Description: At the height of the Industrial Revolution American business tycoon Edward H. Harriman organized and financed a scientific expedition to Alaska. In the summer of 1899, twenty-five of the finest scientists in the fields of geology, botany, ornithology, and ethnology were gathered for a two-month steamship cruise along the Alaska coast, for the purpose of investigating and documenting the country's newest frontier. One of those chosen for this prestigious floating university was George Bird Grinnell, selected for his expertise on Native American cultures. He and the other scientists joined artists and photographers on board the George W. Elder to explore Alaska's spectacular glaciers, copper mines, and Eskimo and Indian camps and villages, and to investigate the salmon and fur-trading industries. The data and photographs collected by Expedition members were published in eleven volumes from 1901 to 1905. The two essays prepared by Grinnell for the final Harriman Expedition report are reprinted here, with their original illustrations. "The Natives of the Alaska Coast Region" and "The Salmon Industry" are the work of a keen and careful observer who interpreted his assignment on the trip as that of recording the traditional way of life of native Alaskans, which he believed was rapidly disappearing.

Please Wait