
nental waterfowl  flights. 

Without  attempting  to  catalogue  all  species  of  waterfowl  that 
breed  in  Alaska,  it  is  possible  to  indicate  those  of  major  im- 
portance. Alaska  has  breeding  populations  of  the  Whistling 
Swan,  Emperor  Goose,  White-cheeked  Goose,  Lesser  Canada 
Goose,  Cackling  Goose,  White-fronted  Goose,  and  Black  Brant. 
It  also  provides  suitable  nesting  habitat  for  impressive  numbers 
of  Pintails,  Mallards,  Green-winged  Teals,  Baldpates,  and 
Shovelers,  among  shallow  water  ducks.  It  contains  one  of  two 
principal  breeding  grounds  of  the  Greater  Scaup,  and  supplies 
considerable  numbers  of  Barrow's  and  American  Golden-eye 
and  Canvasbacks,  among  those  diving  ducks  regarded  chiefly  as 
game  birds.  The  chief  North  American  breeding  grounds  of 
the  Spectacled  Eider,  the  Pacific  Eider,  and  Steller's  Eider  are 
found  within  its  boundaries.  Only  in  the  case  of  the  King 
Eider,  among  Alaska's  eiders,  is  more  extensive  habitat  found 
outside  its  territorial  limits.  While  these  birds  are  utilized  little 
as  game,  they  are  an  important  part  of  the  native  economy  in 
areas  in  which  they  are  found. 

Aside  from  these  birds,  there  are  two  other  abundant  tundra 
nesting  waterfowl— the  Old  Squaw  and  the  American  Scoter, 
both  utilized  in  furnishing  native  food  and  clothing.  Alaska 
produces  great  numbers  of  these  birds,  and  there  are  also  ex- 
tensive breeding  grounds  in  Canada. 

The  most  important  single  breeding  area  is  the  Yukon-Kus- 
kokwim  Delta,  a  great  fan-shaped  marsh  which  lies  between  the 
mouth  of  the  Kuskokwim  around  the  coast  almost  to  St.  Michael 
and  which  follows  both  streams  up  to  the  point  when  they  most 
closely  approach  each  other.   This  vast  area  of  marshy  lowland 


296  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

and  lakes  provides  the  world's  chief  breeding  ground  for 
Emperor  and  Cackling  Geese. 

The  Cackling  Geese  breed  entirely  in  Alaska,  being  found 
from  the  Kuskokwim  River  to  Kotzebue  Sound,  with  much  the 
greater  percentage  of  the  birds  nesting  in  this  delta.  This  state- 
ment is  equally  true  of  the  Emperor  Geese.  They  breed  from 
Bristol  Bay  north  to  Kotzebue  Sound  and  in  small  numbers 
even  to  Wainwright.  Yet,  the  mass  of  the  known  American 
population  breeds  in  a  narrow  strip  along  Bering  Sea  between 
Nelson  Island  and  St.  Michael.  This  species  winters  mainly 
along  the  base  of  the  Alaska  Peninsula  and  in  the  Aleutian 
Islands  while  the  Cackling  Geese  furnish  an  important  con- 
tribution to  the  annual  waterfowl  supply  for  Oregon,  Wash- 
ington, and  California. 

White-fronted  Geese  are  also  found  here  in  numbers,  but 
they  also  breed  in  numbers  from  Point  Barrow  to  the  Colville 
Delta  and  in  such  areas  as  the  Innoko  Flats.  Whistling  Swans 
breed  from  the  north  side  of  the  Alaska  Peninsula  along  the 
Bering  Sea  and  Arctic  Coasts  to  the  Canadian  line,  although 
in  small  numbers,  as  far  as  present  records  indicate,  from  the 
Colville  River  eastward.  Again,  the  greatest  Alaskan  breeding 
population  is  found  in  the  Yukon-Kuskokwim  Delta. 

The  White-cheeked  Goose,  a  huge,  dark  "honker,"  nests  from 
Prince  William  Sound  south  into  British  Columbia,  with  the 
major  part  of  the  population  nesting  on  small  lakes  and  inlets 
in  scattered  pairs,  and  wintering  in  the  salt  marshes  of  south- 
eastern Alaska. 

There  are  thriving  colonies  of  Black  Brant  from  Nelson 
Island  north,  and  others  from  Point  Barrow  east  with  perhaps 
the  most  concentrated  Alaskan  breeding  populations  in  the 
Yukon  and  Colville  Deltas.  Back  from  the  coast,  the  Yukon 
delta  furnishes  suitable  breeding  grounds  for  vast  numbers  of 
Pintails  and  Greater  Scaup,  and  lesser  numbers  of  Shovelers, 
Baldpates,  Green-winged  Teals,  and  Mallards.  It  is  not  only 
the  most  important  breeding  area  in  Alaska,  but  one  of  the 
great  waterfowl  production  units  of  the  continent.  The  treat- 
ment accorded  it  will  decide  the  fate  of  Cackling  Geese  and 


Alaskan   Waterfowl  Management— Gabrielson  297 

Emperor  Geese,  and  have  a  major  influence  upon  Whistling 
Swans,  Black  Brant,  and  Greater  Scaup  populations.  It  will 
affect  in  lesser  degree  the  Green-winged  Teals,  Pintails,  and 
Baldpates  which  have  much  more  extensive  continental  breed- 
ing ranges  than  the  other  species  mentioned. 

The  Kotzebue  Sound  waterfowl  unit  produces  largely  Pin- 
tails, but  Lesser  Canada  Geese,  Black  Brant,  and  Greater  Scaup 
are  present  in  important  numbers.  The  Arctic  slope  from 
Barrow  to  the  Colville  produces  more  White-fronted  Geese  and 
Pintails  than  other  game  species,  although  limited  numbers  of 
other  birds  are  also  present.  It  is  also  of  importance  to  the 
coastal  Eskimo  villages  as  a  producer  of  eiders,  old  squaws,  and 
scoters  which  furnish  an  important  part  of  the  vast  northbound 
migration  on  which  many  natives  rely  for  food  in  May  and 
June. 

The  Innoko  Flats  are  especially  important  to  Pintails,  Greater 
Scaup,  and  Lesser  Canada  Geese,  with  Baldpate,  Mallard, 
White-fronted  Geese,  and  Green-winged  Teal  also  present  in 
worth  while  numbers. 

Little  recent  work  has  been  done  on  the  Yukon  Flats,  al- 
though the  earlier  naturalists  found  practically  every  species  of 
fresh  water  duck  now  found  in  the  Territory  breeding  there 
in  numbers.  In  addition  such  species  as  Canvasbacks,  American 
Golden-eye,  Greater  Scaup,  and  Bufflehead  were  more  numer- 
ous than  elsewhere.  Certainly  an  area  that  was  as  productive  as 
this  appeared  to  be  in  former  years  merits  attention  at  a  time 
when  wildlife  interests  are  forced  to  embrace  every  opportunty 
to  preserve  waterfowl  breeding,  feeding,  and  wintering  grounds. 

Present  information  regarding  Tetlin  Lakes  is  even  more 
intangible.  I  have  been  in  the  edge  of  this  area  and  found  most 
of  the  common  fresh  water  ducks,  and  in  addition  Barrow's 
Golden-eye,  scaups,  and  Canvasback  in  some  number.  I  have 
flown  over  it  and  noticed  rather  heavy  concentrations  of  water- 
fowl without  being  able  to  identify  the  species.  This  complex 
of  lakes,  lying  close  to  the  Canadian  boundary  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Tanana  River,  needs  more  study  to  determine  its  relative 
importance. 


298  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

Another  area  which  contains  a  considerable  concentration  of 
nesting  waterfowl  is  Minto  Lakes  between  Fairbanks  and 
Nenana.  It  is  smaller  than  the  units  previously  discussed,  but 
has  quite  a  number  of  waterfowl,  principally  scaup  and  Pin- 
tails. It  has  been  chosen  as  a  study  area  by  the  Cooperative 
Wildlife  Research  Unit  at  the  University  of  Alaska  and  more 
detailed  information  should  become  available  as  this  study 
progresses. 

The  Copper  River  Flats  is  likewise  smaller,  although  large 
when  compared  with  many  waterfowl  units  in  the  states.  A 
variety  of  waterfowl  remain  through  the  summer,  but  no 
studies  have  been  made  of  nesting  populations.  Canada  Geese, 
Mallards,  Shovelers,  Pintails,  Green-winged  Teals,  Gadwall, 
and  Baldpates  are  in  the  area  during  breeding  season,  and  I 
have  found  goose  and  mallard  nests  or  broods.  From  their  be- 
havior it  is  almost  certain  that  some  of  other  species  also  nest 
in  greater  or  less  numbers. 

A  larger  area  that  has  some  value  as  a  nesting  ground,  but 
which  has  its  greatest  value  as  a  fall  concentration  and  feeding 
area  for  northern  birds,  is  located  at  Cold  Bay  on  the  outer  end 
of  the  Alaska  Peninsula.  Here,  Cackling,  Snow,  and  Emperor 
Geese,  and  many  varieties  of  ducks  gather  to  rest  and  feed 
before  undertaking  the  long  migration  to  the  marshes  and  grain 
fields  of  the  Pacific  states  or  the  shallow  bays  of  the  Aleutians 
that  provide  winter  food  for  the  Emperor  Geese  and  to  a  less 
extent  for  other  species.  It  is  an  essential  key  to  the  future  of 
Alaska's  waterfowl  resources. 

The  Stikine  Flats,  at  the  mouth  of  that  river  near  Wrangell  is 
another  unit  that  is  probably  essential  as  a  feeding  and  resting 
area  for  migratory  birds.  It  is  the  major  concentration  area  in 
southeastern  Alaska,  and  is  used  by  Canada  Geese,  Snow  Geese, 
White-fronted  Geese,  and  a  variety  of  ducks,  principally  Mal- 
lards, Pintails,  Green-winged  Teals,  Baldpates,  and  Greater 
Scaup. 

Mallards,  Pintails,  Green-winged  Teals,  Baldpates,  Shov- 
elers, and  Greater  Scaup  are  widely  scattered  outside  the  major 
nesting  areas,  breeding  over  a  wide  range  wherever  suitable 


Alaskan   Waterfoivl  Management— Gabrielson  299 

food  and  water  conditions  prevail.  The  production  of  these 
scattered  populations  added  to  that  of  the  major  units  makes 
Alaska's  waterfowl  production  of  increasing  importance.  It  is 
impossible  to  evaluate  it  on  a  numerical  basis,  but  it  is  certain 
that  the  loss  of  this  contribution  would  have  a  definitely  adverse 
effect  on  the  waterfowl  resources. 

The  returns  from  banding  projects  also  demonstrate  its  im- 
portance to  waterfowl  production.  Lincoln,  writing  in  1926 
of  the  returns  secured  from  about  250  Cackling  Geese  banded 
in  late  July  of  1924  in  the  vicinity  of  Hooper  Bay,  reported 
that  of  the  39  birds  recovered,  35  were  taken  on  the  coastal 
areas  of  Oregon  and  Washington,  at  Tule  Lake,  lying  on  the 
Oregon-California  boundary,  and  in  the  Sacramento  Valley. 
Only  one,  a  bird  taken  on  Moresby  Island,  was  recovered  in 
British  Columbia.  One  bird  was  killed  on  Nelson  Island  the 
following  June  not  far  from  the  point  of  banding,  and  2  birds 
killed  by  a  Snowy  Owl  were  recovered  in  the  owl  nest  soon  after 
banding.  These  returns  indicated  a  wintering  concentration 
in  California  and  a  definite  migration  route  to  and  from  that 
area. 

During  the  last  two  seasons,  extensive  banding  has  been 
undertaken  in  several  localities  by  the  use  of  Pittman-Robert- 
son  funds.  This  followed  more  limited  work  in  1948.  Six 
hundred  ninety  two  waterfowl  were  banded  in  1948,  2629  in 
1949,  and  3573  in  1950.  Naturally,  returns  from  the  birds 
banded  in  the  summer  of  1950  are  not  yet  available,  and  past 
experience  indicates  that  additional  bands  will  be  returned 
from  1949  banded  birds.  During  the  1949  operation,  2634  birds 
were  banded,  all  but  5  of  which  were  either  ducks  or  geese. 
Six  hundred  ninety  eight  Cackling  Geese  were  banded,  and  4 
of  these  were  recovered  that  fall  relatively  near  the  banding 
stations  in  the  Yukon  Delta,  1  was  returned  from  Washington, 
16  from  Oregon,  and  17  from  California.  Three  hundred  eighty 
two  Black  Brant  were  banded  in  the  Yukon  Delta  of  which  2 
were  taken  near  the  banding  area,  1  in  British  Columbia,  1  in 
Washington,  and  8  in  California.  Of  the  138  White-fronted 
Geese  banded  that  season,  1 2  that  were  banded  on  the  Innoko 


300  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

and  1  banded  in  the  Yukon-Kuskokwim  Delta  were  taken  by 
hunters  and  reported  to  the  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service.    The 

1  bird  from  the  Yukon  Delta  was  captured  in  Lake  County, 
Oregon,  and  of  the  12  returns  from  Innoko  birds,  1  was  taken 
in  Mexico,  50  miles  south  of  Calexico,  1  in  California,  1  at  Lake 
Thelma,  Alberta,  and  g  at  various  points  in  Saskatchewan,  indi- 
cating that  White-fronted  Geese  raised  in  this  area  tend  to 
enter  the  Mississippi  or  Central  Flyway  rather  than  the  Pacific. 

Fifty  recoveries  were  reported  from  the  1,032  Pintails  banded, 
of  which  30  were  taken  in  California,  3  in  Oregon,  3  in  Wash- 
ington, 2  in  British  Columbia,  2  in  Alberta,  1  in  Saskatchewan, 

2  in  Mexico.  These  birds  were  produced  on  the  Innoko,  Kotze- 
bue  Sound,  and  Arctic  slope. 

Lesser  Canada  Geese  banded  both  in  1948  and  1949  in  the 
Innoko-Iditarod  area  were  recovered  in  Oregon,  Washington, 
and  California,  British  Columbia,  and  in  Alaska.  Scattered 
returns  from  other  species,  still  too  few  to  be  of  much  signifi- 
cance, indicate  that  the  Pacific  Flyway  receives  most  of  the 
puddle  ducks  and  all  of  the  Cackling  Geese  from  these  districts. 
While  the  returns  are  too  limited  to  permit  definite  conclu- 
sions, the  White-fronted  Goose  is  the  only  species  which  has  yet 
shown  up  in  numbers  outside  the  Pacific  Flyway.  When  suffi- 
cient birds  have  been  banded,  others  such  as  Greater  Scaup  and 
Canvasback  may  be  found  moving  more  to  the  eastern  flyways. 

This  summary  of  unpublished  returns  indicate  that  birds 
bred  in  Alaska  are  important  not  only  to  the  people  in  the 
Territory,  but  to  the  entire  Pacific  Coast.  We  have  in  the  past 
witnessed  the  useless  destruction  in  both  the  United  States  and 
Canada  of  the  marshes  on  which  these  birds  depend.  In  some 
cases  important  units  have  been  reflooded  at  public  expense. 
Perhaps  it  is  hoping  against  hope  that  this  historic  lesson  will 
be  sufficiently  heeded  to  permit  the  development  and  execution 
of  a  program  designed  to  prevent  a  similar  sequence  of  events 
in  Alaska. 

The  balance  between  life  and  death  for  wildlife  in  the  Arctic 
is  precarious  at  best.  In  some  areas,  the  balance  which  permits 
these   birds  to  successfully  reproduce  themselves  has  already 


Alaskan   Waterfowl  Management— Gabriehon  301 

been  disturbed  and  destroyed.  An  outstanding  example  has 
occurred  in  the  Aleutians,  where  all  early  naturalists  indicated 
that  Agattu  and  Amchitka  were  important  goose  and  duck 
breeding  grounds.  Present  evidence  points  to  the  introduction 
of  foxes  on  these  islands  and  the  increasing  native  use  of  firearms 
as  the  factors  responsible  for  this  decimation  of  breeding  popu- 
lations. Recent  survey  parties  have  found  few  or  no  breeding 
waterfowl— nothing  comparable  to  the  numbers  found  by  Dall 
and  Turner  in  earlier  days  or  even  by  Clark  in  1906. 

Waterfowl  populations  have  decreased  within  feasible  travel- 
ing distance  of  St.  Michael,  although  the  village  has  few  if  any 
more  inhabitants  than  in  Nelson's  day.  The  increasing  use  of 
firearms  has  reduced  breeding  waterfowl  populations  in  the 
territory  over  which  the  local  inhabitants  can  conveniently 
travel. 

There  are  other  references  to  similar  conditions,  although 
none  have  such  a  broad  background  of  previous  information 
as  is  available  from  St.  Michael.  The  introduction  of  better 
arms  often  results  in  the  reduction  of  the  breeding  bird  popu- 
lations upon  which  natives  depend.  This  may  or  may  not  be 
entirely  the  work  of  the  natives.  They  unquestionably  are  at 
times  ably  assisted  by  such  white  men  as  live  in  areas  where  the 
birds  are  exceedingly  vulnerable.  It  is  important  that  definite 
steps  be  taken  to  preserve  an  important  source  of  native  food 
supply  and  a  substantial  part  of  the  continental  waterfowl 
resource. 

To  accomplish  these  objectives,  some  definite  recommenda- 
tions can  be  formulated.    They  can  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  Set  aside  immediately  as  wildlife  areas  the  three  now  known  to 
be  key  units  in  any  waterfowl  management  program.  These  are 
the  Yukon-Kuskokwim  Delta,  the  Innoko  Flats,  and  Cold  Bay. 
Sufficient  surveys  have  been  made  to  draw  boundary  lines  and 
draft  withdrawal  orders,  and  the  Secretary  of  Interior  has  the 
authority  to  make  them  effective. 

It  should  be  made  clear  that  it  is  not  proposed  to  create 
refuges  similar  to  those  now  operated  in  continental  United 


302  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

States  under  totally  different  conditions.  These  breeding 
grounds  should  be  set  aside  to  protect  native  food  resources 
and  should  be  administered  to  permit  natives  to  take  waterfowl 
for  their  own  use.  Neither  is  it  necessary  to  close  them  to  hunt- 
ing in  open  hunting  seasons  prescribed  by  the  annual  water- 
fowl regulations.  The  one  necessity  is  to  withdraw  them  from 
entry  and  prevent  the  development  of  hunting  lodges  and 
camps,  with  the  concentrated  hunting  pressures  they  bring. 
This  is  urgent.  Areas  in  Canada  that  a  lew  years  ago  were  con- 
sidered safely  remote  already  have  been  subjected  to  such  de- 
velopment with  disastrous  results  to  breeding  waterfowl.  It  is 
easily  possible  to  destroy  such  a  local  population  and  thereby 
decrease  production  of  that  area  for  years  to  come.  The  penalty 
of  such  an  error  in  management  will  be  paid  first  by  the  natives 
in  impaired  food  resources,  and  secondly  by  the  average  water- 
fowl hunter  in  the  Canadian  provinces  and  in  the  States  through 
which  the  birds  migrate  and  in  which  they  winter.  Any  tem- 
porary benefits  will  accrue  to  a  few  resort  operators  and  to  a 
limited  number  of  citizens  who  are  able  to  gratify  their  desire 
to  shoot  without  considering  cost. 

2.  Secure  funds  and  assign  personnel  to  survey  such  areas  as  the 
Selewick  Flats  and  other  marsh  units  on  Kotzebue  Sound,  the 
Point  Barrow-Colville  River  tundra  breeding  ground,  the  Yukon 
Flats,  Tetlin  Lakes,  Minto  Lakes,  and  perhaps  other  units  of 
which  less  is  known  to  determine: 

a.  The  importance  of  each  to  the  continental  waterfowl  re- 
source. 

b.  To  outline  boundaries  (for  such  as  are  found  to  be  of  major 
importance)  of  the  areas  that  should  be  protected  by  action 
similar  to  that  outlined  for  other  key  areas. 

3.  Make  similar  surveys  to  determine  the  importance  of  the  Copper 
River  Flats  and  Stikine  Flats.  If  they  prove  to  be  as  vital  as 
present  information  indicates,  to  develop  a  program  for  protect- 
ing and  preserving  these  areas  of  habitat,  and  for  preserving 
them  for  public  use  perhaps  by  withdrawal  as  waterfowl  manage- 
ment areas  for  shooting  grounds. 


Alaskan   Waterfowl  Management— Gabrielson  303 

There  are  other  areas  that  may  be  of  greater  importance  than 
some  of  these  mentioned  but  little  information  regarding  them 
is  available.  It  is  important  to  get  quick  action.  The  land  is 
almost  entirely  in  public  ownership  and  should  remain  so.  It 
will  be  less  expensive  to  protect  than  it  will  be  to  restore,  and 
further,  this  proposal  does  not  contemplate  interference  with 
the  present  customary  uses  of  such  lands. 

An  important  incidental  value  will  accrue  in  the  automatic 
protection  of  breeding  grounds  of  some  of  the  uncommon 
Alaskan  shore  birds.  Such  birds  as  the  Pacific  Godwit  and  the 
Bristle-thighed  Curlew  have  their  chief  summer  homes  in  these 
areas.  Other  more  abundant  species  such  as  Red  and  Northern 
Phalaropes,  Semipalmated  Sandpiper,  Western  Sandpiper, 
Bairds  Sandpiper,  Pectoral  Sandpiper,  and  Long-billed  Do- 
witcher  each  have  their  Alaskan  breeding  centers  in  one  or 
more  of  these  areas. 

4.  Expand  the  present  fine  program  of  waterfowl  inventories  as 
fast  as  money  and  man  power  will  permit  to  cover  the  major  areas 
adequately.  Only  by  such  work  will  it  be  possible  to  accurately 
appraise  the  value  of  the  resource  both  to  Alaska  and  to  the  bal- 
ance of  the  continent. 

5.  Expand  the  present  excellent  banding  program  to  all  major 
breeding  areas.  As  information  accumulates  from  similar  work 
in  other  breeding  territories,  it  becomes  increasingly  evident  that 
birds  develop  individual  or  group  patterns  of  migration,  and  of 
selecting  wintering  and  breeding  habitat  that  need  to  be  known 
before  intelligent  management  measures  can  be  taken. 

The  Cackling  Goose,  for  example,  from  present  rather  scant 
data,  breeds  in  a  narrow  coastal  strip  along  Bering  Sea,  winters 
in  an  equally  restricted  area  in  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin 
Valleys  in  California,  and  seems  to  follow  as  a  group  a  definite 
migration  path.  Much  information  is  at  hand  indicating  similar 
definitely  marked  breeding  units  for  some  other  species,  but 
with  no  corresponding  information  yet  available  as  to  the  route 
followed  on  the  wintering  ground  chosen.  Extensive  large 
scale  banding  is  needed  to  furnish  such  information  as  a  basis 
for  better  management. 


304  Alaskan  Science  Conference 

6.  Build  up  the  Cooperative  Wildlife  Research  Unit  recently  es- 
tablished at  the  University  of  Alaska.  This  enterprise  should 
help  train  Alaska  boys  for  better  work  in  territory  with  which 
they  are  familiar  and  furnish  needed  information  as  well.  The 
early  interest  of  the  Unit  in  waterfowl  problems  is  an  indication 
of  helpful  results  for  this  part  of  the  wildlife  resources.  It  should 
be  encouraged  and  strengthened  at  every  opportunity.  There 
are  almost  innumerable  waterfowl  research  and  investigative 
needs  that  can  be  better  handled  in  Alaska  than  elsewhere  in 
American  territory.  Breeding  ground  studies  of  many  species  can 
only  be  developed  here,  and  the  Unit  can  help  secure  such  data. 

7.  Expand  law  enforcement  staff  enough  to  enable  it  to  protect  the 
wildlife  and  fisheries  resources  upon  which  Alaska  is  especially 
dependent.  There  has  been  some  improvement  in  recent  years, 
but  a  comparison  of  the  size  of  the  task  with  that  of  any  state  or 
province  and  a  like  comparison  of  the  men  and  resources  availa- 
ble to  handle  it  indicate  that  the  staff  is  still  inadequate.  Water- 
fowl, as  well  as  other  resources,  have  suffered  from  this  deficiency. 

In  conclusion,  all  available  information  indicates  the  neces- 
sity for  outlining  and  carrying  out  as  rapidly  as  possible  an 
over-all  waterfowl  management  program  to  maintain  and  man- 
age the  most  important  remaining  waterfowl  breeding  grounds 
under  American  jurisdiction.  It  is  improbable  that  with  limited 
information  a  sufficient  program  can  be  completely  visualized. 
A  start  has  been  recommended  which  as  it  is  developed  will 
provide  information  on  which  additional  details  or  entirely 
new  major  projects  can  be  based. 

REFERENCES 

1.  Clark,  A.  H.  The  birds  collected  and  observed  during  the  cruise 

of  the  U.  S.  Fisheries  Steamer  Albatross  in  the  North  Pacific 
Ocean  and  in  the  Bering,  Okhotsk,  Japan,  and  Eastern  Seas 
from  April  to  December,  1906.  Proceedings,  U.  S.  National 
Museum,  38:  25-74.    1910. 

2.  Dall,  W.  H.,  and  H.  M.  Bannister.  List  of  the  birds  of  Alaska 

with  biographical  notes.  Transactions,  Chicago  Academy  of 
Science,  /   (2):  267-310.    1869. 

3.  Lincoln,  F.  C.   The  migration  of  the  Cackling  Goose.   Condor, 

28 •"  15S-151-  July-August,  1926. 


Alaskan  Waterfowl  Management— Gabriehon  305 

Nelson,  E.  W.  Report  upon  natural  history  collection  made  in 
Alaska  between  the  years  1877  and  1881.  No.  3,  Arctic  Series, 
Signal  Corps,  U.  S.  Army.   337  pp.  1887   (=  1888). 

Turner,  L.  M.  Contributions  to  the  natural  history  of  Alaska. 
U.  S.  Signal  Corps.  216  pp.  1886. 


THE  ARCTIC  INSTITUTE  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

The  Arctic  Institute  of  North  America  was  formed  to  further  the 
scientific  study  and  exploration  of  the  Arctic.  The  Institute  pro- 
vides information  on  the  Arctic  through  its  three  Offices,  awards 
research  grants,  and  publishes  scientific  papers  and  other  contribu- 
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other  Institute  Offices. 

BOARD  OF  GOVERNORS 
T.  H.  Manning,  (Chairman),  J.  T.  Flakne,  Washington,  D.C. 

Ottawa,  Ont.      Laurence  M.  Gould, 
E.  H.  Smith,  (V ice-Chairman),  Northfield,  Minn. 

Woods  Hole,  Mass.      Erxfst  Gruening, 

-,   T  „  /c  «  Juneau,  Alaska 

M.  J.  Dunbar,  (Secretary),  ' 

.'  Etnar  Mikkelsen, 
Montreal,  Que.  ,-,.',  ,       ,  ^  i 

^  Charlottenlund,  Denmark 

Walter  A.  Wood,  (Treasurer),  A  £  PorsilD(  0ttawa>  Qnt 

New  York,  N.Y.  jqhn  q  Re£d  Washington>  D.C. 

Hugh  S.  Bostock,  Ottawa,  Ont.  FlNN  RoNNE>  Washington,  D.C. 

John  C.  Case,  New  York,  N.Y.  Graham  W.  Rowley, 

C.  H.  D.  Clarke,  Toronto,  Ont.  Ottawa,  Ont. 

Henry  B.  Collins,  R.  E.  Stavert,  Montreal,  Que. 

Washington,  D.C.  Hugh  A.  Young,  Ottawa,  Ont. 

EXECUTIVE  DIRECTOR 
R.  C.  Wallace 

DIRECTORS  OF  OFFICES 

Montreal  Washington  New  York 

P.  D.  Baird  L.  O.  Colbert  Walter  A.  Wood 

Editor  of  the  Institute  Journal  Arctic 
Diana  Rowley 

OFFICES  OF  THE  INSTITUTE 

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