At Metchigme Bay. Glacier Work at Plover Bay-A Crazy Native-His Idiosyncracies and Attempted Suicide. Steamer Corwin. Near the Mouth of Metchigme Bay, On the west side of Behring Strait, June 27, 1881.

• Main Author: Muir, John
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1881
• Subjects: John Muir; Bibliography; Kimes; William F. Kimes; Maymie B. Kimes; pamphlets; journal articles; speeches; writing; naturalist; annotation; Plover Bay; Mill Pond; Tundra
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/163; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1162&context=jmb

Written June 27, 1881 AT MfeffifilGK BAY. V* 5 f f ? Cilaeier Wo!& at. Plover Bay—A Crazy Na- civs—His Idiosncraeies aad -Attempted Suicide. Steamsk COKWIN, 'S . . Near the Mouth of Metchigme Bay, I on the west side of Behring Strait. | June X, 1831. J After leaving St. Michael's, on the evening of She fist; we crossed Behri ag Sea to Plover Bay to .'•'Sii oufcoal-bunkers fram a pile belonging to his Majesty the Czar of Bussla, arriving there early on the morning of the 2Gth, having been detained at St. Laurence Island by'a gale from the north. While the ship was being coaled, I climbed the east wall of the fiord three or four miles above the mouth, where it is about 2,280 feet above the level of the sea, and-as The day was clear, I obtained capital views of the mountains on both sides and around the head of the fiord among the numerous ice fountains which, during the Glacial winter, poured their tribute through this magnificent channel into Behring Sea. PLOVER BAY GLACIER. When the glacier that formed what is now called Plover Bay was in its prlmelt wa3 about thirty miles long and from five to six miles in width ai_the widest portion of the trunk and about;S,ooqfeet deep, it then had at least five main "ffWutarles, which, as the trunk melted towards the close of the ice period, became independent glaciers, and these again were melted Into perhaps seventy-five or more small residual glaciers from less than a mile to several miles in length,, all of which, as far as I could see, have at length vanished, though some wasting remnants may still linger in the highest and best- protected fountains above the head of the fiord. The mountains hereabouts, in the forms of the peaks, ridges, lake-basins, bits of meadow, and in sculpture and aspects In general, are like those of the high Sierra of California where the rock is least resisting.iSnow still lingers in drift patches and streaks and avalanche heaps down to the sea-level, while there is but little depth of solid snow on the highest peaks and ridges, so. that, there being no warm, sunny base of gentle slopes and foothills, no varying belts of climate, the mountains as a whole seem to be only the storm- beaten tops of mountains. Still there are spots here and thes.-ewhere the snow is melted„that are already cheered with about ten species of plants in full bloom; anemones, buttercups, primula, several species of draba, ana purple heathworts, and pttiox and potentilla, making charming / Alpine gardens, but too small and thinly nlanted W /to show at a distance of more than a few" y5,rds, while trees are wholly wanting. A„KATIVE_SEIT.LEM3NT. / On our way north to-day we stopped a tew minutes opposite a small native settlement, six or eight miles to the. northeast of the mouth of Metchigme Bay, in search of Omniscot, the rich reindeer owner, whom we had met further up the coast two weeks ago, and who had then promised to have a sot of. deer skins ready tor "us if we would call as his village. A_TSGiI!'.LESOiLIS PASS'ENGEKA CKAZV NATIVE. Sotne of the natives came off. to the steamer to trade, who Informed us that Omniscot lived some distance up the bay that, we had just passed, and . one of theoi who speaks a little English, inquired why we ttml act brought, back omniscot's son, and tola ns tliat he was his cousin and that his mother was crying about mm last night, fearing that lie woald never eorae back.-Twe informed Win that his ceusin was crazy and had tried to I kill himself, but that he ~ was now at I Plover Bay with one of his friends and would probably be home soon. This young Omniscot, whom we had taken aboard at St. Laurence Bay, thinking that he might be useful as an interpreter, is a son of the reindeer man and. belongs to the Tchuchi tribe. We soon came to see that we had a troublesome passenger, for the expression of his eyes, and the nervous dread ne manifested ot all the natives wherever we chanced to stop, indicated some form of insanity. He would come to thedoor of the cabin aatuwara the Captain against the people of every village that we were approaching as likely to kill us, and then he would hide himself belcw deck or climb for greater safety into the rigging.), On the 2"rth, when wo were lying at" anchor off St"." Laurence Island, he offered his rifle, which he greatly prized, to one of the officer's, saying that inasmuch as he would soon die he would not need it. Then he sent word to the same effect to the Captain, but came to the cabin door shortly afterward, with nothing unusual apparent In his face/or behavior, and began I a discussion concerning, the region back of St: i Michael's as a location tor a flock ot reindeer. He thought they would do well there, he said, and that his father would give him some young ones to make a beginning, which he could take over In some schooner, ana that they would get plenty of good moss to eat on the tundra, and multiply I fast until they became a big flock like his I father's, so big that nobody could count them, etc- |/In three or four hours after this he threw hlrc- .' ! self overboard, but was picked up and brought on deck. Some of the sailors stripped oil his wet furs, and then the discovery was made that be- fore throwing himself into the sea the poor lel- i low had stabbed himself in the left lung. The surgeon dressed his wound and gave as his opinion that it would prove fatal. Ee was doing well, !, however, when we left him, and is likely to recover. The Plover Bay natives, in commenting I on the affair, remarked that the St. Laurence people were a bad, quarrelsome set, and 'always kept themselves in some sort of trouble. A BAU LOOKING LOT OE.NATIVES. ,: Having procured a guide from among the na- : tives that came aboard here, we attempted to reach Omniscot's village, but found the bay full ot ice, and were compelled to go on without our winter supply of deer skins, hoping, however, to be i able to get them on the east coast. 'Go win" Written June 27, 1881 •yv . There is quite a large Tehuchi settlement near the mouth of the bay, on the north side. Seven large canoe loads of the population came aboard, making quite a stir on our little ship. They are the worst looking lot of Siberian natives that I ! have yet seen, though there are some fine, tall, i manly fellows amongst them. Mr. Nelson, a naturalist, and zealous collector for the Smithsonian Institution, who joined us at St. Michael's photographed a group or the most villainous ot the men, and two of the women whose arms were elaborately tatooed up to the shoulders. Their faces were a curious study while they were trying to keep still under, circumstances so extraor- dittary. - The glaciation of the coast here is recorded in very telling characters, the movement of the ice having been in a south-southwest direction, nearly. oTiierweatcer is delightful, clear sunshine, only a few fleecy wisps of cloud in the west, and the water still as a mill pond. John Muir. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/1162/thumbnail.jpg