on her return to the mouth of the river, as Schwatka had expected.
The great delta of the Yukon soon came into view. It consists of many islands and channels which have never been entirely explored. From the most northern mouth of the delta to the most southern is a distance of ninety miles. After the Alphoon, the northernmost mouth, was reached, a weary time began. The vessel slowly threaded her way through shallow channels of water and between mud banks, until she crept into the harbor of the little village of St. Michael on the coast. From this place Schwatka and his party embarked for San Francisco on the Leo, which had stopped at St. Michael on its way from Point Barrow.
By this raft journey of Lieutenant Schwatka, the Yukon was navigated from its source to its mouth, a distance of two thousand and forty-four miles.
This river is the fifth in length in the United States, and sends forth such a volume of water that it freshens Bering sea to a distance of ten miles.
