6. The south-eastern division, containing 28,980 square miles, and comprising the coast from Mount St. Elias in the north to Portland Canal, in latitude 54° 40', in the south, together with the islands of the Alexander Archipelago between Cross Sound and Cape Fox. The eastern boundary of this division is the rather indefinite line established by the Anglo-Russian and Russian-American treaties of 1824 and 1825 respectively, following the summits of a chain of mountains supposed to run parallel with the coast at a distance not greater than three marine leagues from the sea between the head of Portland Canal and Mount St. Elias.
The Arctic division is situated almost entirely above the Arctic circle and is known to explorers only from observations made along the seacoast. The interior consists doubtless of frozen plains and low ranges of hills, intersected by a few shallow and sluggish streams. The only rivers known to emerge from this part of Alaska are the Colville, the Kok, the Inland or Noatak, the Kooak, the Selawik and the Buckland. There are many villages scattered along the coast and others are reported to exist further up on all these rivers. The coast settlements are visited every year by many vessels engaged in whaling, hunting and trading. Their inhabitants possess great commercial genius and energy, and carry on an extensive traffic with the natives of the Asian coast, their common trading-ground being at Behring Strait.
The only mineral of any value that is found on this coast is coal, of which there are several good veins at Cape Lisburne. The chief attraction for the navigators who visit the coast are furs, oil and walrus ivory. The whaling industry is already beginning to decline here as it has done in every other region of the world. Many seals are found here and polar bears are numerous. A few reindeer are found on the coast and moose and mountain sheep are said to be numerous in the interior. Muskrats and squirrels abound everywhere and their skins are offered for sale in large quantities. Foxes also are plentiful, especially the white variety, and their skins are much sought for by the American and European markets. Aquatic birds of all kinds are found in countless hosts. The only fish of value is the salmon.