Report of the Operations of the U. S. Revenue Steamer Nunivak on the Yukon River Station, Alaska 1899 - 1901.
Washington DC: Government Printing Office / (US Treasury), 1902. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. Pp. 325. Green pebble-grain cloth, blindstamped, with gilt spine lettering. Amply illustrated throughout with b&w photo reproductions. A few pages were evidently attached to each other with slight dampening, with insignificant abrasion to those pages, not affecting text. That said, a handsome copy with bright shelf appeal. Very Good +. Item #49
The Nunivak was dispatched to collect revenue and to offer law-and-order to the large gold rush populations that filled the Yukon Valley. Cantwell's narrative encompasses incidents of duty for three seasons. Includes a comparative Eskimo and Ingalik vocabularies; a list of vessels engaged in commerce; a reconnaisances of the Dall River, the Koyukuk River, and the Koyukuk Trail. The chapter titled "Home Life and Social Conditions" grapples with vice -- morality, liquor and gambling -- and Judge Wickersham's intentions to suppress such liberties by the white population due to its deleterious influence on the native populations. A particularly fresh copy. ARCTIC BIB., 18403; RICKS, p. 58; SOLIDAY I-547 (mistaken pub. date); WICKERSHAM, 7607. Bookseller inventory R10182X41B.
Price: $225.00