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Sept., ?9o7 SOME EXPERIENCES OF A COLLECTOR IN ALASKA ?33 Miss Alexander, Hasselborg and I are going to go down the river from the lakes to Kootznahoo Inlet. If we can do this we will have crossed the island almost in the middle. Miss Alexander does not ask us to do anything that she would not do her- self, but it takes a pretty good one to follow her. Well I must get to work on my notes now, so will have to let up for this time. Z?ooniah, Ch[chag?of fsland, Alaska; June 20, z9o7.--We just got here today and got our mail. We left Red Bluff Bay on Baranof yesterday and came up to Fresh water Bay and anchored last night. Then we came back to Hooniah to store our gasoline and some provisions. Miss Alexander, Mr. Hasselborg and I left Mole Harbor, on the east side of Admiralty, on June 11 for a trip across the island to Kootznahoo Inlet and Killis- noo. We got thru all right but we had quite a trip. We were a little over two days going from Mole Harbor to Killisnoo. The total distauce that we traveled was about thirty miles. I saw lots of birds going down the river, several of which I couldn't recognize. I broke my paddle'trying to stop to get one and it seemed as tho they were near swift places in the river where we couldn't stop. One place we had to portage around a waterfall and rapids for about a mile and a half and it was pretty tough. Shooting the rapids was all right but it would have been all off with us if we had hit a rock. The tide rips and rapids in Kootznahoo Inlet are worse than the rapids in the river, when the tide is running out. I found a Duck Hawk's nest at Danger Point just above Killisnoo as we came down and I went back later and got the female and three downy young, about a week old. The nest was under a clump of alder roots about 100 feet above the breakers on a limestone cliff. The young ones were hungry, so I chucked them into the fish basket and brought them along. They are regular pigs and eat greed- ily five times a day. They have almost doubled in weight in a week. We have some good photos of them already and if they thrive, as they give every promise of doing, we will get a whole life series of them "a la Finley." I have had lots of fun with them. A sea voyage just improves their appetite. While we were crossing the island the rest of the party went on down to Red Bluff Bay and made camp. While they were unloading they got too much in the skiff and when Littlejohn's 225 pounds listed a little, the boat capsized with our collecting chests, note books, etc. Stephens slipped just as he was carrying his chest ashore and got a lot of his plates and photographic material wet. That night the tide took a crazy notion to call on them and the next morning their cornmeal, sugar, etc., was wet. They had cautioned us to be careful! (;lacier J?ay, Alaska,' ./uly 4, z9o7.--Well, this is the "Glorious Fourth," and it is raining here so that I haven't been able to stick my head out all morning. Have been trying to straighten out accounts with my neglected note book this morning. It is a good thing that we have a rainy day once in a while or my note book would be more neglected than it is. There are lots of things here. This is the first place we have struck that we have found enough to keep us busy. The tent is full of specimens and they don't dry readily either. I counted up last night and found that we had 628 birds and mammals (332 birds and 296 mammals). I think that this should be very gratify- ing to the "bird fiend." I have prefered land birds to water birds but sometimes there was little choice. Well, I must go out and "lassoo" an iceberg and tow it in so we can have some ice cream for dinner, and I'll finish this later.