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Puget Sound and British Columbia

After eleven years of study and exploration in the Sierra Nevada of California and the mountain-ranges of the Great Basin, studying in particular their glaciers, forests, and wild life, above all their ancient glaciers and the influence they exerted in sculpturing the rocks over which they passed with tremendous pressure, making new landscapes, scenery, and beauty which so mysteriously influence every human being, and to some extent all life, I was anxious to gain some knowledge of the regions to the northward, about Puget Sound and Alaska. With this grand object in view I left San Francisco in May, 1879, on the steamer Dakota, without any definite plan, as with the exception of a few of the Oregon peaks and their forests all the wild north was new to me.

To the mountaineer a sea voyage is a grand, inspiring, restful change. For forests and plains with their flowers and fruits we have new scenery, new life of every sort; water hills and dales in eternal visible motion for rock waves, types of permanence.

It was curious to note how suddenly the eager countenances of the passengers were darkened as soon as the good ship passed through the Golden Gate and began to heave on the waves of the open ocean. The crowded deck was speedily deserted on account of seasickness. It seemed strange that nearly every one afflicted should be more or less ashamed.

Next morning a strong wind was blowing, and the sea was gray and white, with long breaking waves, across which the Dakota was racing half-buried in spray. Very few of the passengers were on deck to enjoy the wild scenery. Every wave seemed to be making enthusiastic, eager haste to the shore, with long, irised tresses streaming from its tops, some of its outer fringes borne away in scud to refresh the wind, all the rolling, pitching, flying water exulting in the beauty of rainbow light. Gulls and albatrosses, strong, glad life in the midst of the stormy beauty, skimmed the waves against the wind, seemingly without effort, oftentimes flying nearly a mile without a single wing-beat, gracefully swaying from side to side and tracing the curves of the briny water hills with the finest precision, now and then just grazing the highest.

And yonder, glistening amid the irised spray, is still more striking revelation of warm life in the so-called howling waste,--a half-dozen whales, their broad backs like glaciated bosses of granite heaving aloft in near view, spouting lustily, drawing a long breath, and plunging down home in colossal health and comfort. A merry school of porpoises, a square mile of them, suddenly appear, tossing themselves into the air in abounding strength and hilarity, adding foam to the waves and making all the wilderness wilder. One cannot but feel sympathy with and be proud of these brave neighbors, fellow citizens in the commonwealth of the world, making a living like the rest of us. Our good ship also seemed like a thing of life, its great iron heart beating on through calm and storm, a truly noble spectacle. But think of the hearts of these whales, beating warm against the sea, day and night, through dark and light, on and on for centuries; how the red blood must rush and gurgle in and out, bucketfuls, barrelfuls at a beat!

The cloud colors of one of the four sunsets enjoyed on the voyage were remarkably pure and rich in tone. There was a well-defined range of cumuli a few degrees above the horizon, and a massive, dark-gray rain-cloud above it, from which depended long, bent fringes overlapping the lower cumuli and partially veiling them; and from time to time sunbeams poured through narrow openings and painted the exposed bosses and fringes in ripe yellow tones, which, with the reflections on the water, made magnificent pictures.



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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Palmer High School is a high school located in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the city of Palmer, Alaska. Its mission is to prepare lifelong learners, community assets, and citizens of integrity. It offers in-depth courses in fine arts, mathematics, world languages, physical education and health, science, English, social sciences, and career and technical education. Student support services are available for students.Palmer High School accommodates 900 students in grades 9 through 12. Out of these students, 210 are freshmen, 264 are sophomores, 248 are juniors, and 181 are seniors. ... Read more

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Take On Alaska! A PhotoPhOnics ™© Reader, is filled with vibrant photographs of Alaska that motivate children to read and encourage their love of nature. The color-coded phonics, rhyming language, beautiful photo-clues and basic sight word vocabulary support a fun and successful reading experience for developing readers. Children enjoy reading the predictable rhymes and looking at the photographs over and over again. The "Fun Facts to Explore" section of the book corresponds to the photographs and provides interesting facts about Alaska and the environment. This section also encourages discussion and questions and helps children make meaningful connections to the world. Children are introduced to many wonderful ideas and experiences while improving their decoding and comprehension skills.A list of fun, instructional suggestions as well as an explanation of book features are included. This engaging book is easy to use for parents and teachers to help young children improve their reading skills and learn about Alaska and the environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Fabulous Phonics Book
I recently had the pleasure of receiving a copy of Linda Swirnow's Take on Alaska! A Phonics Reader, and was thrilled that I have now found such a useful and beautifully designed book to use with my students.As a teacher of developing readers, I am able to use this book over and over again to motivate my students to read while reinforcing phonics rules and basic sight vocabulary.The color-coded phonics and predictable rhyming language are wonderful ways to support fluency and build confidence. My students love the photos which have led to much discussion and curiosity about Alaska. We have enjoyed reading The Fun Facts section at the back of the book, which is an excellent reinforcement of the content.Ms. Swirnow's suggested instructional activities are easy to implement and worthwhile.I highly recommend this book to teachers and parents who are interested in providing support to developing readers in a motivating format. I recently added Ms. Swirnow's newest book, Take on Utah to my library, and look forward to the future publications in the Photo Phonics series. ... Read more

Product Description
Meet Young Jelani Akil Love. Jelani is a 7th grader that could be considered "misunderstood." Jelani is growing up in an urban area and he has to take care of himself because his mom is always working and is wrapped up with the Notorious Rufus. His father is no where around. Jelani does not experience good times at his current school. He struggles with reading. Have you heard this one before? Through his trials and tribulations, Jelani is able to be the star of the basketball team, have one of the prettiest girls in the school as a girlfriend, and hang out with his homeboys Cornbread and John. He also has time to lend advice to his good friend Alissa while being on lockdown for a brief stint. See if Jelani or "Iceberg" Jay sees the silver lining in the sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... Read more

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Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Alaska Native," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Alaska Native in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Alaska Native when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Alaska Native, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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The University of Kansas Museum of Natural History received from J. R. Alcorn and Albert A. Alcorn a sizable collection of mammals taken in the summer of 1951 in Alaska. In addition to visiting localities at which they had collected in 1947 and 1948 (see Baker, Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 5:87-117, 1951) the Alcorns obtained specimens from localities not previously visited in the vicinity of Anchorage and Haines and from Sullivan Island, a small, timbered island in the Lynn Canal. A part of the funds for field work was made available by the Kansas University Endowment Association. The loan of specimens for comparative study from the Biological Surveys Collection of the United States National Museum is acknowledged. ... Read more

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This edition is written in English. However, there is a running Arabic thesaurus at the bottom of each page for the more difficult English words highlighted in the text. There are many editions of Travels in Alaska. This edition would be useful if you would like to enrich your Arabic-English vocabulary, whether for self-improvement or for preparation in advanced of college examinations. Webster's edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number of difficult and potentially ambiguous English words. Rare or idiosyncratic words and expressions are given lower priority compared to "difficult, yet commonly used" English words. Rather than supply a single translation, many words are translated for a variety of meanings in Arabic, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of English without using the notes as a pure translation crutch. Having the reader decipher a word's meaning within context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not already highlighted on previous pages. This edition is helpful to Arabic-speaking students enrolled in an English Language Program (ELP), an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program, an English as a Second Language Program (ESL), or in a TOEFL® or TOEIC® preparation program. Students who are actively building their vocabularies in Arabic or English may also find this useful for Advanced Placement® (AP®) tests. TOEFL®, TOEIC®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which has neither reviewed nor endorsed this book. This book is one of a series of Webster's paperbacks that allows the reader to obtain more value from the experience of reading. Translations are from Webster's Online Dictionary, derived from a meta-analysis of public sources, cited on the site. ... Read more

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The author, in placing this little book before the public, feels that in so doing he adds his mite to the useful and timely literature of the day. The ground has not been covered before, and all travelers in the Alaskan Peninsula will appreciate to its fullest extent the purpose of this work.

The aborigines of this far away country have no written language, and this work aims to put before the traveler or trader a means of communication with this people which it is hoped will be of mutual benefit to both.

Many years of residence in this country and thorough familiarity with its people, have, we believe, well equipped us for the realization of our task. THE AUTHOR


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Customer Reviews (5)

Artic Schoolteacher
This book is a wonderful Alaskan documentary.Since visiting Alaska several times in the past 3 years I found it to be very enjoyable reading.

A moving story!

Abbie and Ed Morgan were adventurous and brave when they traveled to a remote Eskimo village to live among the people and serve them for two years.The actual photographs and details of their adventures are so interesting and transport the reader back to a time very different from today.
You might also enjoy a new release, another book of courage and survival that takes place in early Alaska.
When the Water Runs: Growing Up with Alaska

The best book I've read this year.
I came across Arctic Schoolteacher by accident.I had taken my kids to a summer program at a county library.While we waited for the show to begin, I browsed the shelves and came across this book.I have probably read 20-30 books this year, and Arctic Schoolteacher makes the top of my list.In it, the author tells the story of how she and her husband travelled to a remote Alaskan village in the 1930s as government employees.Abbie taught school, and Ed, her husband, oversaw the reindeer herd.I don't want to give away too much of the story, but the book is filled with the numerous joys and sorrows that Abbie experienced in her two year stay in the Last Frontier.I only wish that Abbie had mentioned more about her life before Alaska, and about how she and Ed met.I am glad that the book included an epilogue by Abbie's daughter that mentions what happened in Abbie's life after Alaska.

Worth Reading
A particularly moving story. This book takes place about the same time as "Tisha" but in the famed Bristol Bay Region in a village called Kulukak. It was published in 1992 and available in paperback, this book should be easy to locate.

It was notabout teaching, but about her life in Kulukak.
I ordered this book because I like reading books about teachers in various parts of the world. This book was not about teaching,but about her life in Kulukak. That part was well written, but depressing. I guess it is what life was like there. Abbie Morgan handled the depressing landscape with humor and love. I was disappointed because it was not what I was looking for, but it does not mean that it is not a good book. If you are looking for a description of 1930 Alaska, then this is your book. Morgan describes life in this town with clarity and handles lifes disappointments with grace. She was an amazing woman to have worked there. ... Read more

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What if you suddenly went from a land where English was spoken, and it was sunny, hot, dry to a place of opposites?Now some speak Yupik Eskimo and it is bitterly cold, dark, remote and the customs are very different. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good read
Good book from an author I know. Being a Texan, I totally understand Balands' perspectives on travel to anyplace but Texas (almost) . We often find our "fellow Americans" to be rude and unmotivated compared to the can do ideals and friendliness of Texans. Good book Richard..waiting for the next one.

Light reading
Disclaimer- I know the author. This is not really a book but a diary of a Texan's experience moving to a small Akaska town and the tremendous physical and cultural shock of that move. In addition the philosophy of life and in particular the work ethic (or lack of) of the locals is quite revealing. One would not hold up a native Alaskan as a role model for the rest of the U.S. after reading this. Baland ought to consider a good expose'-novel about the waste and corruption that he saw. He would have to do it with a pseudonym. ... Read more

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Use this valuable knowledge about drug-taking behavior to plan strategies to prevent or reduce drug-taking among youth. The findings from this unique study have important implications for researchers, educators, practitioners, and local and state policymakers and planners for the development of initiatives for addressing smoking, drinking, and drug use among early adolescents and teenagers. The purpose of this informative volume is to further understand drug-taking behavior among adolescents by providing information on the prevalence, correlates, and consequences of drug-taking behavior among a large sample of adolescents. Although the focus is on Alaska, the findings generalize to comparably aged youth in general; moreover, comparisons with findings from national studies and other states provide interesting results. ... Read more

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Examines the geography, history, natural resources, people, and culture of the largest state in the United States. ... Read more

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