{i}


THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

VOLUME III, 1891




[Illustration: National Geographic Society seal]




WASHINGTON

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

1892


{ii}


OFFICERS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

1891


  GARDINER G. HUBBARD, _President_

  HERBERT G. OGDEN  |
  EVERETT HAYDEN    |
  A. W. GREELY      | _Vice-Presidents_
  C. HART MERRIAM   |
  HENRY GANNETT     |

  CHARLES J. BELL, _Treasurer_

  MARCUS BAKER    |
  C. A. KENASTON  | _Secretaries_

  ROGERS BIRNIE, JR.  |
  G. K. GILBERT       |
  G. BROWN GOODE      |
  WILLARD D. JOHNSON  |
  W J MCGEE           | _Managers_
  T. C. MENDENHALL    |
  W. B. POWELL        |
  B. H. WARDER        |




  PRINTERS
  JUDD & DETWEILER
  WASHINGTON

  ENGRAVERS
  MOSS ENGRAVING CO.
  NEW YORK


{iii}


_CONTENTS_.

                                                                  Page
South America: Annual Address by the President, GARDINER G.
  HUBBARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    1

Geography of the Land: Annual Report by Vice-President HERBERT G.
  OGDEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   31

Geography of the Air: Annual Report by Vice-President A. W.
  GREELY  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   41

An Expedition to Mount St. Elias, Alaska; by ISRAEL C. RUSSELL  .   53
    Introduction--The Southern Coast of Alaska  . . . . . . . . .   55
    Part I--Previous Explorations in the St. Elias Region . . . .   58
    Part II--Narrative of the St. Elias Expedition of 1890  . . .   75
    Part III--Sketch of the Geology of the St. Elias Region . . .  167
    Part IV--Glaciers of the St. Elias Region . . . . . . . . . .  176
    Part V--Height and Position of Mount St. Elias  . . . . . . .  189
    Appendix A--Official Instructions governing the Expedition  .  192
    Appendix B--Report on topographic Work; by 	MARK B. KERR . . .  195
    Appendix C--Report on auriferous Sands from Yakutat Bay; by
                  J. STANLEY-BROWN  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  196
    Appendix D--Report on fossil Plants; by LESTER F. WARD  . . .  199
    Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  201

The Cartography and Observations of Bering's First Voyage; by
  A. W. GREELY  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  205

Height and Position of Mount St. Elias; by ISRAEL C. RUSSELL  . .  231

The Heart of Africa; by E. C. HORE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  238

Report of Committee on Exploration in Alaska  . . . . . . . . . .  248

Notes--La Carte de France, dite de l'Etat Major, par M. J. COLLET  250

       Polar Regions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  252

       The Crossing of Tibet  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  253

       Statistics of Railways in United States  . . . . . . . . .  255

Index to volume III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  257

    Title-page and Imprimatur of Board of Mangers . . . . . . . .    i

    Contents and Illustrations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  iii

    Publications of the National Geographic Society . . . . . . .    v

    Proceedings of the National Geographic Society  . . . . . . .  vii

    Officers of the Society for 1892  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  xiv

    Members of the Society  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   xv


{iv}


_ILLUSTRATIONS_.

                                                                  Page
Plate  1--South America (map) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    1
       2--Sketch Map of Alaska  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   57
       3--Map of the St. Elias Region, after La Pérouse . . . . .   59
       4--Map of the eastern Shore of Yakutat Bay, after Dixon  .   61
       5--Map of the St. Elias Region, after Malaspina  . . . . .   64
       6--Map of Bay de Monti, after Malaspina  . . . . . . . . .   64
       7--Map of Disenchantment Bay, after Malaspina  . . . . . .   67
       8--Sketch Map of St. Elias Region, by MARK B. KERR . . . .   74
       9--The Hubbard Glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   99
      10--Wall of Ice on eastern Side of Atrevida Glacier . . . .  105
      11--View on Atrevida Glacier  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  105
      12--Entrance of an Ice Tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  106
      13--Deltas in an abandoned Lake Bed . . . . . . . . . . . .  106
      14--A River on Lucia Glacier  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  106
      15--Entrance to a glacial Tunnel  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  107
      16--View of Malaspina Glacier from Blossom Island . . . . .  120
      17--Moraines on Marvine Glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  123
      18--View of the Hitchcock Range from near Dome Pass . . . .  144
      19--View of Mount St. Elias from Dome Pass  . . . . . . . .  146
      20--View of Mount St. Elias from Seward Glacier . . . . . .  175
      21--Carte Générale des Découvertes de l'Amiral de Fonte
            (1752)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  207

RUSSELL: Figure 1--Diagram illustrating the Formation of Icebergs  101
                2--View of a glacial Lakelet  . . . . . . . . . .  120
                3--Section of a glacial Lakelet . . . . . . . . .  120
                4--Diagram illustrating the Formation of marginal
                     Crevasses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  128
                5--Crevasses near Pinnacle Pass . . . . . . . . .  130
                6--Snow Crests on Ridges and Peaks  . . . . . . .  143
                7--Faulted Pebble from Pinnacle Pass  . . . . . .  171
                8--Faulted Pebble from Pinnacle Pass  . . . . . .  171

{v}


PUBLICATIONS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY.


REGULAR PUBLICATIONS.

In addition to announcements of meetings and various circulars sent to 
members from time to time, the Society issues a single serial 
publication entitled THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE. During the 
first two years of the existence of the Society this serial was issued 
in quarterly numbers. With the beginning of the third year of the 
Society and the third volume of the _Magazine_ the form of publication 
was changed, and the serial now appears at irregular intervals in 
parts or brochures (designated by pages and designed either for 
separate preservation or for gathering into volumes) which consist 
either of single memoirs or of magazine brochures made up of articles, 
notes, abstracts, and other geographic matter, together with the 
Proceedings and other administrative records of the Society.

The _Magazine_ is mailed free to members of the Society and to 
exchanges. The first two volumes, as well as the separate brochures of 
the third and the complete volume, are sold at the prices given below 
by the Secretary, Mr. F. H. Newell, U. S. Geological Survey, 
Washington, D. C.

                                                       To      To the 
                                                     Members.  Public. 
  Volume I, 1889: 4 numbers, 334 pages, 16 plates
                     and 26 figures . . . . . . . . . $1 40     $2 00
  Volume II, 1890: 5 numbers, 344 pages, 10 plates
                     and 11 figures . . . . . . . . .  1 40      2 00
  Volume III, 1891: Comprising: 
      South America; Annual Address by the President,
          Gardiner G. Hubbard: pp. 1-30, pl. 1,
          March 28, 1891  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $0 15     $0 25
      Geography of the Land; Annual Report by
          Vice-President Herbert G. Ogden: pp. 31-40,
          April 30, 1891  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    10        25
      Geography of the Air; Annual Report by
          Vice-President A. W. Greely: pp. 41-52,
          May 1, 1891 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    10        25
      An Expedition to Mount St. Elias, by
          I. C. Russell: pp. 53-204 (with 8 figures),
          pls. 2-20, May 29, 1891                        85      1 50
      Magazine brochure, pp. 205-261, i-xxxv, pl. 21,
          February 19, 1892                              40        75
                                                      -----     -----
                                                       1 60      3 00


{vi} IRREGULAR PUBLICATIONS.

In the interests of exact bibliography, the Society takes cognizance 
of all publications issued either wholly or partly under its auspices. 
Each author of a memoir published in THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
receives 25 copies, and is authorized to order any number of 
additional copies at a slight advance on the cost of press-work and 
paper; and these separate brochures are identical with those of the 
regular edition issued by the Society. Contributors to the magazine 
brochures are authorized to order any number of copies of their 
contributions at a slight advance on cost of press-work and paper, 
provided these separates bear the original pagination and a printed 
reference to the serial and volume from which they are extracted; but 
such separates are bibliographically distinct from the brochures 
issued by the Society. The _Magazine_ is not copyrighted, and articles 
may be reprinted freely; and a record of reprints, so far as known, is 
kept.

The following separates and reprints from volume III have been issued:

  _Editions uniform with the Brochures of the Magazine_.

  Pages  1-30, plate 1:      150 copies, March    28, 1891.
    "   31-40,                25   "     May       2, 1891.
    "   41-52,                25   "      "        2, 1891.
    "   53-204, plates 2-20: 250   "      "       29, 1891.

  _Special Editions_.

  Pages 205-230, plate 21:    50 copies, February 18, 1892.
    "   231-237,             100   "         "    16, 1892.
    "   v,                 1,000   "         "    19, 1892.
    "   xv-xxxv,              50   "         "    13, 1892.

  _Reprints_.

  Pages 196-198,             100 copies, January   3, 1892.


{vii}


PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY.

(_Abstract of Minutes_.)


_March 6, 1891. 49th meeting_.

Meeting held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club. Vice-President 
Hayden in the chair. Attendance, 50.

Captain E. C. Hore, master mariner, delivered an address on "A 
narrative of ten years' work and travel in the African lake region." 
_Abstract entitled "The Heart of Africa" printed in this volume, pp. 
238-243_.


_March 13, 1891. Special meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Room of the National Museum. 
Vice-President Ogden in the chair. Attendance, 850.

Captain E. C. Hore repeated his former lecture with additions. 
_Abstract printed in this volume, pp. 243-247_.


_March 20, 1891. 50th meeting_.

Meeting held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club. Mr. G. K. 
Gilbert in the chair. Attendance, 35.

Vice-President Greely read a paper on "The cartography and 
observations of Bering's first voyage." The paper was discussed by 
Messrs Dall, Blodgett, Littlehales, and Vice-President Hayden. 
_Printed in this volume, pp. 205-230, pl. 21_.

Mr. J. Stanley-Brown presented a paper on "Auriferous sands from 
Yakutat bay." _Printed in this volume, pp. 196-198_.

Mr. I. C. Russell read a paper on "The geology of the Mount St. Elias 
region, Alaska." The paper was discussed by Messrs Gilbert (who had 
resigned the chair to Vice-President Hayden), Dall, Johnson, and 
Russell. _Incorporated in the memoir forming pp. 53-204, pls. 2-20, of 
this volume_.


{viii} _March 31, 1891. Special meeting_.

Meeting held in the Law Lecture Room of Columbian University. 
Vice-President Ogden in the chair. Attendance, 300.

Mr. Sergius Stepniak delivered an address on "The Russian peasantry."


_April 3, 1891. 51st meeting_.

Meeting held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club, Vice-President 
Hayden in the chair. Attendance, 35.

A paper on "The Mackenzie river and Colinson," by Vice-President 
Greely, was read by title in the absence of the author.

Ensign J. A. Hoogewerff, U. S. N., presented an account of the 
"Magnetic work of the United States Naval Observatory." The paper was 
discussed by Messrs Baker, Abbe, Ogden, Hayden, and Hoogewerff.

Mr. F. H. Bigelow presented a paper on "Auroral streamers."

Mr. Cleveland Abbe made some remarks on "Theories of magnetic 
phenomena."


_April 11, 1891. Special meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Hall of the National Museum. President 
Hubbard in the chair. Attendance, 750.

Major J. W. Powell delivered an address on "The Grand cañon of 
Colorado river."


_April 17, 1891. 52d meeting_.

Meeting held in Lincoln Hall. President Hubbard in the chair. 
Attendance, 1,000.

Mr. Geo. W. Melville, Engineer-in-Chief, U. S. N., briefly explained 
the purposes of arctic exploration.

Civil Engineer R. E. Peary, U. S. N., addressed the Society on the 
subject of his proposed northern Greenland expedition of 1891-92. The 
lecturer exhibited and explained a number of lantern-slide views 
illustrating arctic scenery and modes of traveling.

On the conclusion of the address a United States flag, provided for 
the purpose by Miss Ulrica Dahlgren, was presented by the President on 
behalf of the Society to Lieut. Peary, who responded feelingly.


{ix} _April 24, 1891. Special meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Room of the National Museum. Attendance, 
400.

Mr. H. M. Wilson, of the United States Geological Survey, delivered an 
address on the subject "India: Its geography and people." At the close 
of the lecture Mr. Wilson exhibited and explained a number of 
lantern-slides made from views taken by him while traveling in India.


_May 1, 1891. 53d meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Hall of the National Museum. 
Vice-President Hayden in the chair. Attendance, 600.

Mr. Courtenay De Kalb delivered an address on "The great Amazon: 
Personal investigations on the Great River and in its upper valley." 
At the close of the lecture Mr. De Kalb exhibited a number of 
lantern-slide views, which he described.


_May 15, 1891. 54th meeting_.

Meeting held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club. Vice-President 
Hayden in the chair. Attendance, 25.

At the request of the Board of Managers, Mr. Marcus Baker made a 
statement relative to plans by the Board for further Alaskan 
exploration in the vicinity of Mount St. Elias under the conduct of 
Mr. I. C. Russell, to be prosecuted the coming season.

Mr. Gilbert, complying with the request of the Chairman, addressed the 
Society upon some of the questions involved in Alaskan geology.

Dr. Sheldon Jackson, at the invitation of the Society, spoke on the 
general aspects of the Alaskan coast and the inhabitants of the 
country.

Remarks were made, following Dr. Jackson's address, by the Chairman, 
Mr. J. H. Blodgett, and others.

In connection with the announcement of the proposed Field Day, June 3 
and 4 next, to the grottoes near Shendun, in the Shenandoah valley, 
Virginia, Major Jed. Hotchkiss gave an interesting account of the 
topography of the valley.

An exhibition of lantern-slide views of Alaskan coast scenery 
followed, the pictures being explained by Mr. I. C. Russell.


{x} _May 29, 1891. 55th meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Room of the National Museum. Attendance, 
800.

Reverend Dr. H. C. Hovey delivered an address on "Subterranean scenery 
as found in the grottoes of the Shenandoah and other caverns of 
Virginia," with illustrations from lantern-slide views exhibited for 
the first time. Following the address, Major Hotchkiss illustrated 
with free-hand sketches on the blackboard the topography of the valley 
of Virginia, interspersing his remarks with war reminiscences.


_June 3 and 4. Field meeting_.

About 80 members left Washington on special train June 3, arriving at 
3 p.m. at Shendun, Virginia, where they were entertained by the 
Grottoes company. Weir cave was visited that afternoon, and in the 
evening a meeting was held in the hotel parlor, at which remarks were 
made by Mr. G. K. Gilbert, Reverend Dr. H. C. Hovey, Major H. E. 
Alvord, Captain Morton, General J. J. Reynolds, and Hon. J. Randolph 
Tucker. The next morning Major Hotchkiss entertained the company with 
a description of the resources of the Valley of Virginia, his remarks 
being illustrated by free-hand sketches. The Cave of the Fountain was 
then visited, and, after presenting a testimonial to Major Hotchkiss 
for the hospitality of the Grottoes company, the party left for 
Washington.


_October 15, 1891. Special meeting_.

Meeting held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club. President 
Hubbard in the chair. Attendance, 50.

Professor T. McKenney Hughes, professor of geology at Cambridge 
University, England, gave a sketch of geological problems and the 
larger questions of geology in England.

Messrs Powell, McGee, and Gilbert made remarks on the geologic 
subjects touched upon by Professor Hughes.


_November 13, 1891. 56th meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Hall of Columbian University. President 
Hubbard in the chair. Attendance, 400.

The exercises consisted of an exhibition of Arctic photographs {xi} 
by General A. W. Greely, U. S. A., comprising lantern-slide views from 
photographs taken during the expedition to Lady Franklin bay in 1881, 
and never before exhibited in the city.


_November 27, 1891. 57th meeting_.

Meeting held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club. Vice-President 
Hayden in the chair. Attendance, 65.

Mr. Herbert G. Ogden made an oral communication on "The geographic 
position of Mount St. Elias," illustrated by a chart exhibiting the 
position of St. Elias, Icy bay, Yakutat bay, and the adjacent coast as 
determined (1) from various surveys compiled by the United States 
Coast and Geodetic Survey, (2) by Mark B. Kerr during the first 
expedition of the Society, and (3) by I. C. Russell during the second 
expedition.

The communication was discussed by Messrs Mendenhall, Douglas, and 
Vice-President Hayden.

Mr. E. E. Howell then exhibited and briefly described a relief model 
of the United States, constructed on the natural curvature, the 
vertical scale being three times that of the horizontal.

Remarks were made by Messrs Ogden, McGee, Johnson, Mendenhall, Howell, 
Hayden, and others.


_December 4, 1891. Special meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Hall of Columbian University.

Mr. William Eleroy Curtis delivered an address on "Portraits of 
Columbus." The lecturer exhibited copies of all Columbus' portraits 
extant, these having been prepared for the World's Columbian 
exposition.


_December 11, 1891. 58th meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Hall of Columbian University. 
Vice-President Greely in the chair. Attendance, 400.

Mr. I. C. Russell gave an account of the Mount St. Elias exploration 
of last summer, illustrated by a map and lantern slides.


_December 18, 1891. Special meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Hall of Columbian University. 
Vice-President Hayden in the chair. Attendance, 100.

Mr. F. H. Newell delivered an address on "Petroleum and natural gas." 
The lecture was illustrated by lantern slides made from photographs 
taken in the oil regions of the United States.


{xii} _December 23, 1891. 59th_ (_4th annual_) _meeting_.

Meeting held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club. Vice-President 
Greely in the chair.

The annual report of the Secretaries was presented, amended, and 
adopted.

The annual report of the Treasurer was presented and referred to an 
auditing committee consisting of Messrs P. H. Christie, Middleton 
Smith, and E. E. Haskell.

The annual election of officers for the year 1892 was then held, with 
the following result:

  _President_--Gardiner G. Hubbard.

  _Vice-Presidents_--H. G. Ogden (land).
                     Everett Hayden (sea).
                     A. W. Greely (air).
                     C. Hart Merriam (life).
                     Henry Gannett (art).

  _Treasurer_--C. J. Bell.

  _Recording Secretary_--F. H. Newell.

  _Corresponding Secretary_--E. R. Scidmore.

  _Managers_--Marcus Baker.
              H. F. Blount.
              G. K. Gilbert.
              John Hyde.
              W J McGee.
              T. C. Mendenhall.
              W. B. Powell.
              Edwin Willits.

The following resolution was adopted:

_Resolved_, That the Board of Managers be requested to consider 
whether, instead of the present policy of publishing only a few 
selected articles, these might not advantageously be replaced by a 
greater variety of less lengthy and expensive works, and whether a few 
pages of geographic notes might not be inserted.

Mr. Hayden gave notice of the following proposed amendment to the 
By-laws:

In article IV, instead of five vice-presidents, read six 
vice-presidents, and insert at the end of list of departments of 
geographic science, after geographic art, the words "commercial 
geography."


{xiii} _December 30, 1891. Special meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Hall of the National Museum. President 
Hubbard in the chair. Attendance, 200.

Professor Benjamin Sharp of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, made an address upon Peary and the western 
Greenland expedition. The lecture was illustrated by lantern slides 
from photographs taken on the expedition while along the shores of 
Greenland and at Peary's camp.


_January 8, 1892. 60th meeting_.

Meeting held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club. Vice-President 
Merriam in the chair. Attendance, 150.

Mr. W J McGee delivered an address on "The Eastern Sierra Madre of 
Mexico," his lecture being illustrated by lantern slides made from 
photographs taken in the vicinity of Monterey, Saltillo, Matehuala, 
Miquihuana, Doctor Arroyo, and the hacienda El Carmen. Professor R. T. 
Hill described the similarity of topographic features of that region 
to those of the Great Basin of the United States.


_January 15, 1892. Special meeting_.

Meeting held in the Lecture Hall of Columbian University. 
Vice-President Hayden in the chair. Attendance, 100.

The President, Mr. Gardiner G. Hubbard, delivered his annual address 
on the subject of "The Evolution of Transportation." Major J. W. 
Powell prefaced the President's address by brief introductory remarks.


{xiv}


OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY.

1892.


  _President_.

  GARDINER G. HUBBARD.


  _Vice-Presidents_.

  HERBERT G. OGDEN.
  EVERETT HAYDEN.
  A. W. GREELY.
  C. HART MERRIAM.
  HENRY GANNETT.


  _Treasurer_.

  CHARLES J. BELL.


  _Secretaries_.

  F. H. NEWELL.     E. R. SCIDMORE.


  _Managers_.

  MARCUS BAKER.     W J MCGEE. 
  HENRY F. BLOUNT.  T. C. MENDENHALL. 
  G. K. GILBERT.    W. B. POWELL.
  JOHN HYDE.        EDWIN WILLITS. 


{xv}


MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY.

1892.


  _a_, original members.  _c_, corresponding members.
  _l_, life members.      * Deceased.

In cases where no city is given in the address, Washington, D. C., is 
to be understood.


ABBE, PROF. CLEVELAND, _a_, _l_,
  Weather Bureau.

ABERT, S. T.,
  722 Seventeenth Street.

ACKERMAN, ENS. A. A., U. S. N., _c_,
  Navy Department.

ACKLEY, LIEUT. COMDR. S. M., U. S. N.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

ADDISON, A. D.,
  808 Seventeenth Street.

AHERN, LIEUT. GEORGE P., U. S. A., _c_,
  College of Montana, Deer Lodge, Mont.

AHERN, JEREMIAH,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Los Angeles, Cal.

ALLEN, DR. J. A.,
  American Museum Natural History, New York, N. Y.

ALTON, EDMUND,
  Wormley's Hotel.

ALVORD, MAJ. HENRY E., _c_,
  Md. Agricultural College, College Park, Maryland.

ANDREWS, ENS. PHILIP, U. S. N.,
  Navy Department.

APLIN, S. A., JR.,
  Geological Survey.

ASPINWALL, REV. J. A.,
  17 Dupont Circle.

AYRES, MISS SUSAN C., _a_,
  1813 Thirteenth Street.

BABB, CYRUS C.,
  Geological Survey.

BABER, HON. GEORGE,
  1416 K Street.

BAKER, DR. FRANK, _a_,
  Smithsonian Institution.

BAKER, LUCIUS, _c_,
  P. O. Drawer T, Fresno, Cal.

{xvi}

BAKER, MARCUS, _a_,
  Geological Survey.

BALDWIN, H. L., JR., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

BALL, CHAS. B.,
  942 T Street.

BANCROFT, REV. DR. CECIL F. P., _c_,
  Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.

BARKER, COMDR. ALBERT S., U. S. N.,
  Navy Department.

BARNARD, E. C., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

BARNES, CHARLES A., _c_,
  P. O. Box 1198, Seattle, Wash.

BARROLL, LIEUT. HENRY H., U. S. N., _c_,
  Navy Department.

BARTLE, R. F.,
  947 Virginia Avenue SW.

BARTLETT, COMDR. J. R., U. S. N., _a_,
  Navy Department.

BARTLETT, P. V. S.,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Berkeley, Cal.

BASSETT, C. C., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

BATCHELDER, C. F., _c_,
  7 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, Mass.

BAUER, LOUIS A.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

BAYLEY, DR. W. S., _c_,
  Colby University, Waterville, Me.

BEAMAN, W. M.,
  Geological Survey.

BELL, A. GRAHAM, _a_,
  Volta Bureau, 3414 Q Street.

BELL, PROF. A. MELVILLE,
  1525 Thirty-fifth Street.

BELL, C. J., _a_,
  1406 G Street.

BERGMANN, H. H.,
  511 Seventh Street.

BERNADOU, ENS. JOHN B., U. S. N., _c_,
  Navy Department.

BIEN, JULIUS, _a_,
  P. O. Box 3557, New York, N. Y.

BIEN, MORRIS, _a_,
  Geological Survey.

BIGELOW, PROF. FRANK H.,
  1416 K Street.

{xvii}

BIRCH, CHARLES E.,
  Hydrographic Office.

BIRNEY, GEN. WILLIAM,
  458 Louisiana Avenue.

BLAIR, H. B., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

BLODGETT, JAMES H., _a_,
  1237 Massachusetts Avenue.

BLOUNT, HENRY F.,
  1405 G Street.

BODFISH, SUMNER H., _a_,
  58 B Street NE.

BOURSIN, HENRY,
  Douglas, Alaska.

BOWERS, DR. STEPHEN, _c_,
  Ventura, Cal.

BRECKINRIDGE, GEN. J. C., U. S. A.,
  War Department.

BRIGHT, RICHARD R.,
  Navy Department.

BRITTON, A. T.,
  1405 G Street.

BROWNELL, ERNEST H., _c_,
  Bristol, R. I.

BUCKLEY, MISS M. L.,
  Bureau of Pensions.

BURNETT, CHARLES A., _c_,
  620 Burke Building, Seattle, Wash.

BURTON, PROF. A. E., _a_,
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.

CAMPBELL, M. R.,
  Geological Survey.

CANNON, H. B.,
  Department of Agriculture.

CANTWELL, LIEUT. J. C., U. S. R. M., _c_,
  1818 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, Cal.

CARMAN, MISS ADA,
  1351 Q Street.

CARROLL, CAPT. JAMES, _c_,
  Juneau, Alaska.

CHAMBERLIN, PROF. T. C., _c_,
  772 Langdon Street, Madison, Wis.

CHAPIN, FREDERICK E.,
  3043 P Street.

CHAPIN, DR. J. H.,
  Meriden, Conn.

CHAPMAN, R. H., _a_,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Berkeley, Cal.

{xviii}

CHATARD, DR. THOMAS M., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

CHENERY, LIEUT. COMDR. LEONARD, U. S. N., _c_,
  University Club, New York, N. Y.

CHESTER, COMDR. C. M., U. S. N., _c_,
  U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.

CHRISTIE, JAMES II., _c_,
  Olga, Wash.

CHRISTIE, P. H.,
  Geological Survey.

CLARK, E. B., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

CLARK, DR. WM. B., _c_,
  Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.

CLOVER, LIEUT. COMDR. RICHARDSON, U. S. N.,
  Hydrographic Office.

COLE, T. L.,
  12 Corcoran Building.

COLONNA, B. A.,
  138 B Street NE.

COLTON, FRANCIS,
  The Shoreham.

COMSTOCK, MRS. SARAH C.,
  1464 Rhode Island Avenue.

COOK, FRED. W., _c_,
  P. O. Box 140, Sault de Ste. Marie, Mich.

COURT, E. E.,
  Hydrographic Office.

CRAIGHEAD, REV. DR. J. G.,
  1223 Eleventh Street.

CROFFUT, W. A.,
  Geological Survey.

CUMMIN, ROBT. D., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

CUMMINGS, PROF. GEO. J.,
  Howard University.

CUNNINGHAM, JOHN M., _c_,
  Cosmos Club, San Francisco, Cal.

CURTIS, WILLIAM E., _a_,
  2 Lafayette Square.

DALL, MRS. CAROLINE H.,
  1526 Eighteenth Street.

DALL, WM. H.,
  National Museum.

DALY, HON. CHAS. P.,
  84 Clinton Place, New York, N. Y.

DARTON, N. H.,
  Geological Survey.

{xix}

DAVIDGE, WALTER DORSEY, JR.,
  1 Corcoran Building.

DAVIDSON, PROF. GEORGE, _a_, _c_,
  U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, San Francisco, Cal.

DAVIS, ARTHUR P., _a_,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Los Angeles, Cal.

DAVIS, PROF. W. M., _a_,
  2 Bond Street, Cambridge, Mass.

DAWSON, MISS A. B.,
  Geological Survey.

DAY, DR. DAVID T.,
  Geological Survey.

DAY, E. WARREN,
  War Department.

DENNEY, MISS L. A.,
  707 Thirteenth Street.

DENNY, A. A., _c_,
  1328 Front Street, Seattle, Wash.

DIEBITSCH, EMIL,
  U. S. Naval Station, Port Royal, S. C.

DILLER, J. S., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

DOBBINS, J. W.,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Berkeley, Cal.

DOUGLAS, E. M., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

DOW, CAPT. JOHN M.,
  83 W. Seventy-first Street, New York, N. Y.

DUNCKLEE, JOHN B.,
  912 French Street.

DUNNINGTON, A. F., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

DURAND, JOHN,
  164 Bd. Montparnasse, Paris, France.

DUTTON, MAJ. C. E., U. S. A., _a_,
  San Antonio, Tex.

DYER, LIEUT. G. L., U. S. N.,
  Navy Pay Office, San Francisco, Cal.

EDMANDS, PROF. J. RAYNER,
  Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

EDSON, JOHN JOY,
  1003 F Street.

EDSON, JOSEPH R., _a_,
  1003 F Street.

EIMBECK, WILLIAM,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

ELDRIDGE, G. H.,
  Geological Survey.

{xx}

ELIOT, CHARLES,
  Room 50, 50 State Street, Boston, Mass.

ELLICOTT, ENS. JOHN M., U. S. N.,
  2023 I Street.

ELMORE, HERBERT W.,
  Geological Survey.

ERBACH, JOHN,
  Geological Survey.

EVANS, H. C.,
  804 Eleventh Street.

FAIRCHILD, PROF. H. L., _c_,
  University of Rochester, Rochester, N. Y.

FAIRFIELD, GEORGE A., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

FAIRFIELD, W. BROWNE, _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

FARMER, R. A.,
  Geological Survey.

FERNOW, B. E., _a_,
  Department of Agriculture.

FEUSIER, H. E. CLERMONT,
  819 Grove Street, San Francisco, Cal.

FISCHER, E. G., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

FISCHER, L. A.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

FITCH, C. H., _a_,
  3025 N Street.

FLEMER, J. A.,
  412 A Street SE.

FLETCHER, L. C., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

FLETCHER, DR. ROBERT, _a_,
  Army Medical Museum.

FLINT, CHARLES,
  1519 O Street.

FLINT, COL. WESTON,
  1101 K Street.

FLOYD, FRED. W.,
  539 W. Twentieth Street, New York, N. Y.

FOGG, LINDLEY,
  Sixth Auditor's Office.

FOSTER, PROF. RICHARD,
  Howard University.

FRASER, DANIEL,
  458 Pennsylvania Avenue.

FREER, DR. JAMES A.,
  1523 I Street.

{xxi}

FULLER, MISS ADELAIDE H.,
  1321 Rhode Island Avenue.

GAGE, N. P., _a_,
  Seaton School.

GANE, H. S., _c_,
  Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.

GANNETT, HENRY, _a_,
  Geological Survey.

GANNETT, S. S., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

GARDNER, C. L.,
  1710 Sixteenth Street.

GARRISON, MISS CARL L.,
  Phelps School.

GILBERT, G. K., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

GILL, WILSON L., _c_,
  Room 57, 115 Broadway, New York, N. Y.

GILMAN, DR. DANIEL C., _a_,
  Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.

GOLDIE, R. H., _c_,
  P. O. Box 1110, Seattle, Wash.

GOODALL, F. H.,
  Second Auditor's Office.

GOODALL, OTIS B.,
  932 P Street.

GOODE, DR. G. BROWN, _a_,
  Smithsonian Institution.

GOODE, R. U., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

GOODFELLOW, EDWARD, _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

GOODISON, PROF. JOHN,
  State Normal School, Ypsilanti, Mich.

GORHAM, GEO. C.,
  1763 Q Street.

GRAHAM, MISS A. M.,
  1234 Massachusetts Avenue.

GRAHAM, ANDREW B.,
  1230 Pennsylvania Avenue.

GRANGER, F. D.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

GRAVES, WALTER H.,
  Geological Survey.

GREELY, GEN. A. W., U. S. A., _a_,
  1914 G Street.

GRIFFITH, G. BERKELEY,
  1630 Rhode Island Avenue.

{xxii}

GRISWOLD, W. T., _a_,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Boise, Idaho.

GROEGER, G. G., _c_,
  310 Chamber of Commerce Building, Chicago, Ill.

GULLIVER, F. P., _c_,
  Norwich, Conn.

GUNION, MRS. REBECCA E.,
  927 O Street.

GURLEY, CHARLES L.,
  1401 Sixteenth Street.

HACKETT, M., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

HAGADORN, LIEUT. CHAS. B., U. S. A., _c_,
  Fort Leavenworth, Kans.

HALE, L. P., _c_,
  Canton, N. Y.

HARRINGTON, PROF. MARK W.,
  Weather Bureau.

HARRIS, DR. T. W.,
  Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

HARRISON, D. C., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

HARRISON, PROF. THOS. F., _c_,
  221 W. Forty-fifth Street, New York, N. Y.

HARROD, MAJ. B. M.,
  City Engineer's Office, New Orleans, La.

HART, PROF. ALBERT BUSHNELL,
  15 Appian Way, Cambridge, Mass.

HART, JUAN, _c_,
  El Paso, Tex.

HASBROUCK, E. M.,
  1610 Fifteenth Street.

HASKELL, E. E., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

HAWKINS, GEO. T.,
  Geological Survey.

HAY, PROF. ROBERT,
  P. O. Box 562, Junction City, Kans.

HAYDEN, EVERETT, _a_,
  Hydrographic Office.

HAYDEN, J. J.,
  929 K Street.

HAYES, DR. C. WILLARD,
  Geological Survey.

HAYES, PROF. ELLEN, _c_,
  Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.

HAYS, J. W.,
  Oxford, N. C.

{xxiii}

HAZARD, DANIEL L.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

HEATON, A. G.,
  1618 Seventeenth Street.

HEILPRIN, GILES F.,
  1227 Pennsylvania Avenue.

HENRY, A. J., _a_,
  948 S Street.

HENSHAW, H. W., _a_,
  Bureau of Ethnology.

HERRLE, G., _a_,
  Hydrographic Office.

HERRON, WM. H., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

HILL, PROF. R. T.,
  910 Fifteenth Street.

HINDS, DR. CLARA BLISS,
  1331 Fourteenth Street.

HINMAN, RUSSELL,
  806 Broadway, New York, N. Y.

HITCHCOCK, PROF. C. H., _c_,
  Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H.

HOBBS, DR. WM. H., _c_,
  University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.

HODGKINS, PROF. H. L., _a_,
  Columbian University.

HODGKINS, W. C.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

HOLDEN, PROF. E. S., _c_,
  Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton, Cal.

HOLDEN, MRS. L. E.,
  P. O. Box 1027, Salt Lake, Utah.

HOLDEN, LUTHER L.,
  7 Warren Square, Jamaica Plain, Mass.

HOLLERITH, HERMAN,
  501 F Street.

HOLMES, PROF. J. A., _c_,
  Chapel Hill, N. C.

HOLT, H. P. R.,
  Takoma Park, D. C.

HORE, CAPT. EDWARD C., _c_,
  Royal Geographical Society, London, England.

HORNADAY, W. T., _a_,
  44 Niagara Street, Buffalo, N. Y.

HORNBLOWER, J. C.,
  1402 M Street.

HOSKINS, PROF. L. M., _c_,
  University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.

{xxiv}

HOSMER, EDWARD STURGES, _l_,
  1330 L Street.

HOTCHKISS, MAJ. JED.,
  Staunton, Va.

HOVEY, REV. DR. H. C.,
  60 Crescent Street, Middletown, Conn.

HOWARD, ENS. W. L., U. S. N., _c_,
  Navy Pay Office, San Francisco, Cal.

HOWELL, D. J., _a_,
  918 F Street.

HOWELL, EDWIN E., _a_,
  612 Seventeenth Street.

HUBBARD, GARDINER G., _a_,
  1328 Connecticut Avenue.

HUTCHINSON, JOHN,
  933 H Street.

HUTCHINSON, W. J.,
  1707 Massachusetts Avenue.

HYDE, G. E.,
  Geological Survey.

HYDE, JOHN,
  2820 P Street.

IARDELLA, C. T., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

INGRAHAM, PROF. E. S., _c_,
  Seattle, Wash.

JACKSON, REV. DR. SHELDON,
  1830 Ninth Street.

JENNEY, DR. W. P.,
  Geological Survey.

JENNINGS, J. H., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

JEWETT, W. P., _c_,
  180 E. Third Street, St. Paul, Minn.

JOHNSON, MISS ALICE BURGES,
  501 Maple Avenue.

JOHNSON, A. B., _a_,
  Light House Board.

JOHNSON, E. KURTZ,
  1600 Massachusetts Avenue.

JOHNSON, DR. H. L. E.,
  1400 L Street.

JOHNSON, J. B.,
  Howard University.

JOHNSON, REV. J. G.,
  381 Dearborn Avenue, Chicago, Ill.

JOHNSON, JEROME F.,
  1326 F Street.

{xxv}

JOHNSON, MRS. MARY DAVIS, _c_,
  Sitka, Alaska.

JOHNSON, STUART P.,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Berkeley, Cal.

JOHNSON, WILLARD D., _a_,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Berkeley, Cal.

JUDD, JOHN G.,
  420 Eleventh Street.

JUDSON, EGBERT, _c_,
  402 Front Street, San Francisco, Cal.

JUNKEN, CHARLES,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

JUNKEN, CHAS. A.,
  Ordnance Office, War Department.

JÜSSEN, EDMUND,
  In care W. Tudor, Temple, Ga.

KARL, ANTON, _a_,
  1230 Eleventh Street.

KAUFFMANN, S. H., _a_,
  1421 Massachusetts Avenue.

KAVANAUGH, MISS K.,
  Sixth Auditor's Office.

KENASTON, PROF. C. A., _a_,
  Room 4, 26 Court Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.

KENDALL, MISS ELIZABETH, _c_,
  Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.

KENNAN, GEORGE, _a_,
  In care J. B. Pond, Everett House, New York, N. Y.

KENNEDY, DR. GEO. G., _l_,
  284 Warren Street, Roxbury, Mass.

KENNON, LIEUT. L. W. V., U. S. A.,
  War Department.

KERR, H. S., _c_,
  Salt Lake, Utah.

KERR, MARK B., _a_,
  402 Front Street, San Francisco, Cal.

KIMBALL, E. F.,
  Post Office Department.

KIMBALL, DR. E. S.,
  737 Thirteenth Street.

KIMBALL, S. I., _a_,
  Life Saving Service.

KING, PROF. F. H.,
  1500 University Avenue, Madison, Wis.

KING, PROF. HARRY, _a_,
  Geological Survey.

KING, WM. B.,
  1328 Twelfth Street.

{xxvi}

KLAKRING, ALFRED,
  Hydrographic Office.

KLOTZ, OTTO J., _c_,
  Interior Department, Preston, Ontario, Canada.

KNAPP, HON. LYMAN E.,
  Sitka, Alaska.

KOCH, PETER, _a_,
  Bozeman, Mont.

KRAMER, WILLIAM,

KÜBEL, S. J.,
  Geological Survey.

LACKLAND, W. E., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

LADD, GEORGE E.,
  Melrose Highlands, Mass.

LAMBERT, M. B.,
  Geological Survey.

LAMBORN, DR. ROBERT H.,
  32 Nassau Street, New York, N. Y.

LAWSON, PROF. A. C.,
  University of California, Berkeley, Cal.

LAWSON, MISS JEANNE W.,
  1231 New Hampshire Avenue.

LEACH, BOYNTON,
  Hydrographic Office.

LEVERETT, FRANK, _c_,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Madison, Wis.

LIBBEY, PROF. WILLIAM, JR., _c_,
  20 Bayard Avenue, Princeton, N. J.

LINCOLN, JOHN J.,
  Geological Survey.

LINDENKOHL, A., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

LINDENKOHL, H., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

LINDSLEY, WM. L., _c_,
  Corner Banner and Republican Streets, Seattle, Wash.

LITTLEHALES, G. W.,
  928 Twenty-third Street.

LOOKER, HENRY B.,
  918 F Street.

LOOKER, THOS. H., U. S. N.,
  1312 Thirtieth Street.

LOOMIS, HENRY B., _c_,
  Seattle, Wash.

LOVELL, W. H.,
  Geological Survey.

{xxvii}

LYONS, JOSEPH,
  1003 F Street.

MCCARTENEY, LIEUT. CHAS. M., U. S. N.,
  Hydrographic Office.

MCCRACKEN, R. H., _c_,
  P. O. Box 495, San Antonio, Tex.

MCGEE, MRS. ANITA NEWCOMB,
  2410 Fourteenth Street.

MCGEE, W J, _a_,
  Geological Surrey.

MCGILL, MISS MARY C.,
  336 C Street.

MCGRATH, JOHN E.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

MCKEE, REDICK H., _a_,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Berkeley, Cal.

MCKINNEY, R. C., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

MCLAUGHLIN, DR. T. N.,
  1226 N Street.

MACKAYE, J. M., _c_.
  Shirley, Mass.

MAHER, JAMES A., _a_,
  P. O. Box 35, Johnson City, Tenn.

MANNING, VAN. H., JR., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

MARINDIN, HENRY L.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

MARKS, DR. A. J., _c_,
  419 Madison Street, Toledo, O.

MARSHALL, R. B.,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Berkeley, Cal.

MASON, PROF. O. T.,
  1777 Massachusetts Avenue.

MATTHEWS, DR. W., U. S. A., _a_,
  Fort Wingate, N. M.

MELVILLE, ENG. IN CHIEF GEO. W., U. S. N., _a_, _l_,
  Navy Department.

MENDENHALL, DR. T. C.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

MENOCAL, CIV. ENG. A. G., U. S. N., _a_,
  44 Wall Street, New York, N. Y.

MERRIAM, DR. C. HART, _a_,
  Department of Agriculture.

MERRILL, PROF. J. A., _c_,
  State Normal School, Warrensburg, Mo.

MESTON, R. D.,
  1227 L Street.

{xxviii}

METZGER, F. P.,
  Geological Survey.

MILEY, A. E.,
  Sixth Auditor's Office.

MINDELEFF, MME. JULIE,
  1401 Stoughton Street.

MINDELEFF, VICTOR,
  Ohio National Bank Building.

MITCHELL, PROF. HENRY, _a_,
  18 Hawthorne Street, Roxbury, Mass.

MOSMAN, A. T., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

MUIR, PROF. JOHN,
  Martinez, Cal.

MUIR, ENS. W. C. P., U. S. N.,
  In care Hon. J. L. Beckham, Shelbyville, Ky.

MUNROE, HERSEY,
  Geological Survey.

MURLIN, A. E.,
  Geological Survey.

MURRAY, B. P.,
  10 Third Street NE.

NELL, LOUIS, _a_,
  Geological Survey.

NEWELL, F. H.,
  Geological Survey.

NILES, PROF. WM. H.,
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.

NORDHOFF, CHARLES, _a_,
  Coronado, Cal.

NORMAN-NERUDA, L., _c_,
  Devonshire Club, St. James Street, London, England.

NORTHUP, C. G.,
  U. S. Senate.

NOYES, CROSBY S.,
  1101 Pennsylvania Avenue.

OGDEN, HERBERT G., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

O'HALLORAN, T. M.,
  Hydrographic Office.

O'HARE, DANIEL P.,
  Geological Survey.

OLDRINI, PROF. ALEXANDER,
  1437 L Street.

OLNEY, CHAS. F.,
  137 Jennings Avenue, Cleveland, O.

OSBORN, LIEUT. A. P., U. S. N., _c_,
  Navy Pay Office, San Francisco, Cal.

{xxix}

OSBORNE, DR. GEO. L., _c_,
  State Normal School, Warrensburg, Mo.

OTIS, HAMILTON, _c_,
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.

OTIS, WILLIAM H.,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Berkeley, Cal.

PALMER, T. S.,
  Department of Agriculture.

PARKER, E. W.,
  Geological Survey.

PARSONS, FRANCIS H., _a_,
  210 First Street SE.

PEALE, DR. A. C., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

PEARY, CIV. ENG. R. E., U. S. N.,
  Navy Department.

PELLEW, HENRY E.,
  1637 Massachusetts Avenue.

PENROSE, R. A. F., JR.,
  1331 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

PERKINS, E. T., JR., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

PETERS, EUGENE,
  458 Pennsylvania Avenue.

PETERS, LIEUT. G. H., U. S. N., _a_,
  Navy Department.

PETERS, WILLIAM J., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

PETROFF, IVAN, _c_,
  2148 Pennsylvania Avenue.

PHILLIPS, ASA E.,
  District Engineer Department.

PHILLIPS, R. HENRY,
  Room 110, 1419 New York Avenue.

PICKERING, PROF. EDWARD C.,
  Harvard Observatory, Cambridge, Mass.

PICKING, CAPT. HENRY F., U. S. N.,
  Navy Department.

PIERCE, JOSIAH, JR.,
  11 South Street, Baltimore, Md.

POLLOK, ANTHONY,
  620 F Street.

*POND, EDWIN J.,

POWELL, MAJ. J. W., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

POWELL, PROF. W. B., _a_,
  Franklin School.

{xxx}

PRENTISS, DR. D. WEBSTER, _a_,
  1101 Fourteenth Street.

PRINCE, HON. L. BRADFORD, _c_,
  Santa Fe, N. M.

PROWELL, GEO. R., _c_,
  Hanover, Pa.

PUMPELLY, PROF. RAPHAEL,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Newport, R. I.

RAMSEY, F. M., _c_,
  Lampasas, Tex.

RANKIN, REV. DR. J. E.,
  Howard University.

REID, PROF. HARRY FIELDING, _c_,
  Case School of Applied Science, Cleveland, O.

RENSHAWE, JNO. H., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

RICE, PROF. WM. NORTH, _c_,
  Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.

RICHARDSON, DR. C. W.,
  1102 L Street.

RICHARDSON, T. J., _c_,
  734 E. Fifteenth Street, Minneapolis, Minn.

RICHMOND, CHAS. W.,
  In care U. S. Consul, Greytown, Nicaragua.

RICHTER, MISS C. M.,
  330 A Street SE.

RICKSECKER, EUGENE, _a_, _c_,
  P. O. Box 289, Seattle, Wash.

RITTER, H. P., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

RIZER, COL. H. C.,
  Geological Survey.

ROBBINS, A. G., _c_,
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.

ROBERTS, A. C., _a_,
  Hydrographic Office.

ROCHESTER, GEN. WM. B., U. S. A.,
  1320 Eighteenth Street.

ROCK, MILES,
  1430 Chapin Street.

ROGERS, JNO. B., _c_,
  Columbia Athletic Club.

ROTCH, A. LAWRENCE,
  3 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Mass.

RUSSEL, LIEUT. EDGAR, U. S. A., _c_,
  Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Tex.

RUSSELL, ISRAEL C., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

{xxxi}

SANDERS, HENRY P.,
  1504 Twenty-first Street.

SARGENT, PROF. C. S., _a_,
  Brookline, Mass.

SCHAAP, C. H., _c_,
  P. O. Box 32, Sitka, Alaska.

SCHLEY, CAPT. W. S., U. S. N., _a_,
  Navy Department.

SCHMIDT, FRED. A.,
  504 Ninth Street.

SCHMITT, EWALD,
  2235 Thirteenth Street.

SCHWATKA, FREDERICK, _c_,
  1108 First Avenue, Rock Island, Ill.

SCIDMORE, MISS ELIZA RUHAMAH,
  1502 Twenty-first Street.

SCOTT, W. O. N.,
  603 Fifteenth Street.

SCUDDER, PROF. S. H., _a_,
  Cambridge, Mass.

SHALER, PROF. N. S., _a_,
  25 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Mass.

SHEPARD, PROF. EDWARD M.,
  Drury College, Springfield, Mo.

SHEPARD, J. L. N., _c_,
  402 Front Street, San Francisco, Cal.

SHEPARD, CAPT. L. G., U. S. R. M.,
  Treasury Department.

SINCLAIR, C. H.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

SINCLAIR, J. C.,
  718 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

SLOAN, ROBERT S., _c_,
  Oswego. N. Y.

SMITH, EDWIN, _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

SMITH, REV. ERNEST C., _c_,
  Framingham, Mass.

SMITH, PROF. EUGENE A., _c_,
  University, Ala.

SMITH, MIDDLETON, _a_,
  P. O. Box 572.

SMOCK, DR. J. C., _c_,
  State Geological Survey, Trenton, N. J.

SNELL, MERWIN-MARIE,
  Catholic University of America.

SOMMER, E. J., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

{xxxii}

SPENCER, JAS. W.,
  Geological Survey.

STANLEY-BROWN, JOSEPH,
  Geological Survey.

STANWOOD, JAMES HUGH, _c_,
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.

STEDMAN, J. M., _c_,
  Trinity University, Durham, N. C.

STEIN, ROBERT,
  Geological Survey.

STOCKTON, LT. COMDR. CHARLES H., U. S. N., _a_, _c_,
  Naval War College, Newport, R. I.

STONE, JAMES S., _c_,
  131 Vernon Street, Newton, Mass.

SUTTON, FRANK,
  Geological Survey.

SWAN, HON. JAMES G., _c_,
  Port Townsend, Wash.

TALBOT, MRS. LAURA OSBORNE,
  927 P Street.

TARR, R. S., _c_,
  Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.

TAYLOR, DANIEL F.,
  918 F Street.

TAYLOR, JAS. L.,
  1515 Twentieth Street.

THOMAS, MISS MARY VON E., _a_,
  235 New Jersey Avenue SE.

THOMPSON, PROF. A. H., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

THOMPSON, GILBERT, _a_,
  Geological Survey.

THOMPSON, LAURENCE, _a_,
  1628 S Street.

THOMPSON, CAPT. R. E., U. S. A., _a_,
  War Department.

THOMPSON, J. W.,
  1419 I Street.

TISDELL, WILLARD P.,
  1323 Thirteenth Street.

TITTMANN, O. H., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

TOWNSEND, MRS. JULIA C.,
  1316 R Street.

TOWSON, R. M., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

TURNER, J. HENRY,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

{xxxiii}

TWEEDY, FRANK, _a_,
  Geological Survey.

URQUHART, CHAS. F., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

VAN HISE, PROF. C. R., _l_,
  U. S. Geological Survey, Madison, Wis.

VASEY, DR. GEORGE, _a_,
  Department of Agriculture.

VERGES, L. F., _c_,
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.

VINAL, W. IRVING, _a_,
  1106 A Street NE.

VIVIAN, THOMAS J.,
  212 New Jersey Avenue.

WADDEY, JOHN A.,
  Hydrographic Office.

WADHAMS, LIEUT. A. V., U. S. N., _c_,
  Andover, Mass.

WALCOTT, CHAS. D., _a_,
  National Museum.

WALKER, ELTON D., _c_,
  Fort Sheridan, Ill.

WALLACE, HAMILTON S., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

WANAMAKER, HON. JOHN,
  1731 I Street.

WARD, PROF. HENRY A., _c_,
  10 College Avenue, Rochester, N. Y.

WARD, LESTER F., _a_,
  1464 Rhode Island Avenue.

WARD, ROBERT DEC.,
  Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

WARDER, B. H.,
  1515 K Street.

WARTEGG, ERNST VON HESSE, _c_,
  Bern, Switzerland.

WEED, WALTER HARVEY, _a_,
  Geological Survey.

WEIR, JOHN B., _a_,
  The Fredonia.

WELD GEO. F.,
  Metropolitan Club.

WELLING, DR. JAMES C., _a_,
  1302 Connecticut Avenue.

WELLS, E. HAZARD,
  The "Post," Cincinnati, O.

{xxxiv}

WEST, PRESTON C. F., _c_,
  Calumet, Mich.

WHITE, DR. C. H., U. S. N.,
  In care A. B. Gilman, Haverhill, Mass.

WHITE, DAVID,
  Geological Survey.

WHITING, HENRY L.,
  U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, West Tisbury, Mass.

WILDER, GEN. J. T., _a_, _l_,
  Johnson City, Tenn.

WILDER, MISS MARY,
  Johnson City, Tenn.

WILLENBÜCHER, EUGENE,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

WILLENBÜCHER, W. C.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

WILLIAMS, CHARLES AUGUSTUS,
  1301 Eighteenth Street.

WILLIAMS, DR. GEO. H.,
  803 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, Md.

WILLIAMS, PROF. H. S., _c_,
  Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.

WILLIAMS, WILLIAM, _c_,
  University Club, New York, N. Y.

WILLIS, BAILEY, _a_,
  Geological Survey.

WILLIS, MRS. BAILEY,
  1006 Twenty-second Street.

WILLITS, HON. EDWIN,
  Department of Agriculture.

WILSON, H. M., _a_,
  Geological Survey.

WILSON, THOMAS,
  1218 Connecticut Avenue.

WINCHELL, PROF. N. H., _c_,
  120 State Street, Minneapolis, Minn.

WINES, M. W.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

WINSLOW, PROF. ARTHUR,
  State Geological Survey, Jefferson City, Mo.

WINSTON, ISAAC,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

WINTER, DR. JOHN T.,
  1528 Ninth Street.

*WOODWARD, A. E.,

{xxxv}

WOODWARD, R. S., _a_,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

WRIGHT, ENS. BENJAMIN, U. S. N.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

YEATES, CHAS. M., _a_, _c_,
  404½ Liberty Street, Winston, N. C.

YOUNG, F. A.,
  Coast and Geodetic Survey.

       *       *       *       *       *

_Summary_.

  Active members         373
  Corresponding members   95
  Life members             6
                         ---
    Total                474



VOL. III, PP. 1-30, PL. 1, MARCH 28, 1891

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE




SOUTH AMERICA

ANNUAL ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT

GARDINER G. HUBBARD




[Illustration: National Geographic Society seal]




WASHINGTON

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Price 25 Cents.


{1}


VOL. III, PP 1-30, PL 1., MARCH 28, 1891.

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE




SOUTH AMERICA.

ANNUAL ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT,

GARDINER G. HUBBARD.

(_Presented to the Society December 19, 1890._)


Two years ago I selected for my annual address _Africa, or the Dark 
Continent_; last year _Asia, the Land of Mountains and Deserts_; this 
year I have chosen _South America, the Land of Rivers and Pampas_.

[Illustration: VOL. III, 1891, PL. 1. SOUTH AMERICA. From the 
International Cylopedia, by permission of Dodd, Mead & Company.]

       *       *       *       *       *

The recent meeting of the Pan-American Congress has called attention 
to South America, a part of our continent under republican forms of 
government and rich in products which we lack, while it relies mainly 
on other foreign countries for goods which we manufacture. North 
America and South America should be more closely united, for the one 
is the complement of the other.

The prominent features of South America are its long ranges of 
mountains--next to the Himalayas the highest in the world,--its great 
valley, and its immense plateau extending from the Straits of Magellan 
to the Caribbean sea.


THE MOUNTAINS.

The Andes rise in the extreme south at Cape Horn, run in a
northerly course through Patagonia and southern Chili; thence
continuing in three nearly parallel ranges, the western chain called
the Andes, the others known as the Cordilleras, through Peru, {2}
Bolivia and Ecuador to Colombia. The Cordilleras and the Andes are 
connected in several places by knots or cross-chains of mountains. In 
Colombia the Andes turn to the northwest, reaching their lowest 
elevation at the Panama canal, and continue thence, through Central 
America and North America as the Rocky Mountains, to the Arctic ocean. 
Near the source of the Magdalena and Cauca rivers in Colombia, the 
eastern range is deflected to the east along the northern coast of 
South America. The central range disappears between the Magdalena and 
Cauca rivers.

The Andes form the water-shed of the continent. The waters on the 
western slope flow into the Pacific ocean. The rivers that rise on the 
eastern slope, in northern Peru and Ecuador, force their way through 
the Cordilleras and at their foot drain the montaña of Bolivia, Peru 
and Brazil. In the southern part of Peru and upper Chili there is a 
broad sierra or plateau, at an elevation of from twelve to fourteen 
thousand feet. The streams that rise in this sierra either empty into 
salt or alkaline lakes or sink into the ground.

Unlike all other long ranges of mountains, the continental or eastern 
side of the Cordilleras is nearly as precipitous as that extending to 
the Pacific. Craters of extinct volcanoes and volcanoes now in 
eruption are found in all parts of the chain. In Ecuador there are 
fifty-two volcanoes, and twenty of these, covered with perpetual snow 
and presided over by Chimborazo and Cotopaxi, rise out of a group of 
mountains encircling the valley of Quito, and are all visible from a 
single point. Three are active and five others have been in eruption 
at one or more times since the conquest. One of these, Sangai, is the 
most active volcano on the globe: it sends forth a constant stream of 
fire, water, mud and ashes, and some assert that it has done so 
without intermission for 300 years; 267 explosions have been counted 
in one hour. This is also the land of earthquakes: in 1868, 50,000 
lives, we are told, were lost in one day; the tremor was felt over 
four countries and from the Andes to the Sandwich Islands. The tidal 
wave washed a gunboat of the United States on shore at Arica in lower 
Peru, 1000 miles to the south, and sixteen hours later the wave was 
felt across the Pacific at New Zealand.

A range of mountains separates Eastern Venezuela and Guiana from the 
valley of the Amazon. Other ranges south of the Amazon run 
southwestwardly, following the Atlantic coast line from Cape St. Roque 
to the Rio de la Plata.


{3} RIVER SYSTEMS.

A great oceanic current flows along the western coast of Africa to the 
equator, where it is deflected across the Atlantic ocean and becomes 
the equatorial current. On reaching the coast of South America near 
Cape St. Roque, it is again deflected north and south. Trade winds 
blowing over the equatorial current reach the coast at Brazil 
surcharged with vapor; as they follow up the valley of the Amazon the 
vapors are partially condensed and frequent showers refresh the land; 
but when the clouds at the foot-hills of the Andes meet the colder 
winds from the south and strike the snow summits of the Cordilleras, 
all the moisture is condensed, and the rain falls in tropical showers 
for half the year and waters the largest and richest valley in the 
world.

In this valley, among the Cordilleras, three great rivers--the 
Orinoco, the Amazon and La Plata--rise. The mountain ranges north and 
south of the Amazon divide this great valley into three lesser 
valleys, down which the Orinoco, the Amazon and La Plata flow, 
watering three-fourths of South America.


_The Orinoco_.

The headwaters of the Orinoco rise in two ranges of mountains; the 
Cordilleras in the west, and the mountains of Venezuela many hundred 
miles to the east. Four hundred tributaries, abounding in beautiful 
falls and cataracts, unite to form this great river.

The whole valley for 1600 miles is filled with dense and tangled 
forests. Noble trees of unrivalled beauty blossom in endless 
prodigality. Birds of gorgeous plumage nestle in their lofty recesses. 
Tall ferns, vines, creeping plants and parasites form a dense tangle 
of undergrowth, swarming with life. Myriads of insects in great 
variety, reptiles of strange and singular form, lizards and venemous 
serpents find their homes and sustenance in the wild, dense mass of 
vegetation.


_The Amazon_.

The valley of the Amazon collects its waters from a region 1800 miles 
wide from north to south and 2500 miles long from the Andes to the 
Atlantic ocean. Even at the foot of the Andes the Amazon is a mighty 
river. The valley rapidly narrows to a width of 600 or 700 miles, and 
then more gradually to the ocean, {4} where it is only 150 miles wide. 
Its total fall from the foot-hills of the Andes to the Atlantic is 
very slight, not over three or four hundred feet, and probably 
considerably less.

The rims of the valley are formed of diorite and sandstone, and are 
raised only a little above the flood-plain, which is formed of mud and 
silt, the detritus brought down by the Amazon and its tributaries. The 
flood-plain is from fifty to one hundred miles wide, gradually 
narrowing as it approaches the ocean. Through this valley the Amazon 
cuts its way, separating often into channels which sometimes run 
parallel to each other for several hundred miles, frequently forming 
large islands, or expanding into lakes. Similar flood-plains are found 
on all its larger tributaries.

Up from the ocean into this valley an immense tidal wave rolls, with a 
bore, twice a day, forcing back the current of the Amazon 500 miles 
and inundating a portion of the flood-plain.

In the early autumn the equatorial rise commences in the headwaters of 
its tributaries, far south of the equator. The rains and melting snow 
raise the streams, and these the waters of the Amazon. As the sun 
crosses the equator and moves to the north the rain follows its 
course, and the branches that have their source in the east and 
northeast add their flood to the waters of the southerly branches. The 
flood in the Amazon is thus continued for nearly six months, raising 
its waters from 30 to 50 feet. The channels are filled, and the 
flood-plains are overflowed. The whole valley becomes a net-work of 
navigable waters, with islands and channels and lakes innumerable, 
forming a great inland sea, which the Brazilians call the 
Mediterranean of America. The upland, though only a little above the 
flood-plain, is rarely overflowed.

The plants and animals of the flood-plain were formerly considered as 
distinct from those of the upland as are the plants and animals of 
Europe from those of America; but later investigations show that there 
is but little difference between the species.

The sea breeze blows up the valley about a thousand miles. Then for 
1500 miles the atmosphere is stagnant and sultry; the climate is that 
of a permanent vapor bath. The dense foliage forms dark, lofty vaults 
which the sunlight never penetrates, and over all hangs a perpetual 
mist. The abundance and beauty of vegetation increases, and the trees 
which at the mouth of the river blossom only once a year, here bloom 
and bear fruit all the year round.

{5} Many great rivers run into the Amazon from the north and the 
south, most of them navigable, for many hundred miles. The Madeira, 
its greatest tributary, after running 2000 miles, empties into the 
king of rivers, without making any perceptible difference in its width 
or depth.

This mighty current, rushing into the ocean, meets the equatorial 
current and for over one hundred miles keeps on nearly a straight 
course, when the stronger and mightier oceanic current deflects it to 
the north. At from 200 to 300 miles from land, the sea is strongly 
tinged, and in April and May has nearly the clay-yellow hue of the 
Amazon. And even further north, about 400 miles from its mouth, the 
naturalist on the Amazon tells us, "we passed numerous patches of 
floating grass mingled with tree trunks and withered foliage; among 
these I espied many fruits of the Amazonian palm. And this was the 
last I saw of the Amazon."


_The Rio de la Plata_.

The La Plata, the outlet of the waters of central South America, is 
formed by the union of the Uruguay and Parana, about 150 miles from 
the ocean; a little lower down, at Montevideo, it is 62 miles wide and 
widens rapidly to the Atlantic, where it discharges more water than 
all the rivers of Europe. The tributaries of the Parana are 
fan-shaped. Its most eastern branches rise in the mountains of Brazil, 
within seventy miles of the Atlantic ocean; and 1500 miles away, on 
the other side of the continent, its most western tributaries rise 
only 125 miles from the Pacific.

Steamers ascend the Parana, Paraguay and Cuyaba, 2100 miles to Cuyaba, 
and the river with its branches is navigable for 5000 miles.


_The San Francisco_.

The San Francisco, about 1800 miles long, rises near Rio de Janeiro 
and flows north about 1200 miles between parallel ranges of mountains, 
then turns east and forces its way through the coast range to the 
Atlantic ocean. It runs through the gold and diamond regions of 
Brazil, and has a considerable population along its banks. It has many 
falls and rapids, and considerable slack-water navigation.


{6} GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

In Asia, the different countries have natural boundaries; the people, 
soil and climate of one country are unlike those of others. In Europe 
there are few natural boundaries, though different races inhabit the 
several states.

In South America only one dominant race is found, and though natural 
boundaries exist, yet they do not serve as boundaries to the different 
states, other than Venezuela and Guiana. Venezuela and Guiana are 
watered by the Orinoco and by several rivers that flow from the 
Amazonian mountains to the ocean. The whole coast is low and fertile, 
but hot and unhealthy. The principal product is sugar, raised by 
negroes and coolies. The interior is sultry and thickly wooded; it is 
inhabited by Indian tribes, the principal of which are the cannibal 
Caribs, and by negroes as uncivilized as any of the tribes in Africa. 
Guiana is controlled by the English, French, and Dutch. Cayenne, the 
prison for French convicts, is the capital of French Guiana.

Colombia and Ecuador occupy the northwestern part of South America. 
They are situated on both sides of the Andes, and have every variety 
of climate. The country is well watered; fertile but unhealthy on the 
coast, fertile and healthy on the elevated plains, cold and barren on 
the mountains.

In Brazil, besides the Amazon, La Plata and San Francisco, there are 
several large rivers with fertile valleys; but occasional droughts, 
sometimes lasting for two years, will prevent portions of Brazil from 
becoming densely inhabited.

On the Pacific coast south of Ecuador, the rainfall becomes less and 
less. For three thousand miles along the coast of Peru and Chili there 
is no natural harbor; a plain from ten to fifty miles in width extends 
from the Pacific to the foot-hills of the Andes. The Antarctic current 
runs along this coast; the southeasterly winds blow over it on to the 
land and cool the air; but as the winds are of low temperature their 
scanty vapor is dissipated by the heat radiated from the land, and not 
a drop of rain refreshes the thirsty soil. Many mountain torrents run 
from the snow-clad summits of the Andes, and the beauty of their 
narrow valleys forms a grateful contrast to the dry and barren sands 
of the plain.

In the southern part of Chili and in that part formerly called 
Patagonia, rain is abundant and the country is fertile.

The longest stretch of low and comparatively level land to be {7} 
found in the world extends through the center of South America. A boat 
starting from the Caribbean sea could sail up the Orinoco over a 
thousand miles, then down the Casquiare, which runs from the Orinoco 
into the Rio Negro, down that river to the Amazon, up the Amazon to 
the Madeira, then up that river and one of its branches through Brazil 
and Bolivia, and with a short portage of six and a half miles to one 
of the branches of the Paraguay, down the Paraguay and La Plata to the 
ocean.

The level land crosses the La Plata and continues southward through 
the Argentine Republic and Patagonia to the Straits of Magellan. 
Within this plain lie all the interior of Venezuela and Brazil, a part 
of Bolivia, all Paraguay, Uruguay, and the Argentine Republic. The 
pampas resemble our prairies, but run from north to south, while the 
prairies run from east to west.

The streams in the plain south of the valley of the La Plata rise in 
the Andes and flow southeastward to the Atlantic.


THE ABORIGINES.

The aborigines of America, except the Esquimaux, are unlike the 
natives of other countries; the most marked difference is in their 
language. They are divided into a number of tribes differing from each 
other in some respects, yet with manners, customs and religious 
beliefs generally similar.

In South America there are more than one hundred distinct languages, 
and two thousand dialects. About five or six million Indians have as 
many dialects as are found among the 800,000,000 inhabitants of Europe 
and Asia. Their languages are polysynthetic, being of a higher type 
than the agglutinative languages. In the polysynthetic tongue the 
substantive, adjective and verb are joined or combined, and oftentimes 
a whole sentence will be comprised in a single word.

The natives in the valleys of the Orinoco and Amazon are forced to 
cultivate a little ground on the flood-plains, as the forests are 
thick and impenetrable. They live principally on the fruit of the palm 
(of which there are five hundred varieties), cocoa and bananas, fish 
and turtles. There are no roads or paths through the forests except 
the numerous channels of the rivers, called igarapes or furos. The 
tribes on the pampas live principally on game and wild cattle.

Humboldt tells us that the navigator on the Orinoco sees with surprise 
at night the palm trees illuminated by large fires. From {8} the 
trunks of these trees are suspended the habitations of a tribe of 
Indians, who make their fires on mats hung in the air and filled with 
moist clay. The same palm tree furnishes also food and wine and 
clothing, and thus supplies every want and even the luxuries of life.

The Indian race as a whole is believed to be superior to both the 
negro and the Malay, as neither of those races has ever attained to 
the civilization of the Incas of Peru or of the Indians of Mexico and 
the Aztecs of Central America. Many of their myths and folk tales are 
common, not only to the Indians of one part of the country, but also 
to other tribes in distant parts of the continent, and even to the 
negroes of Africa, and the Arabs of upper Egypt. All the tribes on the 
continent have substantially the same habits of life, the same methods 
of warfare, the same general characteristics, and a language built 
substantially on the same plan.

From these observations it might seem that the Indian tribes of South 
America were allied to those of Africa or to the Malays, but on 
further consideration the similarity seems due rather to a like stage 
of civilization than to identity of race.


THE INCAS OF PERU.

In crossing from Arequipa in Peru to La Paz in Bolivia, the road 
ascends the Andes, makes a slight descent into the barren, desolate 
valley between the Andes and Cordilleras, crosses Lake Titicaca, and 
then descends to La Paz. Lake Titicaca, the largest lake of South 
America, is on a plateau between twelve and thirteen thousand feet in 
height, the most elevated table land on the globe, excepting Thibet. 
This lake is surrounded by lofty, snow-clad mountains, the highest of 
which is Illampa, 22,300 feet in height.

On this lake are the remains of the most ancient civilization of South 
America. Cyclopean ruins of temples and fortresses stand as perpetual 
monuments of a vanished culture; when and by whom they were erected, 
we know not; their builders left no other record of their existence. 
The wandering Indians told the first Spaniards that they existed 
before the sun shone in the heavens. From one of the rocky islands of 
Lake Titicaca, about the year 1000 or 1100, the Sun, parent of mankind 
and giver of every good gift, taking compassion on the degraded 
condition of {9} the Indians, sent two of his children, Manco Capac 
and Mama Oello Huaco, to gather the wandering tribes into communities, 
to teach them the arts of civilized life and to inculcate the worship 
of the Sun. From Lake Titicaca, this brother and sister, husband and 
wife, went down the valley to Cuzco, where they were bidden to found 
an empire. Manco Capac was thus the first Inca. There were ten or 
twelve Incas before the conquest of Peru. Their conquests extended 
through the entire valley of the Cordilleras, until over four hundred 
tribes, with a population of many millions, became subject to their 
dominion.

The territory of the Incas extended from the southern part of Chili 
northward into Colombia, beyond Quito, a distance of two thousand 
miles, and west to the Pacific Ocean. On the eastern slope of the 
Cordilleras, toward the great plain of the Amazon, the Incas met a 
stronger and more savage people, with whom they were in constant 
warfare. In the several passes of the Cordilleras they constructed 
fortifications to protect their borders and prevent invasion.

The capital of the territory, Cuzco, was situated in a beautiful 
valley ten thousand feet above the sea. Amidst the Alps, such a valley 
would be buried in eternal snow, but within the tropics it enjoys a 
perpetual spring. Here the Incas loved to dwell, and remains of 
immense fortresses, palaces and temples, testify to their power and 
culture, and to the number of their subjects. Tens of thousands of 
laborers must have been required to construct such edifices. When we 
reflect that these people had no beasts of burden except the llama, 
which could only carry light loads, and no mechanical means for 
transporting the vast blocks of stone used in constructing these 
buildings, we are astonished at what they accomplished. The pyramids 
of Egypt are not more wonderful.

Great highways were built, running north, south and west, connecting 
different parts of the Empire. One followed the valley between the 
Cordilleras and Andes to Quito, another crossed the Andes and followed 
the sea-coast north and south to the extreme limits of their country. 
All traveling was on foot. Large and comfortable tambos, or inns, were 
erected every few miles, and larger ones at the end of a day's 
journey. Couriers were stationed at regular intervals, each of whom 
had his allotted station, between which and the next it was his duty 
to run at a certain pace bearing his message, and on his approach to 
the {10} next station he signalled to the next chasquir, as the 
couriers were called, to be ready to carry forward the message. In 
this way, it is said, about 150 miles a day were made.

These couriers traveled more quickly than the mail-carriers of Europe, 
and the means of communication were then, Squier tells us, far better 
than they are to-day. Many of these old tambos are still maintained. 
One in which Squier spent the night was 180 feet in length, with rooms 
forming three sides of a court.

The country of the Incas had every variety of climate, and the 
products were those of every part of the new world. On the coast, 
perpetual summer reigns, with all the variety and beauty of tropical 
vegetation. At a higher elevation, the trees are always green, and 
while one kind sheds its blossoms and ripens its fruit another is 
budding and unfolding its bloom. Meantime, on the top of the mountains 
is eternal winter. In some places, as at Potosi, the changes of 
temperature are frequent and extremes of heat and cold are experienced 
in a single day. The weather in the early morning is frosty; in the 
forenoon, mild and balmy; in the afternoon, scorching, and in the 
evening, cool and delicious.

On the Pacific slope of the Andes, reservoirs were constructed, from 
which irrigating canals watered the whole plain now lying desolate and 
barren.

The conquered tribes were incorporated into the nation and became the 
people of the Incas. If the conquered tribe was strong and warlike, 
some of its members were removed to distant parts of the country and 
were replaced by the inhabitants of those regions, to whom privileges 
and immunities were given as compensation for the change of home. The 
conquered tribes quickly realized the benefits of the rule of the 
Incas and became faithful and loyal subjects.

The government of the Incas was a paternal despotism controlling the 
most minute affairs of daily life. Knowledge, the Incas taught, "was 
not intended for the people, but for those of generous ability, for it 
would render persons of low degree vain and arrogant."

The Incas established a communal system similar to that of Russia. 
One-third of the land belonged to the Inca, one-third to the priests 
of the Sun, and the remainder to the people, who were required to 
cultivate the land of the Inca and of the priests, as well as their 
own. The land was divided among the families yearly, according to 
their number. Every newly {11} married couple received a stated 
portion which was increased as the family increased.

Their only means of writing was by a cord, called quippus, about two 
feet long, composed of threads of different colors twisted together, 
from which a quantity of smaller threads hung like a knotted fringe. 
The colors denoted sensible objects or sometimes abstract ideas, 
though the principal use of the quippus was for arithmetical purposes.

The civilization of the Incas appears to have been of a higher order 
than that of the Mexicans. It is not probable that hieroglyphics were 
in use among any of the South American Indians, though it is said that 
traces of a pictorial alphabet have been found. The people were 
contented and happy, although they were deprived of personal liberty, 
although their daily life was supervised by their rulers, and although 
they held only communal rights of property. They had neither ambition 
nor strong love of country.

When Pizarro landed in Peru there were two Incas, one at Cuzco and the 
other at Quito, and the bitter conflict which was raging between them 
made the conquest of both easy. Pizarro had only 180 followers, but 
they were Spanish cavaliers, carrying fire-arms; and with this small 
force he overturned the Incas and enslaved the people. The descendants 
of the Quichuas, or the people of the Incas, still inhabit the land--a 
mild, apathetic, servile and dejected race. It is said that after the 
conquest the women put on a black mantle, which they have worn ever 
since, as perpetual mourning for the last of the Incas.

There are a few descendants of Spaniards in Peru, but the population 
consists chiefly of the descendants of the Quichuas and mixed 
Spaniards and Quichuas. The Peruvians of to-day are less civilized 
than those who lived 400 years ago; they have less liberty and are 
poorer.


DISCOVERY OF THE AMAZON.

Great rivers have usually been discovered and explored by ascending 
them from the ocean to their sources; the Congo and the Amazon were 
explored downward from their sources to the ocean.

Three hundred and fifty years ago, Gonzalo Pizarro, then governor of 
Upper Peru, heard of a land of silver and gold, spices and precious 
stones; a land where spring reigned and all tropical fruits abounded. 
He determined to follow the little {12} stream which, rising in the 
Andes, near Quito, flowed eastward; to explore the country, and find 
the happy land. He set out with 350 Cavaliers, mounted on Spanish 
horses and attended by 4000 Indian slaves.

The first part of the route was easy; the little stream soon became a 
river, then broadened into the Napo; but the farther they went, the 
slower and more difficult was their progress as they passed from the 
open forest and the cool and invigorating breezes of the Andes into 
the sultry valley of the Napo. Their way now led through forests more 
dense, darker and more impenetrable than those described by Stanley, 
for the valley of the Amazon is richer than the valley of the Congo. 
Natives armed with poisoned arrows opposed their progress; food became 
scarce, treachery was on every side, and their number gradually 
diminished by death and by desertion of the slaves.

The natives told them of a greater river than the Napo which they 
would find a few days' voyage farther down. This river, they said, 
flowed through a more populous and richer country, where food was 
abundant and gold was found in every stream. Pizarro determined to 
build a bark and to send Orellano as commander to find and return with 
food and succor. For this vessel, the forests furnished the timber; 
the shoes of the horses were converted into nails, distilled gum was 
used for pitch, and the garments of the soldiers were a substitute for 
oakum. In two months, a brigantine was launched, the first European 
vessel that ever floated on the waters of the Amazon. The Napo grew 
broader and deeper as the little company rapidly floated down, until 
it became a mile wide. Three days after they left Pizarro, they saw 
before them a river, many times larger than the Napo, which the 
Indians called Parana-tinega, King of Waters; but we call it the 
Amazon. There was no cultivation, little food could be obtained, and 
the Indians were hostile instead of friendly. What was to be done? 
Behind them was the wilderness, before them the promised land. The 
journey back would be difficult and dangerous; the temptation to 
explore the wonderful river was too great to resist. One man alone was 
faithful to Pizarro, and he was left on the bank while Orellano sailed 
down the river. The wonder of the explorers daily increased as other 
rivers larger than the Napo flowed into the Amazon, now on the north, 
more frequently on the south. Month after month passed, the river grew 
so broad that they could not see from one side to the other. {13} 
Great islands were passed, channels running parallel with the main 
stream larger than any river they had ever seen. Still on they went, 
till after several months they reached the Atlantic Ocean. Then they 
sailed north in their little boat, skirting the coast to Trinidad, 
where they found a vessel which bore them to Spain. They recounted the 
story of the great river; the wonderful country through which they 
passed; and the rich mines of which they had heard. They told fabulous 
tales of the Amazonians they had encountered, strong and masculine 
women, armed with bows and arrows, living by themselves, admitting men 
into their country only one month in the year, killing or sending away 
the male children and training the girls to become amazons and 
warriors.

Orellano was received by the Queen; his treachery was forgotten and a 
new expedition was sent out under his command; but he died before 
reaching the river.

Meantime, Pizarro and his followers slowly and with difficulty made 
their way down the Napo, taking as many months to reach the Amazon as 
Orellano had taken days. They looked in vain for their companions, but 
found only the solitary man who had been left behind, scarcely alive, 
and from him learned of Orellano's desertion. Further explorations 
being impossible, they turned back, reached Quito two years after 
their departure, their horses gone, their arms broken or rusted, the 
skins of wild animals their only clothing. "The charnel house seemed 
to have given up its dead, as they glided onward like a troop of 
spectres." Half of the Indians had perished, and of the three hundred 
and fifty cavaliers only eighty were left.

Such was the end of an expedition which for dangers and hardships, 
length of duration, and constancy displayed is probably unmatched in 
the annals of American discovery.


GUIANA.

Guiana is the only country of South America not inhabited by the Latin 
race. It was acquired for Great Britain by one who acted contrary to 
his instructions in attacking a power, Spain, with which his own 
country was at peace.

Gonzalo Pizarro, on his journey down the Napo in 1539, heard wonderful 
stories of a golden city far away on the banks of the Orinoco, 
surrounded by mountains of gold. Rumors of this golden city were 
carried by English navigators to Great Britain, {14} with legends of a 
prince of Guiana, whose body, first smeared with turpentine, was then 
powdered with gold dust, so that he strode among his people a majestic 
golden statue. Adventurers started in search of this El Dorado, some 
from Peru, others from Quito and from Trinidad; but the golden city 
was never found. They, however, brought back reports of chiefs whose 
bodies sparkled with gold dust as they danced, who had golden eagles 
dangling from their breasts and great pearls from their ears; they 
told of mines of diamonds and gold, and of the natives who longed to 
exchange their jewels for jews-harps.

Sir Walter Raleigh determined to find this country and bring to his 
queen its fabulous riches, for he believed that the silver and gold 
mines of Mexico and Peru had made Spain the first state in 
Christendom--"that purchaseth intelligence and creepeth into counsels 
and endangereth and disturbeth all the nations of Europe."

In 1595, Sir Walter sailed from England and arrived at the Isle of 
Trinidad, where he overthrew the Spaniards, then sailed up the 
Orinoco, or one of its branches, four hundred miles, until hunger and 
sickness compelled him to return. Although he did not reach the golden 
city, he could see the mountains far in the distance which he believed 
surrounded it, and he found the shining sand on the banks of the 
Orinoco. In Guiana he raised the flag of England and compelled the 
Indians to swear fealty to his queen.

Twenty years later, a prisoner in the Tower, he was released in order 
to make a second voyage in search of this El Dorado for King James. He 
sailed in 1617, accompanied by his eldest son; but disaster and 
sickness met him at every step. He reached the Orinoco again, too 
feeble to land. So his son and Captain Keymis went instead. Keymis 
returned after a month of exploration, bringing Raleigh the news of 
the death of his son in an attack on a Spanish town. He brought 
reports of the golden city, of the mines of gold, diamonds and 
emeralds, but neither gold, diamonds nor emeralds to confirm the truth 
of these reports. Raleigh said, "I am undone;" Keymis replied, "I know 
then, Sir, what course to take." He went to his cabin and killed 
himself.

Raleigh returned to England, a broken down old man. The Spaniards 
demanded his life of James as they had demanded it of Elizabeth after 
his first expedition, on the ground that in time of {15} peace Raleigh 
had attacked the Spanish forces and invaded their country. Elizabeth 
had refused, but James yielded. Raleigh was executed, but Guiana 
became an English colony.

The gold and silver mines of Peru have failed; little gold has been 
found in Guiana, but its rich and fertile soil, watered by tropical 
rains, has been a source of greater wealth than the gold mines of 
Peru.


POPULATION OF SOUTH AMERICA.

As the countries of South America were all settled at about the same 
time and by the same race and have passed through a like history, they 
can be considered as a whole.

The United States and Canada, with a rough, uncongenial climate and 
sterile soil, were settled by the Anglo-Saxons, the remainder of the 
western continent by the Latin race and, excepting Brazil and Guiana, 
by Spaniards. In North America the Anglo-Saxon race has dominated, 
carrying civilization from the Atlantic to the Pacific, expelling and 
exterminating the aborigines. There has been no mingling of the 
Anglo-Saxon and Indian races, no backward step, but ever civil, 
religious and intellectual progress. The Latin race conquered Central 
America and South America, a perfect Eden of natural loveliness, one 
hundred years prior to the settlement of the Anglo-Saxon; yet to-day 
they constitute but a thin layer over a scarcely populated country. 
Their leaders were men of unbounded ambition, rapacious, of great 
endurance, but cruel and unscrupulous. They sought adventure, 
expecting it would bring them gold and silver. For that end they 
plundered, despoiled and enslaved the Indians. Gold and silver flowed 
into their hands; luxury, effeminacy, and weakness followed.

The Spaniards in America have scarcely retained the civilization they 
brought from the old world. They have intermarried with the Indians, 
and this mixed race is said to inherit the vices of each of their 
ancestors without the virtues of either.

A sparse population, mostly Spanish and foreigners, inhabit a zone ten 
to twenty miles in depth along the coast of South America, from the 
Bay of Panama to the Caribbean sea. All the cities and settlements, 
excepting a few in the Argentine Republic, are near the coast.

Back of this zone, on the Pacific, is a mixed Spanish-Indian 
population, much larger than the Spanish and foreign population; {16} 
and on the Atlantic a population which is Spanish-Indian, 
Spanish-Negro, and Negro-Indian, occupies a zone from twenty to one 
hundred miles wide. Beyond the first zone a few Spanish families and 
foreigners are found at the gold and silver mines, on the pampas, at 
the cattle ranches, and on a few haciendas in Peru and Chili. In 
Brazil the Portuguese and some Englishmen and Germans raise coffee and 
sugar, and oversee the diamond and gold fields. On the Amazon there 
are a few small settlements to collect the India rubber and cacao of 
that valley.

Save these sparse settlements, the interior of South America is 
inhabited by wild tribes of Indians, uncivilized save for the presence 
of a few Catholic priests, who have given the Indians the cross and 
the image of the Virgin Mary, which they worship, mingling the 
Catholic religion with their old idolatries and barbarous rites. The 
natives are believed to be more idle and less civilized than when the 
Spaniards discovered America.

The Spaniards are the grandees of the country; too proud to work, they 
leave all business to the foreigners and all labor to the Indians, 
retaining in connection with the half-breeds all political power. When 
the regents appointed by Spain were expelled in the early part of the 
present century, republics were established, but they were republics 
only in name; the people were neither educated nor fitted for 
self-government. Their presidents generally exercised the powers of 
dictators and often assumed that title. They have rarely enjoyed a 
long rule, for their power and position were sought by others. 
Revolution in these countries has passed from the acute to the chronic 
stage.

A recent traveller in Peru, who wished to inspect its railroad system, 
was informed that only 26 miles were in running order, the remainder 
being under the control of the revolutionists who were then less than 
80 miles from the capital. He asked why the rebels did not take Lima, 
the capital, and was told, "because there is no unanimity among them; 
they are suspicious of each other, and cannot depend upon any one 
man." Instead of being anxious to serve their country they are only 
interested in robbing her.

Another traveller in Bolivia, who witnessed some of these revolutions, 
says they sometimes occurred three times in as many weeks, and that it 
would have been ludicrous had not their results been often violent and 
tragic. There has been no settled government, no continued peace, no 
permanent policy, in any Spanish {17} country. The hope for the future 
is that the English, German, and French population will increase and 
become permanently identified with the country; they will then take an 
active interest in politics and direct the policy and administration 
of the government.

Commercial and banking business is in the hands of the French, 
Germans, and English. The Italians carry on a small trade at corner 
groceries and fruit stores; the French keep the hotels and 
restaurants; the English and Germans are the shippers, merchants and 
bankers.

Regular lines of English, French, and German steamers run from Europe 
to Panama and thence along the western coast of South America, 
stopping at ports en route; some return by Panama, others sail around 
Cape Horn to Europe by Buenos Ayres and Rio Janeiro. Other lines run 
direct from Europe to Brazil, and twenty-four lines connect Europe and 
the Argentine Republic; while there are only four lines of American 
steamers trading to South America.


BRAZIL.

We have given a general description of South America, but three 
countries--Brazil, the Argentine Republic and Peru--require further 
notice: Brazil, because it is the largest country, occupying 
three-sevenths of South America, and the only considerable state that 
was not settled by the Spaniards; the Argentine Republic, because it 
is the largest and most populous of the Spanish states and, with Peru, 
illustrates the political and financial phases through which the 
Spanish republics have passed.

The valley of the Amazon makes Brazil the most fertile region of the 
world. The tropical woods are so thick and the creepers and 
undergrowth so luxuriant that animal life is almost entirely confined 
to the trees above and the waters below.

The valley is not unhealthy, and, though under the equator, the 
climate is tempered by the trade winds and the evaporation from the 
vast Amazonian waters. Beyond the valley is the montaña district, 
where the land is higher and the climate semi-tropical, where there 
are few creepers, little underbrush, and open forests, and where both 
animal and vegetable life is less abundant. Southward, beyond the 
montaña district, are the evergreen pampas, where no trees grow and 
where the animal and vegetable life are unlike either that of the 
valley of the Amazon or that of the {18} montaña. As in Africa, so 
here, men who live in the dark forest, die in the open. Mr. Stanley 
selected thirty dwarfs from the tropical forests of Africa to take to 
England, but as soon as they came into the grass-lands, the clear air 
and bright sun, they languished and died before the coast was reached.

Northeast of the pampas, on the Atlantic coast, south of the Amazon, 
is a province bounded on the south by a range of high mountains, where 
rain is abundant; at Maranhao, its seaport, there are 280 inches of 
rainfall in the year. South of Maranhao there is much less rain; and 
instead of two seasons, the wet and the dry, which prevail in the 
valley of the Amazon, there are the four seasons of the year, but 
without extremes of heat and cold.

Over the greater part of Brazil grows the coffee tree, the 
sheet-anchor of Brazilian prosperity, since it furnishes 60 per cent. 
of all the coffee grown in the world. The plant is not indigenous to 
Brazil, but was brought there about one hundred years ago from the old 
world.

Brazil, inhabited by the Portuguese, with an imperial government, has 
been saved from the anarchy and insolvency of the Spanish republics. 
Her railroads have been built with economy and have been generally 
successful. It had a population in 1885 of 11,000,000; two-thirds of 
whom were Indians and negroes, and many of the negroes were slaves. 
Slavery existed longer in Brazil than in any other civilized country; 
the lash was commonly used on the plantation, and work continued from 
early in the morning until late at night until 1888, when a law was 
passed finally emancipating 1,300,000 slaves. It was opposed by the 
planters, who said freedmen would not work, but would let the coffee 
and sugar plantations fall to ruin. It was probably this act which 
caused the overthrow of the empire, for in revenge the planters joined 
the insurgents in establishing the Republic.

The Portuguese and Brazilians are more peaceable and orderly than the 
Spaniards or Spanish-Americans; we may therefore reasonably hope that 
Brazil will not repeat the history of the Spanish republics, which has 
been one of disintegration, for these republics have separated into 
two or more States. The greatest difficulty in maintaining its immense 
domain will arise from the enormous distances and the time required to 
travel between different parts of the country. From Rio de Janeiro to 
Matto Grosso is 140 days' journey by land, and by water the distance 
is 3000 miles. Communication is maintained by steamer {19} through the 
Argentine Republic up the Rio de la Plata and its branches. Although 
the country has many long and navigable rivers, yet the means of 
intercommunication are very poor; for the rivers are little used, and 
the forests, creepers, and undergrowth are so dense that the country 
back of the river-banks is impenetrable, and even if roads should be 
opened the soil is so luxuriant that they would be quickly overgrown 
and soon become impassable.

Lines of steamers have been subsidized by the Brazilian government and 
run up the Amazon 2000 miles to Tabatinga, at the boundary line of 
Peru; there connecting with lines subsidized by the Peruvian 
government, which run 1500 miles farther up the river. These vessels 
carry supplies to the settlers and bring back India rubber, 
Brazil-nuts, cacao, quinine, and the beautiful woods of the forest.

Yet steamers are rarely seen on the Amazon; they have few passengers, 
and have not opened the country; we are told that the Mississippi 
carries more vessels in a month, and the Yang-tse-kiang in a day, than 
the Amazon in a year.


THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

The history of South American republics is illustrated in the 
Argentine republic.

It is a vast pampas or prairie, extending from Brazil to the Andes, 
and from Bolivia with a southeasterly trend 2000 miles to southeastern 
Terra del Fuego.

The climate of the northern portion is tropical; of the central part, 
semi-tropical; of the extreme south, temperate or cold. The country is 
generally well watered excepting in the northwestern part, where the 
land is dry and alkaline, like the arid regions of North America. The 
soil is a rich, deep loam, from four to six feet in depth, excepting 
in Patagonia and the western pampas, where there is a coarse gravel 
and detritus from the Andes. Instead of the dense tropical forest of 
the Amazon valley, the pampas are covered by a coarse grass, three or 
four feet high, growing in large tussocks and all the year round of a 
dark green. The strong grass crowds out all trees and almost all 
plants, so that scarcely a flower relieves the uniform, everlasting 
verdure.

Instead of the arboreal animals of the Amazon there is the rhea or 
American ostrich, "ship of the wilderness," adapted to the {20} 
pampas, but unable to live in the forests. The gauchos have hunted it 
for the last three centuries, but it is now passing away and will soon 
be lost to the pampas, as the buffalo has been to the North American 
prairie.

The pampas are far better adapted to the raising of cattle than our 
prairies, for the grass is always green and the winters are milder. 
Cattle, horses, and sheep imported by the Spaniards and turned on to 
the pampas rapidly increased, and now immense herds feed on the 
plains.

The Indians who inhabit the pampas, instead of being confined to one 
locality and journeying only by canoe, like the Indians on the Amazon, 
wander over the length and breadth of the pampas, hunting the ostrich 
and cattle. The cattle are tended by gauchos, as the cow-boys are 
called, half-breeds as wild as the herds they tend. Constant warfare 
exists between the Indians and the gauchos, unless they unite to 
attack the settlers. After one of the Indian raids the government dug 
an immense ditch from a river to the Andes and drove the Indians to 
the farther side, and since then there have been fewer raids--and 
fewer Indians.

The land was held in large blocks of many thousand acres, worked by 
overseers and gauchos. The animals were killed by hundreds of 
thousands for their skins. This state of things is, however, gradually 
passing away, for during the last twenty years emigrants from the old 
world have settled in the country as farmers and planters.

The fourteen provinces which form the Argentine Republic have never 
been welded into one nation, and have seldom had a moment's peace. The 
gauchos have been a continual scourge, and the gaucho generals its 
rulers and harriers combined. Unfortunately, here, as in other Spanish 
states, one dictator has succeeded another. Thirty presidents, or 
dictators, have reigned within fifty years. At one time five provinces 
had each a separate dictator. The neighboring republic of Uruguay, 
formerly a part of the Argentine Confederation, had 26 revolutions in 
the twenty-three years from 1864 to 1887.

For some time Buenos Ayres and its dictator ruled the republic; then 
the country provinces rebelled, and civil war ensued; one province was 
arrayed against another, and all against Buenos Ayres. The provinces 
prevailed and the gaucho general, Rosas, occupied Buenos Ayres. 
Scarcely was this civil war ended when a war arose with the republics 
of Uruguay and Paraguay.

{21} Money was required to pay the army and the cost of civil and 
foreign wars. Every dictator had his friends for whom provision must 
be made. Large debts were created; banks were chartered; $200,000,000 
of paper money were issued. There were several different circulating 
mediums; each province strove to outdo the others in the issue of a 
currency which quickly depreciated. Companies for different purposes 
were organized, and many were subsidized, directly or indirectly. We 
are told that in one case $1,500,000 was paid for a concession, and 
that "Turkish officials, who have hitherto been the champion artists 
in backsheesh, leave off where Argentine blackmailers begin; the price 
of a drainage scheme at Buenos Ayres would buy a whole cabinet of 
pashas at Galata."

Railroads were built running from Buenos Ayres in different 
directions, as each province demanded a railroad, with little regard 
to its population or business.

A road was commenced to cross the Andes and open communication between 
the Atlantic and Pacific over mountains which had never been crossed 
by a carriage of any kind.

The country was not settled so rapidly as the rulers desired. 
Inducements were therefore offered to immigrants. The passage money 
from Europe and the expenses of the immigrant to his new home have 
been paid and land for settlement sold at low rates. It is estimated 
that over 1,000,000 foreigners have settled in the country during the 
last twelve years, and the proportionate increase of population in the 
same period has been twice as great as that of the United States. 
Grazing lands have been sold at nominal prices to immigrants, or 
leased for terms of years in lots of 6,000 acres at a rental of $100 a 
year. Bonds were issued not only by the government but by the 
provinces, by the municipalities and by the railroads, and all were 
readily taken in England and Germany. To enable the emigrants to pay 
for and to cultivate their land, the owner of real estate on 
depositing his title deeds with the hypothecary banks and having a 
valuation of his real estate, received cedulas, or bonds of the bank, 
for one-half its appraised value; these cedulas for large amounts were 
issued and sold in Europe; and thus, as ever, more money was required, 
more bonds were issued. In 1889, a year of peace, the public debt was 
increased 120 per cent., and it is now said to be over one thousand 
four hundred millions of dollars, and the principal and interest of 
two-thirds of this amount is payable in gold at a premium of 200 per 
cent.

{22} In 1890 there was no money to meet the interest and general 
prostration ensued.

It is difficult to ascertain the debt of the republic; but if the 
accounts given in the English publications are correct the debt is 
greater in proportion to its population and wealth than that of any 
other country in the world. The only hope of the Argentine Republic is 
to wipe out the debt by insolvency and bankruptcy.


PERU.

A strip of land with 1200 miles of sea coast, without a natural 
harbor, and 200 to 300 miles wide, consisting of a plain, mountains, a 
plateau, and still another range of mountains--this is Peru.

In the west, where the rain never falls, are numerous small rivers, 
to-day mountain torrents, to-morrow dry, rocky beds.

Between the lofty ranges of snow mountains is the highest plateau in 
the world, after Thibet. The southern part of this plateau is dry and 
desolate, the northern portion is well watered, with beautiful streams 
running now through deep cañons and then through rich, fertile valleys 
steadily descending toward the northeast; the valleys growing ever 
broader, warmer and more delightful, until the montaña is reached, 
only a few hundred feet above the Atlantic, where the streams have 
become rivers, navigable to the ocean.

The western slope of the mountains is dry and barren, so that 
breadstuffs and provisions are imported from Ecuador on the north, or 
from lower Chili, far to the south. Yet no other country has 
contributed so much to the world's fertility; for here are the great 
deposits of guano and nitrates, more valuable than mines of gold and 
silver. These deposits yielded for over thirty years a net annual 
revenue of $20,000,000.

The eastern slope, rich and fertile, producing every tree and flower, 
all fruits and vegetables grown in any part of the world; in the 
mountains, mines of gold and silver, platinum and cinnabar, copper and 
tin, lead and iron, coal and petroleum, nitrates and asphalt: a 
bankrupt nation in the midst of untold wealth--such is Peru.

To bring the minerals down to the ocean, tens of millions of dollars 
were expended on thirteen roads; but though none of them were ever 
finished, they reached a few of the poorer mines. Seven of these roads 
were built by the government, the others by private parties.

{23} The sales of guano and the production of gold and silver made 
Peru a proud and wealthy nation. Everything prospered until the war 
with Chili, from 1879 to 1883, ending in the defeat of Peru and the 
loss of a portion of her territory, including a large part of her 
guano deposit. She was unable to keep her railroads in operation, much 
less to extend them, or to pay the interest on her bonds; and thus 
bankruptcy followed defeat. At last, after fourteen years of default 
and six years of negotiation, a contract was concluded with Peru by 
Mr. M. P. Grace, of New York, in January, 1890, on behalf of the 
bondholders. The bondholders became concessionaires, and in 
consideration of the release of the bonded debt due to them by Peru, 
receive valuable concessions, of money, of mines, of railroads, of 
lands and of guano. These concessions include among other things a 
government subsidy of $400,000 a year, secured from the customs of 
Callao; the mines of Cerro de Pasco, which have yielded a yearly 
average of $2,000,000 for over one hundred years; the entire railway 
system (769 miles in length) of the state; a grant of 5,000,000 acres 
for the extension of the Lake Titicaca railroad; a grant of 4,500,000 
acres for the extension of the Central or Oroya railroad to the 
navigable waters of the Ucayala, one of the main tributaries of the 
Amazon; the exclusive control of the guano deposit until 2,000,000 
tons have been sold, from which they expect to sell at least 80,000 
tons a year, which will net $1,000,000. The concessionaires on their 
part agree to liquidate the Peruvian debt, to repair the railroads, 
and construct 974 miles in extension of the existing system at an 
estimated cost of $16,000,000, and to assume certain other obligations 
to a limited amount.

This, perhaps the most remarkable settlement ever made between a 
bankrupt nation and its creditor, is due largely to Mr. Grace, and 
cannot fail to develop the resources of Peru and restore her days of 
prosperity.


TRADE RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES.

It appears from the foregoing statement that all the carrying trade to 
and from South America, by water, is by foreign steamers; that only 
four of these are American lines; that the railroads are generally 
owned and operated by Englishmen; that the bankers and merchants are 
Englishmen or Germans; that {24} many of the mines, cattle ranches, 
coffee plantations and other estates are owned by non-resident 
foreigners; and that the largest consumer of South American products 
is the United States, although this country sells few of its 
manufactures and products to South America.

The English steamers, in the usual course of trade, load with English 
dry-goods consigned to English houses in South America, where they are 
sold and the proceeds invested in coffee and other products, which are 
sent in the same vessels to the United States; there sold, and the 
money invested in our produce for carriage to England. The English 
therefore obtain the profits on manufacture, on the freight to South 
America, on the sale of the goods in South America, on the freight 
from South America to the United States, on the sale of those goods, 
and finally on the freight of the American breadstuffs carried to 
Europe. For the successful prosecution of any trade between two 
countries, it is essential that each shall produce what the other 
wants: Thus, we raise breadstuffs which are not grown on the Caribbean 
sea nor in the valley of the Amazon, nor in Peru or upper Chili, and 
we also manufacture goods required in all parts of South America, 
where they have few factories; there, coffee, wool, India rubber, 
cacao and other articles are produced, which we require. Here, 
therefore, are the factors necessary for a prosperous trade. Such a 
trade we formerly enjoyed with South America: In 1852, six hundred 
United States vessels entered the harbor of Buenos Ayres, or more than 
twice as many as those of all other nations combined; now only two per 
cent. of the shipping entering that harbor belongs to us. Our war 
came, iron steamers took the place of wooden sailing ships, we levied 
a duty on coffee and rubber, South America levied a duty on our 
manufactures, other countries subsidized lines of steamers, while we 
refused all subsidies; and our trade with South America rapidly fell 
off, as freights were carried cheaper in foreign than in American 
ships, and the trade of South America passed from the United States to 
England, Germany and France.

It is said that we cannot regain this trade, because we cannot, 
without protection maintain our own manufactures, much less compete 
with the Europeans in an open market; and therefore that it will be a 
waste of money to subsidize our vessels. But the larger the market the 
cheaper we can manufacture, and we can {25} surely find a large and 
new market for our breadstuffs. It is worth while to make the 
experiment at least, to give our vessels the same subsidy and 
protection that has been given to the European lines, and to our 
merchants and bankers, an opportunity to regain the trade with South 
America. At first the odds will be greatly against us; but if we show 
the same energy and ability in cultivating trade with South America 
that our fathers exhibited, and that we have shown in other 
directions, we must ultimately succeed.

It is now proposed to tax the products of South America, unless the 
South American states reciprocate and admit our breadstuffs and 
manufactures free. If this scheme can be carried out, a large and 
prosperous commerce will be established between North America and 
South America, and American houses will be started in the large cities 
to dispose of our manufactures and ship the products to South America. 
By this interchange, our manufacturers and farmers will find a market 
for their goods and products, our mercantile navy freight for its 
vessels, and our bankers and merchants a profitable business in the 
large cities of South America.


RAILROADS.

We have already referred to the several railroads which start from the 
little ports on the Pacific coast and run up the valleys toward the 
Andes. Three of these, among the most remarkable roads in the world, 
ascend to a greater elevation than any others, and to a height which 
in Europe or the United States, would be above the snow level. They 
were intended to reach the gold and silver mines between the Andes and 
Cordilleras.

The first, called the Oroya or Central railroad, 111 miles in length, 
starts from Callao on the Pacific, and crosses the Andes, at an 
elevation of nearly 15,000 feet, to the plateau between the Andes and 
the Cordilleras. It is expected that this road will be extended to the 
navigable waters of the Amazon.

Three hundred miles southward, the second road runs from Mollendo, 
Peru, by Arequipa to Puno on Lake Titicaca, and thence northward on 
the plateau 407 miles to San Rosas, on the route to Cuzco. The road 
from Mollendo to Arequipa runs through a country so destitute of water 
that the only supply for {26} the engines and stations is by an iron 
pipe 8 inches in diameter, and 50 miles long, running from an 
elevation of 7,000 feet to the sea-coast.

Seven or eight hundred miles south of Mollendo, a line runs from 
Valparaiso in Chili to Buenos Ayres, 870 miles. It crosses the Andes 
through a tunnel two miles long, at an elevation of 10,568 feet above 
the sea; after leaving the mountains it runs over the pampas two 
hundred miles, without a curve or a grade over three feet above or 
below the plain, and will soon be completed from ocean to ocean.

From Rio de Janeiro several roads have been constructed over the 
mountains west of that city to different parts of Brazil. One of these 
runs westwardly toward Bolivia.

Bolivia has recently granted concessions for the construction of a 
road from La Paz to connect on the west with the Peruvian roads at 
Lake Titicaca, and on the east with the Brazilian lines on the 
Pacific; and thus ultimately a road will run from Mollendo on the 
Atlantic ocean by Lake Titicaca and La Paz to Rio de Janeiro.

There are now from 6000 to 7000 miles of road in operation in the 
Argentine Republic, 5000 to 6000 in Brazil, and 3000 to 4000 miles in 
the other states, making a total of about 15,000 miles of railroad in 
operation.

A proposition is now before the public for the construction of the 
Pan-American railroad, from the Caribbean sea southward to the 
Argentine Republic to connect with the Peruvian, with the Brazilian, 
and ultimately with the Argentine roads.

The route that seems to be most feasible starts at Cartagena, where 
there is a splendid bay and harbor, within three days sail from 
Galveston and six days from New York. It follows the valley of the 
Magdalena river 800 miles to Dividal, 1700 feet above the sea. Here, 
near the head waters of the Magdalena, the route crosses the eastern 
Cordilleras at an elevation of about 6,500 feet to the head waters of 
the Caqueta, or Yapura, a branch of the Amazon, and thence runs down 
that river 375 miles to the mouth of the Engarros, only 550 feet above 
tide-water. From the Caqueta river, the route passes through Ecuador 
to Iquitos, Peru, crossing fourteen tributaries of the Amazon. From 
Iquitos the route ascends the Amazon and the Ucayle, one of its 
southern tributaries, 500 miles to Napal, then continues across the 
montaña {27} and the numerous valleys of the Amazon about 600 miles, 
to Santa Cruz in Bolivia, or 2400 miles from Cartagena; while a branch 
will run up the Apurimac to Cuzco.

This road would run for 2000 miles along the foot hills of the 
Cordilleras, and in these mountains is probably the richest mining 
region in the world; here gold, silver, copper, lead and coal mines 
are found. The gold and silver mines do not seem to have been 
thoroughly explored, although untold millions of the precious metals 
have been extracted from them. These mines are generally in cold and 
treeless regions, where coal, labor and food are difficult to obtain; 
where freights are high and machinery of all kinds most expensive. 
This road would greatly facilitate the opening and working of these 
mines, and not only make them profitable but develop a large and 
lucrative traffic.

Much of Bolivia is above the navigable waters of the Amazon, and many 
of its provinces are now land-locked and almost isolated from 
communication with the outer world. The proposed road would cross many 
branches of the Amazon, and thus connect with fifty thousand miles of 
navigable waters, at least 9000 of which are above Iquitos; and it is 
claimed that the business from 20,000 miles of navigable waters would 
find by this route a nearer outlet to Europe and America than by Para.

There is every variety of climate on the route. The valley of the 
Magdalena is sultry; every afternoon the water grows tepid, and the 
stones burning hot, in the sun's rays. In crossing the Cordilleras the 
cool breezes of the mountains are met. The road then descends into the 
valley of the Amazon, through a rich and not unhealthy region, though 
it has the damp, hot, climate of a tropical country, and thence passes 
through the montaña district, which is generally high, healthy and 
fertile.

This country, under a wise government, is capable of sustaining an 
immense population and giving abundant support to such a railroad; but 
it is now unexplored, excepting the valleys of the navigable rivers, 
and is uninhabited save by wild and savage Indians, though these are 
not numerous.

The route up the Magdalena may be expensive by reason of the climate, 
but not otherwise. The road in the mountain district will necessarily 
be costly, and also in the sierras, because it must {28} cross the 
numerous branches of the Amazon, and the precipitous mountains between 
the valleys, and from the difficulty of obtaining labor and material 
for construction. Mr. Orton, who crossed from one branch of the Napo 
to another, says:

"We crossed the stream and the intervening ridges, and their name is 
legion; sometimes we were climbing up an almost vertical ascent, then 
descending into a deep dark ravine to find a furious river, while on 
the lowlands the path seemed lost in the dense bamboos, until the 
Indians opened a passage with their machetes and we crept under the 
low arcade of foliage."

Even if the railroad were built, almost all the produce of the Amazon 
and montaña country could be carried more cheaply by water to Para 
than by rail to Cartagena; while goods from England and America would 
be carried cheaper by steamer to the Isthmus of Panama, and thence to 
all ports on the Pacific ocean, than by steamer to Cartagena and up 
the Magdalena across the Andes to the valley of the Amazon, and then a 
second time across the Andes to the Pacific ocean. The greater part of 
the business to and from the mines would be by the railroad.

At present, as there could not be sufficient business to pay the 
operating expenses of such a road, it must rely on government 
subsidies to build and operate it.

Those who have given the most consideration to the subject say that 
the road need not be an expensive one to operate, and in the important 
element of time it would have a great advantage over the route via 
Para. As a means of promoting the settlement of the country and 
developing commerce, which cannot exist without population, the 
railroad would seem to be a necessity, for navigation has neither 
opened the country nor brought in emigrants and we may fairly assume 
that it will not suffice in the future.


CONCLUSION.

In conclusion I will quote from two writers on tropical America. 
Buckle says:

"Amidst the pomp and splendor of nature, no place is left for man; he 
is reduced to insignificance by the majesty with which he is 
surrounded. The forces that oppose are so formidable that he has never 
been able to make head against them.

"The energies of nature have hampered his spirit; nowhere else is the 
contrast so painful between the grandeur of the external world and 
{29} the littleness of the internal, and the mind, cowed by this 
unequal struggle, has been unable to advance.

"Here, where physical resources are the most powerful, where 
vegetation and animals are most abundant, where the soil is watered by 
the noblest rivers and the coast studded by the finest harbors, the 
profusion of nature has hindered social progress and opposed that 
accumulation of wealth without which progress is impossible."

Mr. Bates, the naturalist, after a residence of many years on the 
Amazon, closes his book as follows:

"The superiority of the bleak north to tropical regions is only in its 
social aspects, for I hold to the opinion that although humanity can 
reach an advanced state of culture only by battling with the 
inclemency of nature in high latitudes, it is under the equator alone 
that the perfect race of the future will attain to complete fruition 
of man's beautiful heritage, the earth."

_Washington, January, 1891_.


{30}




VOL. III, PP. 31-40, APRIL 30, 1891

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE




GEOGRAPHY OF THE LAND

ANNUAL REPORT BY VICE-PRESIDENT

HERBERT G. OGDEN




[Illustration: National Geographic Society seal]




WASHINGTON

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Price 25 Cents.


{31}


VOL. III, PP. 31-40, APRIL 30, 1891

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE




GEOGRAPHY OF THE LAND.

ANNUAL REPORT BY VICE-PRESIDENT

HERBERT G. OGDEN.

(_Presented to the Society January 23, 1891_.)


Very few of the geographic events of the past year have been of such 
an essential nature as to require a reference in this report, and yet 
some of them are of surpassing interest. Fraught, as many of them are, 
with policies that must have a marked influence in the future in 
developing the still uncivilized regions and increasing the prosperity 
of the established communities, they present a field for research that 
has already attracted the political economist, enlisted the labor of 
the philanthropist, and excited the cupidity of commerce.

       *       *       *       *       *

The division of Africa, as commonly referred to, has naturally aroused 
the most profound attention of all civilized peoples. But few have 
attempted to penetrate the darkness of the future with predictions of 
the ultimate results of the partition of this great continent. That 
civilization will eventually follow, we may feel reasonably assured; 
and if we could but see the end in the establishment of powerful 
nations without the repetition of history in the quarrels, strife, and 
war that have preceded the settled order of political progression on 
other continents, we might well hope the human had improved his 
humanity and believe we had entered the border land of the millennium 
that enthusiasts have so long held up to us as the final stage in the 
progress of man.

{32} The professions of the African powers are peaceful, but in the 
division of these unknown millions of square miles it requires but 
little penetration to discern the elements for protracted strife in 
future generations. The agreement between Germany and England, by far 
the most important of the compacts to extend the protection of 
European nations to particular zones not embraced in the Kongo Free 
State, exemplifies in a marked degree the disputes that may arise, and 
with what avidity the civilized nations have sought mutual recognition 
of their right to dominate in specified spheres. As might have been 
expected, however, in an attempt to divide great areas that have not 
even been mapped, and with an economic value still to be determined, 
the boundaries of the spheres are oftentimes indefinite, and instead 
of settling disputed questions, but defer them to the generations yet 
to come. There are colonies, protectorates, and spheres of influence, 
with boundaries sometimes so ill defined that we may conceive they 
have been purposely left indeterminate, that at the proper time the 
most powerful may push their frontiers to include regions that the 
adventurous may proclaim desirable acquisitions.

The area of Africa is computed at nearly 12,000,000 square miles; and 
about 9,500,000 square miles are claimed by the powers as under their 
control, protectorate, or influence within the tentative boundaries 
that seem to have been very generally agreed upon. Fully 83 per cent. 
of this area has been acquired during the past fifteen years. We have 
seen during this period the possessions of Spain increase from 3,500 
to 200,000 square miles; England, from 280,000 to 2,000,000; France, 
from 280,000 to 2,300,000, while Italy and Germany, that were without 
a square rod a few years ago, now claim extensive areas--Italy about 
360,000 and Germany over 1,000,000 square miles. Portugal, though not 
less grasping, seems to have been less successful, as she has acquired 
less than 100,000 square miles. Perhaps having encountered a more 
powerful nation in her path may account for this, but the total area 
within her "sphere" is nevertheless not insignificant, reaching as it 
does over three-quarters of a million of square miles. In the Kongo 
Free State we find another million square miles, which many believe 
will ultimately become a Belgian colony; but in any event, occupying 
as it does the larger part of the basin of the Kongo, it is destined 
to be the scene of an activity in the development of the continent 
fruitful of the most important results.

{33} We must remember, too, that England now occupies Egypt, and that 
with her protectorate over Zanzibar and her sphere of influence to the 
northward of that state, that has not yet been limited, it is not 
improbable that she will eventually reach the Mediterranean, 
establishing a more extended influence in northern Africa than even 
that which she has exerted over the southern end of the continent. 
Should England's influence in the north result in the occupation of 
all the territory that is apparently within her "sphere," we may 
conceive some of the complications likely to arise, and see the 
realization of the proviso in the recent Anglo-German agreement 
granting her the right of way to build a railroad through the German 
sphere east of Lake Tanganyika. Englishmen have expressed grave doubts 
as to the wisdom of conceding to Germany this large territory east of 
Lake Tanganyika, claiming it was rightfully theirs through discovery, 
and as they are estopped from intercommunication to the westward of 
the lake by the boundaries of the Kongo Free State, view with alarm 
the possible intricacies of the situation when they may attempt to 
exercise their rights in the German sphere. But doubtless there are 
compensating advantages derived from the agreement, as many earnest 
and able men commend the concessions made by their government in view 
of the greater influence that has been acquired in other regions where 
it has not heretofore been generally conceded.

South of the Zambesi there are still other elements that promise fruit 
for strife ere the region is recognized as settled to the satisfaction 
of the contending powers. Boundaries now but illy defined must be 
adjusted before the venturous pioneers shall know to which nation 
their lands belong, and we may well foresee in the sections where 
exploration develops riches and abundance that the peaceful measures 
of arbitration will fail to satisfy the claims to dominance. We have, 
too, an element in the south African republic that must ere long find 
vent in a more pronounced movement to secure a seaport than that made 
a few years ago. The fact that Delagoa bay, the finest harbor on this 
section of the African coast, is the natural outlet for these people 
and for the extensive regions adjacent that may eventually come under 
their control, points to this bay becoming a bone of contention if the 
powers interested do not conclude the present arbitration on a just 
and satisfactory basis. On the lower Niger there are also points of 
friction, and even the sands of the great {34} Sahara are becoming the 
subject of dispute in the anxiety to establish power that may wield an 
influence in distributing the wealth that may be found.

From what regions of the continent the future wealth is to be derived 
we cannot predict. The uncertainty is, perhaps, the consideration in 
the problem of development that leaves vast areas with undefined 
boundaries, though nominally within the sphere of influence of a 
specified power. There are fully 2,000,000 square miles yet to be 
explored before we may know the general geographic features of the 
continent, and a much larger area that must be examined and studied by 
experts before any reasonable estimate of its value and adaptability 
to the schemes of civilized man can be approached. The great strides 
that have been made in recent years in seizing upon the unclaimed 
territories doubtless received the larger impetus from the revelations 
in Mr. Stanley's explorations. The Kongo is recognized to be a natural 
highway leading to a region believed to be susceptible of remunerative 
development. Preparations have been made to construct a railroad 
around the falls in the lower river to overcome the greatest practical 
obstacle to its fullest utilization. We may reasonably expect 
commercial enterprises on extensive scales to speedily follow the 
completion of this road and hasten the acquisition of a more perfect 
knowledge of the Kongo basin, not within the boundaries of the Kongo 
Free State alone, but also the region drained by the great tributaries 
from the north and the sections naturally dependent upon this great 
river system.

The Kongo is but one line on which the general advance is being made 
upon the interior of the continent. The French seem determined upon 
extending their influence on the northern and western coasts, and the 
Portuguese, English, Germans, and Italians are pronounced in their 
efforts on the eastern coast, while the English are careful, too, of 
their interests from the south, and seem to have almost unlimited 
scope north of Victoria Nyanza. The progress of the advancing 
colonization will necessarily be accelerated or retarded by the 
geographic conditions encountered in the different regions. In some, 
it may be the difficulty of maintaining communication with older 
settlements; in others, that the land is unproductive or the probable 
gains not sufficiently attractive; and lastly, the great density of 
the native population in certain districts is likely to prove a 
hindrance that it may require many years to overcome. On the lower 
Niger, in {35} the British west African colony, in Egypt, in Natal, on 
the shores of Lake Victoria Nyanza, and in parts of the Kongo basin, 
it is estimated that the native population is nearly as dense as in 
India; but the climatic conditions are so unfavorable that it is not 
probable that any attempt will be made to advance in these regions for 
a more serious purpose than to maintain a foothold for the future. The 
more attractive districts for the white man are thought to be much 
less populous, and are not scourged with such an unhealthy climate.

Even now the nations of Europe are planning to enter these great 
unknown fields. There is an expedition on the western coast, under the 
explorer Cameron, investigating the conditions for trade; and the 
rumors of the organization of wealthy companies to work in the several 
"spheres of influence" but impress upon us the fact that the Old World 
is moving to lay bare the resources of the great continent, and we may 
hope with an energy that will overcome all obstacles, open new fields 
to mankind, and relieve the nations of the horrors of human traffic in 
which they have been too long encouraged. But it would be vain to hope 
there will be no bloodshed, for where man has great rival interests 
history teaches us they are settled by the sword; and we can hardly 
believe the peaceful methods of arbitration will have gained such sway 
as to rob history in her predictions as to the regeneration of 
"darkest Africa."

       *       *       *       *       *

On the western hemisphere also there have been events of most 
interesting import, in that they foreshadow a closer union of the 
people of the two continents. Unlike Africa, in that this hemisphere 
has been under the control of the more intelligent races of men for 
several generations, so that discovery and the cruelties attending the 
establishment of supremacy are virtually questions of the past, the 
interests involved are on a different plane, though not on a higher 
moral sphere, as we can conceive no greater Christian duty than the 
regeneration of the uncivilized, but a sphere affecting the relations 
of established communities that for generations have been wielding an 
influence in the world's history on principles recognized to be the 
product of civilization. The metes and bounds of the states are well 
defined, with few exceptions, and the ambition for territorial 
accretion has been so greatly subdued by the misfortunes of their 
earlier histories, that the time seems to be propitious for {36} 
advancing those greater questions of public policy that naturally 
arise from their community of interests. The proposition to convene a 
Pan-American congress was for several years viewed with suspicion, and 
was even designated by some as chimerical, but the suggestion took 
root. Many thoughtful men believed such a conference would lead to a 
better understanding between the people of the states represented, and 
that, while the fruits might not be made immediately apparent, the 
foundation would be laid for lasting benefits. The interest manifested 
by the different nations and the high character of the representatives 
they sent to the conference clearly indicated that deliberations were 
to be undertaken in good faith. We need not follow the deliberations 
of this body, nor even revert to the many questions discussed. Since 
the adjournment we are beginning to appreciate some of the results. 
The recent establishment of the "Bureau of the American Republics" is 
one of the first practical evidences of work accomplished. This bureau 
is maintained by proportionate contributions from the nations 
represented in the congress, and is intended to be the medium for 
collecting and disseminating information on commercial, industrial, 
and cognate subjects. If we consider the different characteristics of 
the people of the two continents--their manners, customs and methods 
of business--we can readily conceive the bureau has before it a labor 
of no little magnitude, but one that, fairly accomplished, cannot fail 
to be beneficial and of lasting value.

Further evidence of the work of the congress is apparent in the 
organization of a commission of experts to project the 
long-contemplated inter-continental railway--a scheme that, dependent 
upon individual effort, would doubtless require many years for 
accomplishment, but undertaken under international auspices we may 
hope will be pressed to a speedy conclusion.

The assembly of delegates to consider a monetary unit for the 
republics of the two continents is also the result of the congress. 
The progress of this conference will doubtless be watched with 
peculiar interest, coming as it does when our own people are in the 
midst of a reactionary effort to habilitate silver as a standard coin.

The revolution a year ago that gave birth to the United States of 
Brazil, it was feared by many would lead to a state of anarchy that 
would end disastrously to the new nation and perhaps involve 
neighboring states. Fortunately these forebodings have {37} not been 
realized, and the recent general election in Brazil, which seems to 
have been conducted without violence, has caused a feeling of 
confidence that we may well believe will continue and permit this 
great state to enter heartily into the new era of material development 
that seems opening to our sister republics.

       *       *       *       *       *

Work on the construction of the Nicaragua canal has steadily 
progressed during the year. A harbor for light-draft vessels has been 
constructed at San Juan del Norte, and satisfactory progress has been 
made in constructing the railway designed to facilitate the work of 
excavation. It has been hoped by the friends of this project that the 
canal would be constructed with funds raised by private subscription. 
The admirable management of the preliminary work of surveying and 
organization were good grounds for their belief; but the bill recently 
introduced in Congress asking a guarantee for one hundred millions of 
bonds to be issued, indicates that expectations of friends were too 
sanguine, and that the financial backing that had been believed to be 
assured has for some reason not been developed. This may be only a 
temporary alarm, due to the general financial stringency that has 
prevailed during the past few months, and on the recurrence of an 
easier money market the necessity for the relief asked from Congress 
will disappear.

       *       *       *       *       *

The Panama canal project, supposed to have been abandoned in hopeless 
financial ruin, has recently been revived, with new concessions 
extending the period for construction, and, it is currently reported, 
a scheme for a colossal lottery company for raising the means for 
prosecuting the work. It seems incredible that this canal shall become 
a fact in this generation; but if it is the feasible route its 
projectors claim, it is not improbable that the demands of a future 
generation may necessitate its construction.

       *       *       *       *       *

A year ago I commented upon the improvement of the Mississippi river. 
Since then one of the greatest floods on record has visited the lower 
river country, devastating a large area. It brought to the settlers in 
the valley, however, a new experience, and has inspired them with a 
confidence in the levée system that finds expression in the demand for 
levées of approved construction from Cairo to the Gulf. The flood of a 
year ago covered many square miles. A large proportion of the area, 
{38} however, was not protected by levées, and another large 
proportion was only partially protected; and while, therefore, the 
disaster impressed the general public with a belief that the levées 
were a failure, the facts really point to the contrary. In former 
notable floods it has not been unusual for one hundred or more miles 
of levée to be washed away before the flood subsided, but on the 
recent occasion there was a total length of less than five miles 
destroyed in some 1,100 miles of levée that had been believed to be 
safe. This is a remarkable showing, and has naturally inspired the 
advocates of the system with greater confidence. It points to the 
possibility of constructing levées at a reasonable expense that will 
stand the pressure of water for the height that it has been computed 
necessary to build them. There is a grave doubt, however, in the minds 
of some as to whether the computed heights, the levées holding intact, 
will afford sufficient cross-section to carry off the volume of water 
draining from the catchment basins. Some interesting computations on 
this subject have recently been made by General Greely, the chief 
signal officer,[1] from observations made during an extended period.

[Footnote 1: North American Review, May, 1890.]

The question raised is not a new one, but, considered in the light of 
the statistics presented, seems to involve the problem of the 
improvement of the river with increasing difficulties. General 
Greely's figures indicate that the cross-section of the lower river 
will only permit carrying to the sea a volume of about sixty cubic 
miles of water during an ordinary flood season, and that in the 
extraordinary flood years, such as 1882 and 1890, the volume to be 
carried down is about eighty cubic miles, showing an excess of about 
twenty cubic miles over the capacity of the river in a specified time. 
These figures should be taken in the nature of a warning; and while it 
must be admitted that the intricacy of the problem precludes 
precision, their probable reliability should be carefully studied 
before an extended levée system is built intended to guarantee 
protection against exceptional floods.

       *       *       *       *       *

During recent years the complex and perplexing subject of geographic 
nomenclature has received the careful consideration of a number of the 
European nations, with a view to reaching a uniformity in treatment 
and the transliteration of names of unwritten languages into Roman 
characters. England, France, and {39} Germany have adopted 
substantially the same system of rules. Recent publications from these 
countries evidence the intention to apply them as rapidly as 
circumstances will permit. Although we may rebel at first on seeing 
such familiar names as Cairo spelled with a K, Mecca with double k, 
and Muscat converted into Maskat, it is believed the general 
principles adopted will eventually receive acquiescence--perhaps 
half-hearted at first--and as the utility of the system becomes more 
apparent through its universal adoption and we realize that maps from 
whatever nation will give us the names of the same places in 
substantially the same form, our prejudices must give way.

Under the provisions of an executive order issued on the fourth of 
September last, our own Government has virtually adopted the European 
system in the treatment of foreign names, thus bringing us in accord 
with the principal nations upon a most important subject to students 
and geographers the world over. The executive order constitutes a 
board composed of ten representatives from different departments and 
bureaus of the Government service, to which all questions relating to 
the work of the board that may arise in the departments are to be 
referred, and requires all persons in the Government service to 
respect the decisions that may be rendered. The board in its first 
bulletin, recently issued, has announced its adoption of the English 
system for the treatment of foreign names and transliteration into 
Roman characters, and has presented principles to guide in reaching 
decisions affecting home names. These principles will doubtless be 
added to as new questions arise, so that at no very distant day we may 
see formulated a set of rules that will be instructive as well as 
useful in their application. The first bulletin seems to have been 
received favorably, and we may hope, as the work of the board advances 
and the importance of the subject is more generally realized, that it 
will gain the hearty endorsement of the public and a support that must 
largely increase the usefulness of its labors.

       *       *       *       *       *

In conclusion, permit me to congratulate the society upon its first 
attempt at scientific exploration in the field. The Mount St. Elias 
expedition, under the leadership of Mr. I. C. Russell, with Mr. Mark 
B. Kerr as topographer, left Seattle, Washington, in June last, and 
after spending more than two months on the mountain sides, one-half 
their time above the snow line, have {40} returned with notes, 
specimens, and data of the greatest interest. The topography was 
sketched over an area of about one thousand square miles, and includes 
the determination of the geographical position and elevation of Mount 
St. Elias and many neighboring peaks. Mount St. Elias is indicated to 
be not so high by some 4,000 feet as the heretofore accepted 
elevation, 19,500 feet. The difficulties attending the determination 
of the height of this mountain are so great that the range between the 
extreme elevations that have been given by different explorers is 
nearly 6,000 feet. This is believed to be the first height for it that 
has been derived from a carefully measured base, and it therefore 
should receive great weight. But I regret to say that in the chain of 
triangles connecting with the top of the mountain, the difficulty of 
placing well-conditioned triangles seems to have been so great that 
the observers were forced to accept very small included angles, which 
necessarily casts a doubt upon the resulting distances. We must 
therefore accept the new elevation with caution until it is verified 
by further observations.

The party was unfortunately prevented from reaching the top of Mount 
St. Elias by severe storms, but the ascent was so nearly accomplished 
that Mr. Russell is confident he found a practicable route; and it 
seems probable that had he been started ten days or two weeks earlier 
the first ascent of Mount St. Elias would have been recorded as a part 
of the work of the expedition.

The full report of this expedition is now nearing completion, and will 
be published by the Society at an early date. To this I must refer you 
for the interesting details, and experiences encountered by the 
explorers.

The expedition was organized by the Society, but in congratulating 
ourselves we should not forget that our thanks are due to the United 
States Geological Survey for the assignment of officers to conduct the 
work in the field and for assistance rendered in the organization; and 
we may hope the substantial results that have been secured will prove 
as pleasing to that great national work as they are to your board of 
managers.

_Washington, January 23, 1891_.




VOL. III, PP. 41-52, MAY 1, 1891

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE




GEOGRAPHY OF THE AIR

ANNUAL REPORT BY VICE-PRESIDENT

A. W. GREELY




[Illustration: National Geographic Society seal]




WASHINGTON

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Price 25 Cents.


{41}


VOL. III, PP. 41-52, MAY 1, 1891

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE




GEOGRAPHY OF THE AIR.

ANNUAL REPORT BY VICE-PRESIDENT

A. W. GREELY.

(_Presented to the Society January 23, 1891._)


In fulfilling the duties growing out of his official position in 
connection with this Society, your Vice-President of the Geography of 
the Air has been so closely occupied with executive and other official 
duties devolving upon him as to preclude his giving that amount of 
time and labor to this annual report that the subject merits. Indeed, 
no report would be submitted this year had it not seemed better to 
insure a continuity of these annual addresses, even if one of them 
might not be up to the high standard which should be maintained for 
them.

It must have impressed every general reader of scientific journals 
that the past year has been marked by the publication of an unusual 
number of controversial articles relating entirely or in part to 
meteorology. Some of the discussions of this subject appear to be in 
the nature of speculation, which, by good authority, is defined to be 
"chiefly the work of the imagination, and has little to do with 
realities." The status of the meteorological discussion which has been 
going on for some time seems to be this: A number of men, applying 
themselves to investigation in separate branches or stages of the same 
science, are attempting to reconcile their views, which, based as they 
are upon entirely different processes of investigation, are not 
entirely accordant. Some, at least, of these writers are still 
apparently groping in the preliminary, the "natural history" stage of 
the {42} science of meteorology, while one alone stands as the 
exponent of the "natural philosophy" of meteorology.

To me it seems that it could not have failed to impress any interested 
reader who has followed the late publications on the convectional 
theory that, in order to clear the ground for definite meteorological 
discussion, it is necessary to determine the exact meaning of the 
various technical terms employed by the various writers. Whether from 
looseness of verbiage originally or from the not infrequent habit of 
disputants when worsted to change their ground by claiming to be 
misunderstood, we find that some writers are unwilling either to stand 
by their first criticisms or to openly abandon them; they prefer to 
explain away their defective statements and gradually shift around to 
positions almost diametrically opposed to those originally assumed.

The generally accepted theory as to cyclones attributes their 
initiatory formation to an unequal distribution of temperature with 
resulting mean diminution of pressure, and the movement of the air 
from places of high to places of low pressure, the lower air ascending 
with a gyratory motion, while air particles moving from opposite 
directions form couples which produce rotation. When energetic motions 
raise the ascending air to such a height that the temperature, cooled 
dynamically in ascending, goes below the dew-point, then the great 
store of latent heat thereby set free becomes, it is assumed, the main 
source of energy in maintaining the upward convectional movement. The 
subsidiary causes are attributed to the diminution of pressure on the 
collapse of the vapor, and also to the direct absorption of the sun's 
heat at the upper cloud surface.

In anticyclones a slow gyratory descending motion of the air is 
assumed. Ferrel considers the cyclone and anticyclone one system, and 
believes that air flowing into the cyclone from a "high" at the ground 
passes out into the higher atmospheric strata.

Dr. Hann has put forth the hypothesis that the genesis of cyclones and 
anticyclones may be sought in the general atmospheric circulation 
through a difference of temperature of the air from the equator to the 
poles. He speaks of a congestion in the upper or anti-trade winds, 
where the air heaps up to a great height, this being the cause of the 
anticyclones; and he maintains that the low temperature of the "high" 
is due to ground radiation, and that no part of the high pressure is 
the result of low temperature.

{43} To this hypothesis of Dr. Hann, ascribing the genesis of storms 
to the general circulation of the atmosphere, no application of the 
laws of dynamics has yet been made with a view of developing it into 
an acceptable "theory." If it should be established it does not follow 
that it will in any way affect the truth of the commonly accepted 
"convectional system," which, founded as it is on the well-known laws 
of thermo-dynamics, is not likely to be successfully assailed. There 
may be an improved nomenclature for the laws of statics and dynamics 
that will express to the mind more clearly the relation of cause and 
effect; but until the advance of scientific research modifies the 
present formulation of these laws the convectional theory will be 
generally accepted as giving the true interpretation of all the 
phenomena to which it could be applied.

Professor Russell, in commenting on this subject, expresses the 
opinion that the low temperature is due to the convective interchange 
of air at a low temperature in the upper strata with air of a high 
temperature in lower strata, such convective interchange tending to 
make the whole body of air of a temperature coinciding throughout with 
the adiabatic rate of upward diminution, with the consequent result of 
rendering the air at the surface of the earth cooler than previously 
and the upper air warmer. When the upward diminution of temperature is 
less than the adiabatic rate, in the forced circulation of air 
crossing a mountain ridge, there occurs the dynamic heating which is 
observed in the case of the foehn winds. The low temperature near the 
earth he does not believe could ever be entirely produced by nocturnal 
radiation from the ground. The high pressure, in his opinion, is 
largely the result of greater density due to low temperature, as is 
very clearly indicated by the fact that the temperature is almost 
inversely proportional to the pressure, and that the places of lower 
temperature substantially coincide with the places of greatest 
pressure.

In advancing hypotheses and inviting discussion the real object is, or 
at least should be, to discover the essential cause or causes which 
determine the initial formation and subsequent maintenance and 
progress of the cyclone. Some real progress in charting lines of equal 
density seems to have been made by M. Nils Ekholm following Professor 
Abbe's system of "isostaths," one using the term density, the other 
buoyancy. Professor Abbe also introduces the factor of the orographic 
gradient, but the {44} latter is simply the measure of a resistance. 
The objection to this form of determination is this, that it is a 
measure of mass only. The density of two masses of air is determined 
to be the same; but as the density may result from two entirely 
different causes, their physical relations cannot be fully expressed 
in units of gravity. The methods of Professor Abbe and of M. Nils 
Ekholm undoubtedly give good results, partly from the coincidence that 
humidity usually varies directly as the temperature.

The method proposed by Captain James Allen in 1888, which is briefly 
described in appendix 24 to the annual report of the Chief Signal 
Officer for 1890, appears to afford the means of more clearly 
expressing the relations that exist between the mass of the atmosphere 
and the forces available for the generation and movement of storms. 
Its tentative application at the Signal Office has anticipated and 
explained storm movements not indicated or accounted for by the usual 
methods.

As pertinent to this matter, there is instanced a study of the 
progress of thunder-storms made by Berg, who observes that the line of 
storm front in every case investigated made a decidedly conspicuous 
bend into the densest part of the lines representing the absolute 
humidity.

       *       *       *       *       *

Scientific conditions have so changed that in these later years it 
becomes more and more difficult for investigators to publish any work 
which may be characterized as _magnum opus_. Under this head, however, 
must be classed Buchan's important memoir on the distribution of 
atmospheric pressure, temperature, and wind direction over the whole 
world; a large quarto volume, which contains much new material. It has 
been incorporated with the results of observations during the 
Challenger expedition, in which series this work appears. The isobars 
and isotherms for each month in the year for the whole earth are 
charted on Mercator's projection, and for the northern hemisphere on a 
chart constructed on a polar projection. In connection with an 
abstruse subject, to which Buchan has paid so much attention, the 
diurnal variation of pressure, he opines from the Challenger 
observations that the oscillations are due to the heat taken from the 
solar rays directly in passing through the air and instantaneously 
communicated through the whole mass from top to bottom by heating and 
evaporation of water on innumerable dust particles. The afternoon 
minimum, he thinks, is caused by upward currents removing a portion of 
the lower air. Marked {45} differences exist between the continental 
and insular types, since on islands the morning minimum is unusually 
large and the afternoon minimum so small as to disappear, while in 
continental types the reverse conditions obtain.

       *       *       *       *       *

Werner Von Siemens, in answering Sprung's criticism on his general air 
currents, after repelling certain statements of Sprung, describes his 
own theories, which are worthy of restating:

1. All winds are caused by the disturbances of indifferent 
equilibrium, and the motion of the air is to restore equilibrium.

2. These disturbances are caused through overheating of the layers of 
air near the surface of the earth by insolation, through unsymmetrical 
cooling of the higher layers by radiation, and through the heaping up 
of air masses caused by obstructions.

3. The disturbances are adjusted by ascending currents, wherein the 
particular species of acceleration occurs in which the increase of 
velocity is proportioned to the diminution of pressure.

4. The upward currents correspond to equally great descending currents 
in which there is a decrease of velocity corresponding to the 
acceleration in the upward velocity.

5. If the region of overheating of the air is limited locally, a local 
upward current reaching to the highest layers of air arises, and 
whirlwinds appear with interior spirally ascending currents and 
outside similar spiral descending currents. The result of this is 
dispersion of the superfluous heat of the lower air by which the 
adiabatic equilibrium is disturbed throughout the whole column of air 
taking part in the whirling motion.

6. In case the region of disturbance of the indifferent (or adiabatic) 
equilibrium is very extensive, as, for example, the whole of the 
tropical zone, the temperature adjustment can no longer be 
accomplished by locally ascending whirls, and a whirling current must 
then arise involving the whole atmosphere. The same conditions apply 
to these as to the local whirls of accelerated upward motion and 
retarded descent in such a manner that the velocity at different 
altitudes arising from heat converted to work is approximately 
proportional to the prevailing pressure at the place.

7. In consequence of the meridional motion produced and maintained by 
conversion of heat into work, the whole atmosphere in every latitude 
must rotate with approximately the same absolute velocity. Thus the 
meridional currents produced by overheating combine with the currents 
embracing the whole {46} wind system of the earth, with the result of 
disseminating the excess of temperature and humidity of the torrid 
zone over the temperate and arctic zones, thereby producing the 
prevailing winds.

8. This is accomplished by the production of alternating local 
depressions and elevations of barometric pressure by the disturbance 
of indifferent equilibrium in the upper layers of the air.

9. "Highs" and "lows" are a consequence of the temperatures and 
velocities of the upper currents.

Whence it follows that the most important problem of meteorology is 
the investigation of the causes and consequences of the disturbance of 
indifferent equilibrium of the atmosphere, and the weightiest problem 
in weather prediction is the investigation of the geographical origin 
or extraction of air currents pursuing their course above us toward 
the pole.

       *       *       *       *       *

In Pomortsew's treatise on synoptic meteorology, published in Russia, 
there are full chapters on prediction of weather, whether from 
synoptic charts, from observations at a single place, or from 
prognostics of great length based on researches on the succession of 
warm and cold months. It also contains Pomortsew's investigations on 
the types of pressure distribution in eastern Europe, as well as the 
average path of cyclones.

       *       *       *       *       *

The favorable opportunities afforded by the Eiffel tower have been 
utilized by French meteorologists. M. Angot states that during the 
anti-cyclone of November, 1889, the temperature on the tower was 
several degrees higher than below. The change of weather set in 
earlier, with a strong and warm wind, on the tower, while the air at 
the ground was cold and calm. Wind observations on the tower show a 
ratio of 3.1 at that height (303 meters) to the velocity at a height 
of 21 meters, as determined from 101 days' observations, which, 
remarkable at such a small height, discloses the peculiarity of high 
mountain stations.

       *       *       *       *       *

Partsch, writing on evidence of climatic changes within historical 
times in the Mediterranean region, remarks that too much attention has 
been given to changes in crops, the introduction of plants, and the 
limits of domestic animals. He states that existing information as to 
the harvest time of ancient days indicates an unchanged climate, while 
the land-locked lakes in Tunis, which afford the best evidence on 
rainfall variation, show absolutely no climatic change.

       *       *       *       *       *

{47} Van Bebber, in writing on weather types, claims that a line drawn 
from the center of a cyclone perpendicularly in the direction of the 
heaviest gradients will in general be perpendicular to the subsequent 
path of the "low," and that these lows leave high temperature on the 
right hand.

       *       *       *       *       *

Hill, in describing hail-stones and tornadoes in India, explains them 
on the principle of the great diminution of temperature upwards in the 
air, but a critic, in combating this theory, objects to the high and 
low stations selected to show temperatures.

       *       *       *       *       *

The so-called "weather plant" of the tropics has passed through the 
process of investigation with the usual result. It appears surprising 
that in these days it should be believed that any plant or animal can 
foretell weather 48 hours in advance, particularly after considering 
the vast amount of proof as to the enormous rapidity with which 
weather-changes progress from day to day.

       *       *       *       *       *

Hugo Meyer, in treating the precipitation of central Germany for the 
ten years ending in 1885, pertinently remarks that the same 
significance does not attach to the same rainfall for all places and 
different times of the year, for this average value is not the amount 
most likely to fall in any particular interval of time, since there is 
a limit to the extent of the negative deviations on one side--that is, 
0 or no rainfall, while on the positive side there is no limit. The 
most probable depth of rainfall, therefore, is less than the mean 
value, the preponderance of negative over positive deviations being 
about 10 per cent. and sometimes as great as 20 per cent.

       *       *       *       *       *

Professor W. M. Davis wrote an interesting review of Professor 
Ferrel's popular treatise on the winds, published a year ago. 
Commenting on the review, the editor of _Meteorologische Zeltschrift_, 
Vienna, remarks on a very important omission in the treatise, namely, 
the absence of all reference to the diurnal variation of the wind and 
the many interesting relations it bears to other phenomena, a notable 
omission in a treatise specially devoted to winds. The treatment of 
the monsoon wind and its relation to the general circulation is highly 
commended by the editor, and indicated as being all new.

       *       *       *       *       *

Your Vice-President has elsewhere expressed his opinion that monsoon 
winds, applying the term by liberal construction to signify winds 
which recur with returning seasons, cannot with {48} any degree of 
correctness be asserted to prevail in the United States. It is true 
that the prevailing surface winds of the greater part of the United 
States come from the western quadrants--that is, between southwest and 
northwest--and so are in substantial harmony with the general 
atmospheric circulation as shown by the upper-wind currents of Mount 
Washington (from the northwest) and Pike's peak (from the southwest). 
But, apart from the easterly and northeasterly trades on the Florida 
coast, it appears from the records that in no case for any 
considerable section of the country do 50 per cent. of the winds blow, 
for any consecutive number of months, either from any single point or 
from two neighboring points of the compass. Occasionally, however, the 
local configuration of the country is such that winds are drawn up or 
down valleys, and, being diverted from their free and proper 
direction, the wind in such cases follows the trend of the valley or 
depression.

       *       *       *       *       *

In general your Vice-President would feel inclined to refer only 
casually to the work proceeding from the Bureau over which he has the 
honor to preside, but this year has been marked by special researches 
and investigations of general interest. As the work of investigation 
has been entrusted to the professors of the Signal Service, due credit 
should not be refused them from their own official chief.

Special reference should be made to the work of Professor Charles F. 
Marvin, whose successful experiments on wind pressures and velocities 
have attracted the attention of experts both in Europe and in this 
country. Unfortunately there was available only a small sum (about one 
hundred dollars) for the expense of experiments, but with this petty 
sum, supplemented by his ingenuity, Professor Marvin has very 
satisfactorily determined the coëfficients of the various forms of the 
Robinson anemometer, with which instrument the velocity of the wind is 
very generally determined. Following these investigations, the Royal 
Meteorological Society of England reopened the question, which, after 
a costly set of experiments with results widely differing from those 
of Professor Marvin, had been considered closed.

The general results of these researches, which are believed to be 
sufficiently definite for general questions, are not only prized by 
the scientist, but they are of value to the engineer and the builder. 
Indeed, to all interested in costly structures or extended works 
liable to harm from wind pressures, the factor of safety is {49} a 
matter of no small pecuniary importance. These experiments show that, 
as was formerly believed to be the case, the wind pressure varies as 
the square of the velocity of the wind, expressed in miles per hour; 
but a most important fact has developed, namely, that the pressure in 
pounds per square foot is equal to the miles of hourly velocity 
multiplied by 0.004 instead of 0.005, as was formerly assumed.

Professor Marvin was not content with one system of experiments, but 
he further attacked the problem in a direct manner by a method which 
checked and verified his experiments with the whirling machine. On the 
summit of Mount Washington, at an elevation of 6,300 feet, he obtained 
simultaneously and under the same conditions, by automatic and 
electrical apparatus, continuous registration of the pressure of the 
wind in pounds per square foot and of the velocity in miles per hour.

The results thus verified can be considered as conclusive from a 
general standpoint. The corrections for the Robinson anemometer thus 
determined from these experiments are comparatively unimportant at low 
velocities, say from 10 to 15 miles per hour, being only a fraction of 
a mile per hour. The uncorrected velocities, however, are in all cases 
too large, and by greater and greater amounts the higher the velocity. 
At 60 miles per hour the observed velocities are about 12 miles per 
hour too high, and for an indicated velocity of 90 miles the 
experiments show that the actual velocity is but a fraction over 69 
miles per hour.

The anemometer formula found to satisfy most closely the entire range 
of experiments has the following form for velocities in miles per 
hour:

  Log. _V_ = 0.509 + 0.9012 log. _v_.

This difference indicated by the formula may seem small and 
insignificant, as it is in the case of light winds, but at very high 
velocities the differences are very great. For instance, an actual 
velocity of 60 miles per hour may occur at some time in almost any 
locality of the United States for a few minutes, and even greater 
velocities are occasionally reported, apart from severe tornadoes. 
Under the old coëfficients for the Robinson anemometer an actual 
velocity of 60 miles per hour would have been reported as 77 miles per 
hour, which under the old factor of 0.005 would mean a pressure of 
29.6 pounds per square foot; but when considered with reference to the 
true velocity of 60 miles, under {50} the new factor of 0.004, the 
pressure would only be 14.4 pounds per square foot--a reduction of 
over 50 per cent. from the pressure-values formerly accepted.

Professor Marvin has undertaken to verify, and also to extend to even 
lower temperatures, the observations of Regnault as to the pressure of 
aqueous vapor at low temperatures, especial attention being given to 
temperature conditions from 0° centigrade to -50° centigrade. These 
observations disclose, below 0° centigrade, small but constant 
differences from the values assigned by Regnault.

In all this work Professor Marvin has shown such ingenuity of 
resource, such skill in adapting means to the end, and such deftness 
in improvising and manufacturing the requisite instruments as have 
elicited commendation from all who have seen his work and followed his 
methods. Your Vice-President alludes to this not only to give that 
credit rightfully due to Professor Marvin, but to illustrate this as a 
type of the highly important work which is being done in all branches 
of science here in Washington by young men sometimes illy equipped as 
to means, and still more illy paid. Men engaged in work of original 
investigation should receive higher pay than clerks in charge of 
routine duties; but unfortunately the majority of them do not.

       *       *       *       *       *

The work of Professor Hazen in charting tornadoes and in determining 
their relative frequency and severity is directly in the line of the 
Geography of the Air.

Great attention had previously been given to this subject by 
Lieutenant John P. Finley, who, with indefatigable industry, had 
accumulated an enormous mass of data relative to these violent 
outbursts of nature's forces. The figures and deductions previously 
put forth under the authority of the Signal Service having been 
questioned, the Chief Signal Officer felt obliged, in view of the 
growing practical importance of the question, as indicated by the 
great sums annually paid out in the Ohio valley and in the 
trans-Mississippi region for protection against tornadoes, to reöpen 
the subject. Instructions of the most conservative character were 
given to Professor Hazen to determine carefully the prevalence and 
number of tornadoes in the United States, the areas devastated by 
them, and the number of lives lost annually. This work was carefully 
scrutinized during its progress to see that it should be devoid of 
theory and rest on the solid basis of fact. The results are most 
assuring to every {51} one, and must serve to allay the unreasonable 
fears of the inhabitants of the so-called "tornado districts." It 
appears that there is no part of the United States in which annually 
more than one square mile of devastation or severe destruction can be 
expected for each 185,000 square miles, although cases of _limited 
destruction_ may occur annually for about every 5,000 square miles of 
area. In no state may destructive tornadoes be expected, on an 
average, more than once in two years; and the area over which total 
destruction can be expected is, as shown by the foregoing figures, 
exceedingly small, even in localities most liable to these violent 
storms. The annual death casualties from tornadoes have averaged, in 
the last 18 years, 102 annually; but it is believed that the death 
rate from lightning is greater than that from tornadoes, since during 
March to August, 1890, the names of 110 are on record who have lost 
their lives by lightning, although the data are incomplete, especially 
as regards the southern states. These statistics cannot be passed by 
lightly, however, and it is doubtful if in the main they are much in 
error. By them it appears from five years' record that the average 
annual death rate by lightning in the United States is 3.8 per million 
of inhabitants, or 0.2 above the average. In Sweden, for sixty years, 
the average has been 3.0; in France, for forty-nine years, 3.1; in 
Baden, for seventeen years, 3.8; and in Prussia, for fifteen years, 
4.4 per million.

Other figures, given by a life-insurance agent in St. Louis, which the 
author claims to have compiled with great care, place the average 
annual rate of death from lightning in the United States at 206, being 
more than double the deaths from tornadoes. It must be understood that 
these figures are not vouched for, and must be very cautiously 
received, as originating with companies interested pecuniarily in the 
statistics.

On the whole, therefore, it may be safely assumed that tornadoes are 
not so destructive to life as thunder-storms.

       *       *       *       *       *

Professor Thomas Russell has formulated a method for prediction of 
cold waves. They always occur after "lows" and before "highs," and 
different cold waves vary in extent from three "units" to sixty. A 
"unit" of temperature-fall is taken as a fall of twenty degrees over 
an area of 50,000 square miles.

The temperature-fall curves in the United States are approximately 
elliptical in shape. Perfect ellipses represent actual temperature 
falls with an error not exceeding six degrees in {52} most cases. 
These fall lines are intersections of planes with a cone which 
graphically represents the totality of temperature-fall, the contents 
of the cone being equal to the area of its base multiplied by its 
altitude, which is the greatest fall in temperature at the center of 
the cold wave.

A formula has been devised, based on 127 special cases, representing 
the amount of fall in terms of the amount of barometric depression in 
a "low," and the amount of excess if a "high," and the density of the 
isothermal lines in the region.

From proper consideration of the type of low area, shape of isobars, 
and position of the long axis, definite conclusions can be drawn as to 
the subsequent shape of the elliptical twenty-degree temperature-fall 
area and its position.

A method has been devised, also by Professor Russell, for determining 
the maximum fall of temperature at the center of the cold wave. The 
maximum fall and extent of fall being known, from suitably prepared 
tables, the area of twenty-degree fall can be derived. Previously 
prepared pieces of card-board are laid in the proper position on a map 
of suitable scale, and lines drawn around them. Between the line 
representing the twenty-degree fall and the center, the other falls of 
thirty degrees, forty degrees, etc., are sketched in.

       *       *       *       *       *

The foregoing sketch of the geography of the air may appear too 
superficial and limited for the purposes of this Society, but its 
further elaboration was impracticable. Indeed, the subject of 
meteorology could hardly have been touched upon this year had it not 
been for the courtesy of Professor Russell in placing at my disposal 
notes upon translations from foreign publications, especially from the 
German; which publications I have been unable to examine save in a 
casual way.

The address, as it is, is submitted only in the hope that it may 
serve, if no other purpose, at least to indicate the great interest 
which now obtains in the geography of the air, and which manifests 
itself in the production of meteorological pamphlets and publications 
too numerous to permit any one charged with important executive duties 
to examine them all, even in a non-critical way.




VOL. III, PP. 53-204, PLS. 2-20, MAY 29, 1891

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE




AN EXPEDITION TO MOUNT ST. ELIAS, ALASKA

ISRAEL C. RUSSELL




[Illustration: National Geographic Society seal]




WASHINGTON

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Price $1.50.


{53}


VOL. III, PP. 53-204, PLS. 2-20, MAY 29, 1891

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE




AN EXPEDITION TO MOUNT ST. ELIAS, ALASKA

BY ISRAEL C. RUSSELL.

(_Accepted for publication March 18, 1891._)




CONTENTS.

                                                                 Page.
Introduction--The Southern Coast of Alaska  . . . . . . . . . . .   55

Part I--Previous Explorations in the St. Elias Region . . . . . .   58
      Bering, 1741  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   58
      Cook, 1778  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   58
      La Pérouse, 1786  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   58
      Dixon, 1787 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   60
      Douglas, 1788 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   62
      Malaspina, 1792 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   62
      Vancouver, 1794 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   66
      Belcher, 1837 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   68
      Tebenkof, 1852  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   69
      United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1874, 1880 . . . .   70
      New York _Times_ Expedition, 1886 . . . . . . . . . . . . .   72
      Topham Expedition, 1888 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   73

Part II--Narrative of the St. Elias Expedition of 1890  . . . . .   75
      Organization  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   75
      From Seattle to Sitka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   78
      From Sitka to Yakutat Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   79
      Canoe Trip up Yakutat Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   81
      Base Camp on the Shore of Yakutat Bay . . . . . . . . . . .   86
      First Day's Tramp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   89
      Canoe Trip in Disenchantment Bay  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   96
      From Yakutat Bay to Blossom Island  . . . . . . . . . . . .  103
      Blossom Island  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  113
      Life above the Snow-Line  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  122
      First Camp in the Snow  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  124
{54}  Across Pinnacle Pass  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  129
      First full View of St. Elias  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  135
      Summit of Pinnacle Pass Cliffs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  137
      Across Seward Glacier to Dome Pass  . . . . . . . . . . . .  142
      Up the Agassiz Glacier  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  147
      Camp on the Newton Glacier  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  150
      Highest Point reached . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  151
      Alone in the highest Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  154
      The Return  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  158
      Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  163

Part III--Sketch of the Geology of the St. Elias Region . . . . .  167
      General Features  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  167
      Yakutat System  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  167
      Pinnacle System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  170
      St. Elias Schist  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  173
      Geological Structure  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  174

Part IV--Glaciers of the St. Elias Region . . . . . . . . . . . .  176
      Natural Divisions of Glaciers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  176
      Alpine Glaciers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  176
      Characteristics of Alpine Glaciers above the Snow-Line  . .  180
      Characteristics of Alpine Glaciers below the Show-Line  . .  183
      Piedmont Glaciers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  185

Part V--Height and Position of Mount St. Elias  . . . . . . . . .  189

Appendix A--Official Instructions governing the Expedition  . . .  192

Appendix B--Report on topographic Work; by Mark B. Kerr . . . . .  195

Appendix C--Report on auriferous Sands from Yakutat Bay; by J.
          Stanley-Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  196

Appendix D--Report on fossil Plants; by Lester F. Ward  . . . . .  199

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  201




ILLUSTRATIONS.

Plate  2--Sketch Map of Alaska  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   57
       3--Map of the St. Elias Region, after La Pérouse . . . . .   59
       4--Map of the Eastern Shore of Yakutat Bay, after Dixon  .   61
       5--Map of the St. Elias Region, after Malaspina  . . . . .   64
       6--Map of Bay de Monti, after Malaspina  . . . . . . . . .   64
       7--Map of Disenchantment Bay, after Malaspina  . . . . . .   67
       8--Sketch Map of St. Elias Region, by Mark B. Kerr . . . .   74
       9--The Hubbard Glacier; drawn from Photograph by A. L.
            Broadbent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   99
      10--Wall of Ice on Eastern Side of the Atrevida Glacier;
            from a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  105
      11--View on the Atrevida Glacier; from a Photograph . . . .  105
      12--Entrance of an Ice-Tunnel; from a Photograph  . . . . .  106
      13--Deltas in an Abandoned Lake-Bed; from a Photograph  . .  106
      14--A River on the Lucia Glacier; from a Photograph
            (reproduced from _The Century_, April, 1891)  . . . .  106
{55}  15--Entrance to a Glacial Tunnel; from a Photograph . . . .  107
      16--View of the Malaspina Glacier from Blossom Island;
            from a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  120
      17--Moraines on the Marvine Glacier; from a Photograph  . .  123
      18--View of the Hitchcock Range from near Dome Pass . . . .  144
      19--View of Mount St. Elias from Dome Pass; drawn from a
            Photograph  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  146
      20--View of Mount St. Elias from Seward Glacier; drawn
            from a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  175

Figure 1--Diagram illustrating the Formation of Icebergs  . . . .  101
       2--View of a glacial Lakelet; from a Photograph  . . . . .  120
       3--Section of a glacial Lakelet  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  120
       4--Diagram illustrating the Formation of marginal
            Crevasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  128
       5--Crevasses near Pinnacle Pass; from a Photograph . . . .  130
       6--Snow Crests on Ridges and Peaks; from Field Sketches  .  143
       7--Faulted Pebble from Pinnacle Pass . . . . . . . . . . .  171
       8--Faulted Pebble from Pinnacle Pass . . . . . . . . . . .  171




INTRODUCTION.

THE SOUTHERN COAST OF ALASKA.


The southern coast of Alaska is remarkable for the regularity of its 
general outline. If a circle a thousand miles in diameter be inscribed 
on a map of the northern Pacific with a point in about latitude 54° 
and longitude 145° as a center, a large part of its northern periphery 
will be found to coincide with the southern shore of Alaska between 
Dixon entrance on the east and the Alaska peninsula on the west. On 
the northern part of this great coast-circle lies the region explored 
in the summer of 1890 and described in the following pages.

From Cross sound, at the northern end of the great system of islands 
forming southeastern Alaska, westward along the base of the 
Fairweather range, the mountains are exceedingly rugged, and present 
some of the finest coast scenery in the world. There are but two 
inlets east of Yakutat bay on this shore which afford shelter even for 
small boats. These are Lituya bay and Dry bay. Ships may enter Lituya 
bay, at certain stages of the tide, and find a safe harbor within; but 
the approaches to Dry bay are not navigable. West of Yakutat bay the 
coast is equally inhospitable all the way to Prince William sound.

{56} As if to compensate for the lack of refuge on either end, there 
is in the center of this great stretch of rock-bound coast, over 300 
miles in extent, a magnificent inlet known as Yakutat bay, in which a 
thousand ships could find safe anchorage. On some old maps this bay is 
designated as "Baie de Monti," "Admiralty bay" and "Bering bay," as 
will be seen when its discovery and history are discussed on another 
page.

The southern shore of Alaska, for a distance of 200 miles along the 
bases of the Fairweather and St. Elias ranges, is formed of a low 
table-land intervening between the mountains and the sea. Yakutat bay 
is the only bight in this plateau sufficiently deep to reach the 
mountain to the northward. This bay has a broad opening to the sea; 
the distance between its ocean capes is twenty miles, and its 
extension inland is about the same. Its eastern shore is fringed with 
low, wooded islands, among which are sheltered harbors, safe from 
every wind that blows. The most accessible of these is Port Mulgrave, 
near its entrance on the eastern side.

The shores of Yakutat bay, on both the east and the west, are low and 
densely wooded for a distance of twenty-five miles from the ocean, 
where the foot-hills of the mountains begin. At the head of the bay 
the land rises in steep bluffs and forms picturesque mountains, 
snow-capped the year round. These highlands, although truly 
mountainous in their proportions, are but the foot-hills of still 
nobler uplifts immediately northward. The bay extends through an 
opening in the first range to the base of the white peaks beyond. This 
opening was examined a century ago by explorers in search of the 
delusive "Northwest passage," in the hope that it would lead to the 
long-sought "Strait of Annan"--the dream of many voyagers. It was 
surveyed by the expedition in command of Malaspina in 1792, and on 
account of his frustrated hopes was named "Puerto del Desengaño," or 
"Disenchantment bay," as it has been rendered by English writers.

The waters of Yakutat and Disenchantment bays are deep, and broken 
only by islands and reefs along their eastern shores. A few soundings 
made in Disenchantment bay within half a mile of the land showed a 
depth of from 40 to 120 fathoms. The swell of the ocean is felt up to 
the very head of the inlet, indicating, as was remarked to me by 
Captain C. L. Hooper, that there are no bars or reefs to break the 
force of the incoming swells.

{57} The lowlands bordering Yakutat bay on the southeast are composed 
of assorted glacial débris. Much of the country is low and swampy, and 
is reported to contain numerous lakelets. Northwest of the bay the 
plateau is higher than toward the southeast, and has a general 
elevation of about 500 feet at a distance of a mile from the shore; 
but the height increases toward the interior, where a general 
elevation of 1,500 feet is attained over large areas. All of this 
plateau, excepting a narrow fringe along the shore, is formed by a 
great glacier, belonging to what is termed in this paper the 
_Piedmont_ type. There are many reasons for believing that the plateau 
southeast of Yakutat bay was at one time covered by a glacier similar 
to the one now existing on the northwest.[1]

[Footnote 1: This matter will be discussed in part IV of this paper, 
where it is also shown that Yakutat bay itself was formerly occupied 
by glacial ice.]

The mountains on the northern border of the seaward-stretching 
table-lands, both southeast and northwest of Yakutat bay, are abrupt 
and present steep southward-facing bluffs. This escarpment is formed 
of stratified sandstones and shales, and owes its origin to the 
upheaval of the rocks along a line of fracture. In other words, it is 
a gigantic fault scarp. The gravel and bowlders forming the plateau 
extending oceanward have been accumulating on a depressed orographic 
block (or mass of strata moved as a unit by mountain-making forces), 
which has undergone some movement in very recent times, as is recorded 
by a terrace on the fault scarp bordering it. West of Yakutat the 
geological structure is more complex, and long mountain spurs project 
into the platform of ice skirting the ocean. Filling the valleys 
between the mountain spurs, there are many large seaward-flowing 
glaciers, tributary to the great Piedmont ice-sheet.

       *       *       *       *       *

This brief sketch of the geography of Yakutat bay, together with the 
accompanying outline map of Alaska (plate 2), will, it is hoped, aid 
in making intelligible the following historical sketch and the 
narrative of the present expedition.

[Illustration: PLATE 2. SKETCH MAP OF ALASKA.]


{58}


PART I.

PREVIOUS EXPLORATIONS IN THE ST. ELIAS REGION.[2]

[Footnote 2: For more complete bibliographic references than space 
will allow in this paper, the reader is referred to Dall and Baker's 
"Partial list of books, pamphlets, papers in serials, journals and 
other publications on Alaska and adjacent regions;" in Pacific Coast 
Pilot: Coasts and Inlets of Alaska; second series. U. S. Coast and 
Geodetic Survey, Washington, 1879; 4°, pp. 225-375.]


BERING, 1741.

The first discovery of the southern coast of Alaska was made by Vitus 
Bering and Alexei Cherikof, in the vessels _St. Peter_ and _St. Paul_, 
in 1741. On July 20 of that year, Bering saw the mountains of the 
mainland, but anchored his vessels at Kyak island, 180 miles west of 
Yakutat bay, without touching the continental shore. A towering, 
snow-clad summit northeast of Kyak island was named "Mount St. Elias," 
after the patron saint of the day.


COOK, 1778.

The next explorer to visit this portion of Alaska was Captain James 
Cook, who sailed past the entrance of Yakutat bay on May 4, 1778. 
Thinking that this was the bay in which Bering anchored, he named it 
"Bering's bay." Mount St. Elias was seen in the northwest at a 
distance of 40 leagues, but no attempt was made to measure its height.


LA PÉROUSE, 1786.[3]

[Footnote 3: Voyage de la Pérouse autour du monde. Four vols., 4°, and 
atlas; Paris, 1797; vol. 2, pp. 130-150.]

Yakutat bay, in which we are specially interested, was next seen by 
the celebrated French navigator, J. F. G. de la Pérouse, in command of 
the frigates _La Boussole_ and _L'Astrolabe_, on June 23, 1786.

The chart showing the route followed by La Pérouse during this portion 
of his voyage is reproduced in plate 3. In the splendid atlas 
accompanying the narrative of his travels, the explorer pictures the 
quaint, high-pooped vessels in which he {59} circumnavigated the 
globe. These French frigates were the first to cruise off Yakutat bay. 
The last vessel to navigate those waters was the United States revenue 
steamer _Corwin_, which took our little exploring party on board in 
September, 1890, and then steamed northward to the ice-cliffs at the 
head of Disenchantment bay. So far as I am aware, the _Corwin_ is the 
only vessel that has floated on the waters of that inlet north of 
Haenke island. One hundred years has made a revolution in naval 
architecture, but has left this portion of the Alaska coast still 
unexplored.

[Illustration: PLATE 3. MAP OF THE ST. ELIAS REGION, AFTER LA 
PÉROUSE.]

La Pérouse sailed northward from the Sandwich islands, and first saw 
land, which proved to be a portion of the St. Elias range, on June 23. 
At first the shore was obscured by fog, which, as stated in the 
narrative of the voyage, "suddenly disappearing, all at once disclosed 
to us a long chain of mountains covered with snow, which, if the 
weather had been clear, we would have been able to have seen thirty 
leagues farther off. We discovered Bering's Mount Saint Elias, the 
summit of which appeared above the clouds."

The first view of the land is described as not awakening the feelings 
of joy which usually accompany the first view of an unknown shore 
after a long voyage. To quote the navigator's own words:

"Those immense heaps of snow, which covered a barren land without 
trees, were far from agreeable to our view. The mountains appeared a 
little remote from the sea, which broke against a bold and level land, 
elevated about a hundred and fifty or two hundred fathoms. This black 
rock, which appeared as if calcined by fire, destitute of all verdure, 
formed a striking contrast to the whiteness of the snow, which was 
perceptible through the clouds; it served as the base to a long ridge 
of mountains, which appeared to stretch fifteen leagues from east to 
west. At first we thought ourselves very near it, the summit of the 
mountains appeared to be just over our heads, and the snow cast forth 
a brightness calculated to deceive eyes not accustomed to it; but in 
proportion as we advanced we perceived in front of the high ground 
hillocks covered with trees, which we took for islands."

After some delay, on account of foggy weather, an officer was 
despatched to the newly discovered land; but on returning he reported 
that there was no suitable anchorage to be found. It is difficult at 
this time to understand the reason for this adverse report, unless a 
landing was attempted on the western side of Yakutat bay, where there 
are no harbors.

{60} The name "Baie de Monti" was given to the inlet in honor of De 
Monti, the officer who first landed. The location of this bay, as 
described in the narrative and indicated on the map accompanying the 
report of the voyage, shows that it corresponds with the Yakutat bay 
of modern maps.

Observations made at this time by M. Dagelet, the astronomer of the 
expedition, determined the elevation of Mount St. Elias to be 1,980 
toises. Considering the toise as equivalent to 6.39459 English feet, 
this measurement places the elevation of the mountain at 12,660 feet. 
What method was used in making this measurement is not recorded, and 
we have therefore no means of deciding the degree of confidence to be 
placed in it.

After failing to find an anchorage at Yakutat bay. La Pérouse sailed 
eastward, and on June 29 discovered another bay, which he supposed to 
be the inlet named "Bering's bay" by Captain Cook. It will be 
remembered that Cook's "Bering's bay" is Yakutat bay as now known. It 
is evident that the French navigator made an error in his 
identification, as the inlet designated as Bering's bay on his chart 
corresponds with that now known as Dry bay. On the maps referred to, a 
stream is represented as emptying into the head of this bay and rising 
a long distance northward; this is evidently Alsek river, the 
existence of which was for a long time doubted, but has recently been 
established beyond all question.

Finding it impossible to enter Dry bay, La Pérouse continued eastward 
and discovered Lituya bay, as now known, but which he named "Port des 
Francais." Here his ships anchored, after experiencing great 
difficulty in entering the harbor, and remained for many days, during 
which trade was carried on with the Indians, while surveys were made 
of the adjacent shores.


DIXON, 1787.[4]

[Footnote 4: The Voyage around the World; but more particularly to the 
Northwest Coast of America. Performed in 1788-1789, in the _King 
George_ and _Queen Charlotte_; Captains Portlock and Dixon: 4°, 
London, 1789.]

Although the actual discovery of Yakutat bay is to be credited to the 
French, the first exploration of its shores was made by an English 
captain. On May 23, 1787, Captain George Dixon anchored his vessel, 
the _Queen Charlotte_, within the shelter of its southeastern cape, 
and, in honor of Constance John Phipps, Lord Mulgrave, named the haven 
there discovered "Port {61} Mulgrave." The harbor is described in the 
narrative of Dixon's voyage as being "entirely surrounded by low, flat 
islands, where scarcely any snow could be seen, and well sheltered 
from any winds whatever."

The voyage of the _Queen Charlotte_ was not made for the purpose of 
increasing geographic knowledge, but with a commercial object. Trade 
was at once opened with the natives, but resulted less favorably than 
was desired, as only sixteen sea-otter skins and a few less valuable 
furs were secured.

On the chart accompanying the narrative of Dixon's voyage the inlet 
now known as Yakutat bay is named "Admiralty bay."

A survey of the adjacent shores and inlets was made, and the 
astronomical position of the anchorage was approximately determined. 
The map resulting from these surveys, the first ever made of any 
portion of Yakutat bay, is reproduced on a reduced scale as plate 4.

[Illustration: PLATE 4. MAP OF THE EASTERN SHORE OF YAKUTAT BAY, AFTER 
DIXON.]

At the time of Dixon's voyage, the inhabitants numbered about seventy, 
including men, women, and children, and were thus described:

"They are of about middle size, their limbs straight and well shaped, 
but, like the rest of the inhabitants we have seen on the coast, are 
particularly fond of painting their faces with a variety of colors, so 
that it is not any easy matter to discover their real complexion."

An amusing instance is narrated of inducing a woman to wash her face, 
when it was discovered that--

"Her countenance had all the cheerful glow of an English milk maid, 
and the healthy red which flushed her cheeks was even _beautifully_ 
contrasted with the whiteness of her neck; her eyes were black and 
sparkling; her eyebrows the same color, and most beautifully arched; 
her forehead so remarkably clear that the transparent veins were seen 
meandering even in their minutest branches--in short, she was what 
would be reckoned as handsome even in England. The symmetry of her 
features, however, was marred, at least in the eyes of her English 
admirer, by the habit of wearing a labret in the slit of her lower 
lip."

During our recent visit to Port Mulgrave we did not find the native 
women answering to the glowing description of the voyager who 
discovered the harbor; but this may be owing to the fact that we did 
not prevail upon any of them to wash their faces.

One other discrepancy must be noted between the records of Dixon's 
voyage and my own observations, made one hundred {62} years later. The 
houses of the natives are described in the narrative just cited as--

"The most wretched hovels that can possibly be conceived: a few poles 
stuck in the ground, without order or regularity, recrossed and 
covered with loose boards, ... quite insufficient to keep out the snow 
and rain."

While this description would apply to the temporary shelters now used 
by the Yakutat Indians when on their summer hunting and fishing 
expeditions, it by no means describes the houses in which they pass 
the winter. These are large and substantially built of planks hewn 
from spruce trees, and in some instances supported from the inside by 
four huge posts, carved and painted to represent grotesque figures. In 
the center of the roof there is a large opening through which the 
smoke escapes from the fire kindled in an open space in the floor. But 
few of the Indian villages of Alaska, excepting perhaps the homes of 
the Thlinkets in the Alexandrian archipelago, are better built or more 
comfortable than those at Port Mulgrave.

On the map of Port Mulgrave already referred to, "Point Turner" and 
"Point Carrew" appear. The former was named for the second mate of the 
_Queen Charlotte_, who was the first of her officers to land; the 
second name was probably designed to honor another officer of the 
expedition, but of this I am not positive.


DOUGLAS, 1788.[5]

[Footnote 5: Voyage of the _Iphigenia_; Captain Douglas: in Voyages 
made in the years 1788-1789 from China to the Northwest Coast of 
America. John Meares, 4°, London, 1790.]

In 1788, another trading vessel, the ship _Iphigenia_, in command of 
Captain Douglas, visited the southern shore of Alaska and anchored in 
Yakutat bay; but no special account of the country or the inhabitants 
is recorded in the narrative of the voyage.


MALASPINA, 1792.[6]

[Footnote 6: Relacion del viage hecho por las goletas Sutil y Mexicana 
en el año de 1792 para reconocer el estrecho de Fuca; con una 
introduccion en que se da noticia de las expediciones executadas 
anteriormente por los Españoles en busca del paso del noroeste de la 
América [Por Don Dionisio Alcala Galiano]. Madrid, 1802 [accompanied 
by an atlas]. Pp. CXII-CXXI.]

About a hundred years ago the interest felt by the maritime nations of 
Europe in a "Northwest passage," connecting the {63} northern Atlantic 
with the northern Pacific, was revived by the renewal of the 
discussion as to the authenticity of Maldonado's reported discovery of 
the "Strait of Annan." The western entrance to this strait was 
supposed to be about in the position of Yakutat bay. Spain, in 
particular, after three hundred years of exploration and discovery in 
all parts of the world, was still anxious to extend her conquests, 
and, if possible, to discover the long-sought "Northwest passage." Two 
of her ships, the _Descubierta_ and _Atrevida_, were then at Acapulco, 
in command of Don Alejandro Malaspina, who was engaged in a voyage of 
discovery.

Malaspina, like Columbus, was a native of Italy in the service of 
Spain. Orders were sent to him to cruise northward and test the truth 
of Maldonado's report. The narrative of this voyage is supposed to 
have been written by Don Dionisio Alcala Galiano, but his name does 
not appear on the title page. Still more curious is the fact that 
Malaspina's name is omitted from the narrative of his own voyage. On 
his return to Spain, he was thrown into prison, on account of court 
intrigues, and his discoveries were suppressed for many years.

Malaspina left Acapulco on the first of May, 1791, and reached the 
vicinity of the present site of Sitka on June 25. Two days later, 
Mount Fairweather, or "Monte Buen-tiempo," as it is designated on 
Spanish maps, was sighted. Continuing northwestward, the entrance to 
Yakutat bay was reached. The opening through the first range of 
mountains at its head seemed to correspond to Maldonado's description 
of the entrance to the mythical "Strait of Annan."

The eastern shore of Yakutat bay, called "Almiralty bay" on the 
Spanish chart, was explored, and an excursion was made in boats into 
Disenchantment bay as far as Haenke island. "Disenchantment bay," as 
the name appears on modern charts, was named "Desengaño bay" by 
Malaspina, as previously stated, in allusion to the frustration of his 
hopes on not finding a passage leading to the Atlantic. Explorations 
in Disenchantment bay were checked by ice, which descended from the 
north and filled all of the inlets north of Haenke island. This is 
indicated on the map forming plate 7 (page 67), which is reproduced 
from the atlas accompanying the narrative of Malaspina's voyage. 
Special interest attaches to this map for the reason that by comparing 
it with that forming plate 8 (page 75), made 100 years later, the 
retreat {64} of the glaciers during that interval can be 
determined.[7] At the time of Malaspina's expedition, the Hubbard and 
Dalton glaciers were united, and were probably also joined by some of 
the neighboring glaciers which do not now reach tide-water; the whole 
forming a confluent ice stream which occupied all of Disenchantment 
bay northeast of Haenke island.

[Footnote 7: It must be remembered, however, that the map, plate 8, is 
not from detailed surveys; the portion referred to was sketched from a 
few stations only and is much generalized.]

A portion of the general map of the coast of southern Alaska, showing 
the route followed by the _Descubierta_ and the _Atrevida_, and 
depicting the topography of the adjacent shores, has been reproduced 
in plate 5. It will be noticed that on this map Lituya bay is called 
"Pt. des Francais," while Dry bay is designated as "Bering's bay." 
These and other names were adopted from the maps of La Pérouse. A map 
of "Bahia de Monti," from Malaspina's report, is reproduced in plate 
6.

[Illustration: PLATE 5. MAP OF THE ST. ELIAS REGION, AFTER MALASPINA.]

[Illustration: PLATE 6. MAP OF BAY DE MONTI, AFTER MALASPINA.]

An extract from Galiano's account of Malaspina's discoveries in 
Yakutat and Disenchantment bays,[8] translated by Robert Stein, of the 
U. S. Geological Survey, is here inserted, in order that the reader 
may be able to form an independent judgment of the value of the 
evidence just referred to as bearing on the retreat of the glaciers:

"An observatory was established on shore, and some absolute altitudes 
were taken in order to furnish a basis for the reckoning of the 
watches; but the great concourse of Indians, their importunity and 
thievishness, made it necessary to transfer all the instruments on 
board. Still the latitude was determined, the watches were regulated, 
the number of oscillations made by the simple pendulum was observed, 
and the height of Mount St. Elias was measured, being 6,507.6 varas 
[17,847 feet] above sea-level. The launches being ready, put to sea on 
July 2 with the commander of the expedition, in order to reconnoitre 
the channel promised by the opening, similar to that depicted by 
Ferrer Maldonado in his voyage; but the small force of the tide 
noticed at the entrance, and the indications of the natives, made it 
plain not only that the desired passage did not exist there, but that 
the extent of the channel was very short; which was also rendered 
evident by the perpetual frost covering the inner west shore. The 
launches anchored there, having penetrated into the channel with great 
difficulty, the oars being clogged by the floating masses of snow; 
they measured a base, made some marks, gathered various objects and 
stones for the naturalists, and, having reached the line of perpetual 
frost, {65} returned to the bay where they had anchored.[9] They there 
observed the latitude to be 59° 59' 30", and six azimuths of the sun, 
which gave the variation of the needle as 32° 49'. Before leaving that 
anchorage the commander buried a bottle with record of the 
reconnoissance and possession taken in the name of the king. They 
called the harbor Desangaño, the opening Bahia de las Bancas, and the 
island in the interior Haenke, in memory of D. Tadeo Haenke, botanist 
and naturalist of the expedition. On the third day they set out on 
their voyage to Mulgrave, where they arrived on the 6th, after 
reconnoitering various channels and islands north of that port and 
mapping them."

[Footnote 8: Ibid., pp. XCIV-CXVI.]

[Footnote 9: On the coast of the mainland east of Knight island.--I. 
C. R.]

Following the portion of the narrative above quoted, there is an 
account of the natives, containing much information of interest to 
ethnologists, but which it is not necessary to follow in a geographic 
report. On July 5 the corvettes sailed westward, and made a 
reconnoissance as far as Montegue island. Returning eastward, they 
again sighted Mount St. Elias on July 22.

"On the 28th they were three leagues west of the capes which terminate 
in Bering bay [Dry bay]; the mountain of that name being about five 
leagues distant from the coast and rising 5,368.3 varas [14,722 feet] 
above the sea-level, and in latitude 59° 0' 42" and longitude 2° 4' 
from Port Mulgrave."

Mount Bering does not appear on any map that I have seen. Which of the 
numerous high peaks in the vicinity of Dry bay should be designated by 
that name remains to be determined.

In a record of the astronomical work of Malaspina's expedition[10] 
there are some interesting observations on the position and elevation 
of Mount St. Elias, a translation of which, by Mr. Stein, is here 
given:

"True longitude of Mulgrave west of Cadiz, 133° 24' 12". On the same 
day, the 30th of June [1792], at the observatory of Mulgrave, at 6h. 
30' in the morning, the true altitude of the sun was observed to be 
16° 14' 20", and its inclination being 23° 11' 30" and the latitude 
59° 34' 20", the true azimuth of the sun from north to east was 
concluded to be 71° 43' 0". But having measured on the same occasion 
with the theodolite 110° 33' from the sun's vertical to the vertical 
of Mount St. Elias, the difference between these two quantities is the 
astronomic azimuth. Hence, from {66} the observatory of Mulgrave, said 
mountain bears N. 38° 50' W., a distance of 55.1 miles, deduced by 
means of good observations from the ends of a sufficient base. A 
quadrant was used to measure the angle of apparent altitude of the 
mountain, 2° 38' 6", and allowing for terrestrial refraction, which is 
one-tenth of the distance of 55.1 miles, the true altitude was found 
to be 2° 34' 39"; whence its elevation above sea-level was concluded 
to be 2,793 toises [17,860 feet], and the length of the tangent to the 
horizon, 152 miles, allowance being made for the increase due to 
terrestrial refraction....

"Lastly, with the rhumb, or astronomic azimuth, and the distance from 
the observatory of Mulgrave to Mount St. Elias, it was ascertained 
that that mountain was 43' 15" to the north and 1° 9' to the west, 
whence its latitude is found to be 60° 17' 35" and its longitude 134° 
33' 10" west of Cadiz."

[Footnote 10: Memorias sobre las observaciones astronomicas hechas por 
les navegantes Españoles en distintos lugares del globe; Por Don Josef 
Espinosa y Tello. Madrid, en la Imprente real, Año de 1809, 2 vols., 
large 8°; vol. 1, pp. 57-60.]

Taking the longitude of Cadiz as 6° 19' 07" W. (San Sebastian 
light-house), the longitude of St. Elias from this determination would 
be 140° 52' 17" W.


VANCOUVER, 1794.[11]

[Footnote 11: A Voyage of Discovery to the Northern Pacific Ocean and 
around the World, 1790-'95; new edition, 6 vols., London, 1801. The 
citations which follow are from vol. 5, pp. 348-407.]

The next vessels to visit Yakutat bay after Malaspina's voyage, so far 
as known, were the _Discovery_ and _Chatham_, under command of Captain 
George Vancouver. This voyage increased knowledge of the geography of 
southern Alaska more than any that preceded it, and was also of 
greater importance than any single expedition of later date to that 
region. The best maps of southern Alaska published at the present day 
are based largely on the surveys of Vancouver.

The _Discovery_, under the immediate command of Vancouver, and the 
_Chatham_, in charge of Peter Puget, cruised eastward along the 
southern coast of Alaska in 1794. The _Discovery_ passed the entrance 
to Yakutat bay without stopping, but the _Chatham_ anchored there, and 
important surveys were carried on under Puget's directions.

On June 28, the _Discovery_ was in the vicinity of Icy bay, where the 
shore of the ocean seemed to be composed of solid ice. Eastward from 
Icy bay the coast is described as "bordered by lowlands rising with a 
gradual and uniform ascent to the foot-hills of lofty mountains, whose 
summits are but the base from which Mount St. Elias towers 
magnificently into the regions of {67} perpetual frost." A low 
projecting point on the western side of the entrance to Yakutat bay 
was named "Point Manby." The coast beyond this toward the northeast 
became less wooded, and seemed to produce only a brownish vegetation, 
which farther eastward entirely disappeared. The country was then bare 
and composed of loose stones. The narrative contains an interesting 
account of the grand coast scenery from St. Elias to the eastern end 
of the Fairweather range; but this does not at present claim 
attention.

While the _Chatham_ continued her cruise eastward, Puget ascended 
Yakutat bay nearly to its head, and also navigated some of the 
channels between the islands along its eastern shore. A cape on the 
eastern side, where the bay penetrates the first range of foot-hills, 
was named "Point Latouche;" but the same landmark had previously been 
designated "Pa. de la Esperanza" by Malaspina. The bay at the head of 
the inlet, which Malaspina had named "Desangaño," was named "Digges 
sound," after one of the officers of the _Chatham_. Boats were sent to 
explore this inlet, but found it "closed from side to side by a firm, 
compact body of ice, beyond which, to the back of the ice, a small 
inlet appeared to extend N. 55° E. about a league."[12]

[Footnote 12: Vancouver's Voyage, vol. 5, p. 389.]

These observations confirm those made by Malaspina and indicated on 
the chart reproduced on plate 7, where the ice front is represented as 
reaching as far south as Haenke island.

[Illustration: PLATE 7. MAP OF DISENCHANTMENT BAY, AFTER MALASPINA.]

The evidence furnished by Malaspina and Vancouver as to the former 
extent of the glaciers at the head of Yakutat bay is in harmony with 
observations made by Vancouver's party in Icy strait and Cross 
sound.[13] Early in July, 1794, these straits were found to be heavily 
encumbered with floating ice. At the present time but little ice is 
met with in that region. On Vancouver's charts there is no indication 
that he was aware of the existence of Glacier bay, although one of his 
officers, in navigating Icy strait, passed its immediate entrance. 
These records, although somewhat indefinite and of negative character, 
indicate that the fields of floating ice at the mouth of Glacier bay 
were much more extensive a hundred years ago than at present; but they 
do not show where the glaciers of that region formerly terminated.

[Footnote 13: Ibid., pp. 417-421.]

After the return of the _Chatham's_ boats from the exploration of {68} 
Disenchantment bay, an exploration of the eastern shore of Yakutat bay 
was made. The following extract indicates the character of work done 
there:

"Digges' sound [Disenchantment bay] was the only place in the bay that 
presented the least prospect of any interior navigation, and this was 
necessarily very limited by the close connected range of lofty snowy 
mountains that stretched along the coast at no great distance from the 
seaside. Mr. Puget's attention was next directed to the opening in the 
low land, but as the wind was variable and adverse to the progress of 
the vessel, a boat was again despatched to continue the investigation 
of these shores, which are compact from Point Latouche and were then 
free from ice. This opening was found to be formed by an island about 
two miles long, in a direction S. 50° E. and N. 50° W., and about a 
mile broad, lying at the distance of about half a mile from the 
mainland. Opposite to the south part of this, named by Mr. Puget 
KNIGHT'S ISLAND, is Eleanor's cove, which is the eastern extremity of 
Beering's [Yakutat] bay, in latitude 59° 44', longitude 220° 51'. 
Knight's island admits of a navigable passage all round it, but there 
is an islet situated between it and the mainland on its northeast 
side. From Eleanor's cove the coast takes a direction S. 30° W. about 
six miles to the east point of a channel leading to the southwest 
between the continent and some islands that lie off it. This was 
considered to lead along the shores of the mainland to Point Mulgrave, 
and in the event of its proving navigable, the examination of the bay 
would have been complete, and the vessel brought to our appointed 
place of meeting, which was now supposed to be no very great 
distance."

In endeavoring to reach Port Mulgrave by a channel leading between the 
islands on the eastern side of the bay and the mainland, the _Chatham_ 
grounded, and was gotten off with considerable difficulty. Many 
observations concerning the geography and the natives are recorded in 
the narrative of this exploration.


BELCHER, 1837.[14]

[Footnote 14: Narrative of a Voyage round the World, performed in the 
ship _Sulphur_ during the years 1836-1842; by Captain Sir Edward 
Belcher: 2 vols., 8°, London, 1843.]

The next account[15] of explorations around Yakutat bay that {69} has 
come to hand is by Sir Edward Belcher, who visited that coast in Her 
Majesty's ship _Sulphur_ in 1837.

[Footnote 15: A fort was built by the Russians, in 1795, on the strip 
of land separating Bay de Monti from the ocean, and was colonized by 
convicts from Russia. In 1803, all of the settlers were killed and the 
fort was destroyed by the Yakutat Indians. So complete was this 
massacre that no detailed account of it has ever appeared. (Alaska and 
its Resources, by W. H. Dall, 1870, pp. 316, 317, 323.)]

In the narrative of this voyage, a brief account is given of the ice 
cliffs at Icy bay, which are stated to have a height of about thirty 
feet and to present the appearance of veined marble. Where the ice was 
exposed to the sea it was excavated into alcoves and archways, 
recalling to the narrator's mind the Chalk cliffs of England. "Point 
Riou," as named by Vancouver, was not recognized, and the inference 
seems to be that it was formed of ice and was dissolved away between 
the visits of Vancouver and Belcher.

Accompanying the narrative of Belcher's voyage is an illustration 
showing Mount St. Elias as it appears from the sea near Icy bay, which 
represents the mountain more accurately than some similar pictures 
published more recently.

The _Sulphur_ anchored in Port Mulgrave; but no account is given of 
the character of the surrounding country.


TEBENKOF, 1852.[16]

[Footnote 16: Atlas of the Northwest Coast of America from Bering 
strait to Cape Corrientes and the Aleutian Islands [etc.]: 2°, St. 
Petersburg, 1852. With index and hydrographic observations: 8°, St. 
Petersburg, 1852.]

Tebenkof's notes, which are often referred to by writers on Alaska, 
consist principally of compilations from reports of Russian traders, 
which were intended to accompany and explain an atlas of the shores of 
northwestern America, published in 1852 in St. Petersburg and in 
Sitka.

Map number 7 of the atlas represents the southern coast of Alaska from 
Lituya bay westward to Icy bay. On the same sheet there is a more 
detailed chart of the islands along the eastern border of Yakutat bay.

The height of St. Elias is given as 17,000 feet; its position, 
latitude 61° 2' 6" and longitude 140° 4', distant 30 miles from the 
sea.[17] It is stated that in 1839 the mountain "began at times to 
smoke through a crater on its southeastern slope." At the time of an 
earthquake at Sitka (1847) it is said to have emitted flames and 
ashes.

[Footnote 17: In a foot-note on page 33 it is stated that Captain 
Vasilef, in the ship _Otkrytie_ (_Discovery_), ascertained the height 
of Mount Fairweather to be 13,946 feet.]

{70} It will be seen from the account of the exploration carried on 
last summer that Mount St. Elias is composed of stratified rocks, with 
no indication of volcanic origin; and these reports of eruption must 
consequently be considered erroneous.

The low country between Mount St. Elias and the sea is described by 
Tebenkof as a tundra covered with forests and grass; "through cracks 
in the gravelly soil, ice could be seen beneath." More recent 
knowledge shows that this statement also is erroneous. The adjacent 
ocean is stated to be shallow, with shelving bottom; at a distance of 
half a verst, five to twelve fathoms were obtained, and at two miles 
from land, thirty to forty fathoms (of seven feet).

The Pimpluna rocks are said to have been discovered in 1779 by the 
Spanish captain Arteiga. They were also seen in 1794 by the helmsman 
Talin, in the ship _Orel_, and named after his vessel. These 
observations are interesting, and indicate that possibly there may be 
submerged moraines in the region where these rocks are reported to 
exist.

Many other observations are recorded concerning the mountains and the 
bays in the vicinity of Yakutat. While of interest to navigation and 
to geographers, these have no immediate connection with the region 
explored during the recent expedition.


UNITED STATES COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY, 1874,[18] 1880.[19]

[Footnote 18: Appendix No. 10, Report of the Superintendent of the 
U. S. Coast Survey for the year 1875: Washington, 1878, pp. 157-188.]

[Footnote 19: Pacific Coast Pilot, Alaska, part 1: Washington, 1883, 
p. 212.]

The surveys carried on in 1874 by the United States Coast Survey on 
the shores of Alaska embraced the region about Yakutat bay. They were 
conducted by W. H. Dall and Marcus Baker. Besides the survey of the 
coast-line, determinations were made of the heights and positions of 
several mountain peaks between Glacier bay and Cook inlet. Dall's 
account of this survey contains a brief sketch of previous 
explorations and a summary of the measurements of the higher peaks of 
the region. This material has been used on another page in discussing 
the height of Mount St. Elias.

Besides the geographic data gathered by the United States Coast 
Survey, many observations were made on geology and on the glaciers of 
the region about Yakutat bay and Mount St. Elias. Exception must be 
taken, in the light of more recent {71} explorations, to some of the 
conclusions reached in this connection, as will appear in the chapter 
devoted to geology and glaciers.

A description of the St. Elias region in the Pacific Coast Pilot 
supplements the paper in the coast survey report for 1875. This is an 
exhaustive compilation from all available sources of information 
interesting to navigators. It contains, besides, a valuable summary of 
what was known at the time of its publication concerning the history 
and physical features of the country to which it relates. In this 
publication the true character of the Malaspina glacier was first 
recorded and its name proposed. The description is as follows:

"At Point Manby and eastward to the Kwik river the shore was bordered 
by trees, apparently willows and alders, with a somewhat denser belt a 
little farther back. Behind this rises a bluff or bank of high land, 
as described by various navigators. About the vicinity of Tebienkoff's 
Nearer Point the trees cease, but begin again near the river. The 
bluff or table-land behind rises higher than the river valley and 
completely hides it from the southward, and is in summer bare of 
vegetation (except a few rare patches on its face) and apparently is 
composed of glacial débris, much of which is of a reddish color. In 
May, 1874, when observed by the U. S. Coast Survey party of that year, 
the extensive flattened top of this table-land or plateau was covered 
with a smooth and even sheet of pure white snow. In the latter part of 
June, 1880, however, this snow had melted, and for the first time the 
real and most extraordinary character of this plateau was revealed. 
Within the beach and extending in a northwesterly direction to the 
valley behind it, at the foot of the St. Elias Alps an undetermined 
distance, this plateau, or a large part of it, is one great field of 
buried ice. Almost everywhere nothing is visible but bowlders, dirt 
and gravel; but at the time mentioned, back of the bight between Point 
Manby and Nearer Point, for a space of several square miles the 
coverlid of dirt had fallen in, owing to the melting of the ice 
beneath, and revealed a surface of broken pinnacles of ice, each 
crowned by a patch of dirt, standing close to one another like a 
forest of prisms, these decreasing in height from the summit of the 
plateau gradually in a sort of semicircular sweep toward the beach, 
near which, however, the dirt and débris again predominate, forming a 
sort of terminal moraine to this immense, buried, immovable glacier, 
for it is nothing else. Trains of large bowlders were visible here and 
there, and the general trend of the glacier seemed to be northwest and 
southeast.

"Between Disenchantment bay and the foot of Mount St. Elias, on the 
flanks of the Alps, seventeen glaciers were counted, of which about 
ten were behind this plateau, but none are of very large size, and the 
sum total of them all seemed far too little to supply the waste of the 
plateau if it were to possess motion. The lower ends of these small 
glaciers come {72} down into the river valley before mentioned and at 
right angles in general to the trend of the plateau. To the buried 
glacier the U. S. Coast Survey has applied the name of Malaspina, in 
honor of that distinguished and unfortunate explorer. No connection 
could be seen between the small glaciers and the Malaspina plateau, as 
the former dip below the level of the summit of the latter. The 
Malaspina had no névé, nor was there any high land in the direction of 
its axis as far as the eye could reach. Everywhere, except where the 
pinnacles protruded and in a few spots on the face of the bluff, it 
was covered with a thick stratum of soil, gravel and stones, here and 
there showing small patches of bright green herbage. The bluff 
westward from Point Manby may probably prove of the same character."

Mount Cook and Mount Vancouver are named in the Pacific Coast Pilot, 
and their elevations and positions are definitely stated. Mount 
Malaspina was also named, but its position is not given. During the 
expedition of last summer it was found impracticable to decide 
definitely to which peak the name of the great navigator was applied. 
So existing nomenclature was followed as nearly as possible by 
attaching Malaspina's name to a peak about eleven miles east of Mount 
St. Elias. Its position is indicated on the accompanying map, plate 8 
(page 75).

Several charts of the southern coast of Alaska accompany the reports 
of the United States Coast Survey for 1875, referred to above. A part 
of these have been independently published. These charts were used in 
mapping the coast-line as it appears on plate 8, and were frequently 
consulted while writing the following pages.


NEW YORK TIMES EXPEDITION, 1886.

An expedition sent out by the New York _Times_, in charge of 
Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka, for the purpose of making geographic 
explorations and climbing Mount St. Elias, left Sitka on the U. S. S. 
_Pinta_, on July 10, 1886, and reached Yakutat bay two days later. As 
it was found impracticable to obtain the necessary assistance from the 
Indians to continue the voyage to Icy bay, whence the start inland was 
planned to be made, Captain N. E. Nichols, the commander of the 
_Pinta_, concluded to take the expedition to its destination in his 
vessel. On July 17 a landing was made through the surf at Icy bay, and 
exploration at once began.

The party consisted of Lieutenant Schwatka, in charge; Professor 
William Libbey, Jr.; and Lieutenant H. W. Seton-Karr. {73} The camp 
hands were John Dalton, Joseph Woods, and several Indian packers.[20]

[Footnote 20: The accounts of this expedition are as follows: Report 
from Lieutenant Schwatka in the New York _Times_, October 17, 1886; 
Some of the Geographical Features of Southeastern Alaska, by William 
Libbey, Jr., in Bull. Am. Geog. Soc., 1886, pp. 279-300; Shores and 
Alps of Alaska, by H. W. Seton-Karr, London, 1887, 8°, pp. L-XCV, 
142-148; The Alpine Regions of Alaska, by Lieutenant Seton-Karr, in 
Proc. Roy. Geog. Soc., vol. IX, 1887, pp. 269-285; The Expedition of 
"The New York Times" (1886), by Lieutenant Schwatka, in _The Century 
Magazine_, April, 1891, pp. 865-872.]

From Icy bay the expedition proceeded inland, for about sixteen miles, 
in a line leading nearly due north, toward the summit of Mount St. 
Elias. The highest point reached, 7,200 feet, was on the foot-hills of 
the main range now called the Karr hills. The time occupied by the 
expedition, after leaving Icy bay, was nine or ten days. So far as 
known, no systematic surveys were carried on.

An interesting account of this expedition appeared in Seton-Karr's 
book, "The Shores and Alps of Alaska." Many observations on the 
glaciers and moraines of the region explored are recorded in this 
work. The map published with it has been used in compiling the western 
portion of the map forming plate 8, where the route of the expedition 
is indicated. Another account, especially valuable for its records of 
scientific observations, by Professor Libbey, was published by the 
American Geographic Society. The Guyot, Agassiz and Tyndall glaciers, 
the Chaix hills, and Lake Castani received their names during this 
expedition.

Lieutenant Schwatka's graphic and entertaining account of this 
expedition, published in _The Century Magazine_ for April, 1891, gives 
many details of the exploration and illustrates many of the 
characteristic features of southern Alaska.


TOPHAM EXPEDITION, 1888.

An expedition conducted by Messrs. W. H. and Edwin Topham, of London, 
George Broka, of Brussels, and William Williams, of New York, was made 
in 1888. Like the _Times_ expedition, it had for its main object the 
ascent of Mount St. Elias.

Icy bay was reached, by means of canoes from Yakutat bay, on July 13, 
and an inland journey was made northward which {74} covered a large 
part of the area traversed by the previous expedition. The highest 
elevation reached, according to aneroid barometer and boiling-point 
measurements, was 11,460 feet. This was on the southern side of St. 
Elias.

The only accounts of this expedition which have come to my notice are 
an interesting article by William Williams in _Scribner's 
Magazine_,[21] and a more detailed report by H. W. Topham, accompanied 
by a map[22] and by a fine illustration of Mount St. Elias, in the 
Alpine Journal.[23]

[Footnote 21: New York, April, 1889, pp. 387-403.]

[Footnote 22: Topham's map was used in compiling the western portion 
of the map forming plate 8, and his route is there indicated.]

[Footnote 23: London, August, 1889, pp. 245-371.]

This brief review of explorations carried on in the St. Elias region 
previous to the expedition sent out in 1890 by the National Geographic 
Society is incomplete in many particulars,[24] but will indicate the 
most promising sources of information concerning the country described 
in the following pages.

[Footnote 24: Yakutat bay has been visited by vessels of the United 
States Navy and United States Revenue Marine and by numerous trading 
vessels; but reports of observations made during these voyages have 
not been found during a somewhat exhaustive search of literature 
relating to Alaska.]


{75}


PART II.

NARRATIVE OF THE ST. ELIAS EXPEDITION OF 1890.


ORGANIZATION.

[Illustration: PLATE 8. SKETCH MAP OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS REGION, ALASKA,
By Mark B. Kerr.]

A long-cherished desire to study the geography, geology, and glaciers 
of the region around Mount St. Elias was finally gratified when, in 
the summer of 1890, the National Geographic Society made it possible 
for me to undertake an expedition to that part of Alaska.

The expedition was organized under the joint auspices of the National 
Geographic Society and the United States Geological Survey, but was 
greatly assisted by individuals who felt an interest in the extension 
of geographic knowledge. For the inception of exploration and for 
securing the necessary funds, credit is due Mr. Willard D. Johnson.

The names of those who subscribed to the exploration fund of the 
Society are as follows:

  Boynton Leach.       Henry Gannett.
  Everett Hayden.      Charles J. Bell.
  Richardson Clover.   J. S. Diller.
  C. M. McCarteney.    J. W. Powell.
  C. A. Williams.      J. G. Judd.
  Willard D. Johnson.  A. Graham Bell.
  Israel C. Russell.   Gardiner G. Hubbard.
  Gilbert Thompson.    A. W. Greely.
  Harry King.          J. W. Dobbins.
  Morris Bien.         J. W. Hays.
  Wm. B. Powell.       Edmund Alton.
  Z. T. Carpenter.     Bailey Willis.
  Charles Nordhoff.    E. S. Hosmer.
            Rogers Birnie, Jr.

I was chosen by the Board of Managers of the National Geographic 
Society and by the Director of the United States Geological Survey to 
take charge of the expedition and to carry on geological and glacial 
studies. Mr. Mark B. Kerr, topographer on the Geological Survey, was 
assigned as an assistant, with the duty of making a topographical map 
of the region explored. {76} Mr. E. S. Hosmer, of Washington, D. C., 
volunteered his services as general assistant.[25]

[Footnote 25: Copies of all instructions governing the work of the 
expedition are given in Appendix A.]

Mr. Kerr left Washington on May 24 for San Francisco, where he made 
arrangements for his special work, and reported to me at Seattle on 
June 15. I left Washington on May 25 and went directly to Seattle, 
where the necessary preparations for exploring an unknown and isolated 
region were made.

From the large number of frontiersmen and sailors who applied for 
positions on the expedition, seven men were selected as camp hands. 
The foreman of this force was J. H. Christie, of Seattle, who had 
spent the previous winter in charge of an expedition in the Olympian 
mountains, and was well versed in all that pertains to frontier life. 
The other camp hands were J. H. Crumback, L. S. Doney, W. L. Lindsley, 
William Partridge, Thomas Stamy, and Thomas White.

The individual members of the party will be mentioned frequently 
during this narrative; but I wish to state at the beginning that very 
much of the success of the enterprise was due to the hard and faithful 
work of the camp hands, to each one of whom I feel personally 
indebted.

Two dogs, "Bud" and "Tweed," belonging to Mr. Christie, also became 
members of the expedition.

All camp supplies, including tents, blankets, rations, etc., were 
purchased at Seattle. Rations for ten men for one hundred days, on the 
basis of the subsistence furnished by the United States Geological 
Survey, were purchased and suitably packed for transportation in a 
humid climate. Twenty-five tin cans were obtained, each measuring 6 x 
12 x 14 inches, and in each a mixed ration sufficient for one man for 
fifteen days was packed and hermetically sealed. These rations, thus 
secured against moisture and in convenient shape for carrying on the 
back (or "packing"), were for use above the timber line, where cooking 
was possible only by means of oil stoves. The remainder of the 
supplies, intended for use where fuel for camp-fires could be 
obtained, were secured either in tin cans or in canvas sacks.

For cooking above timber line, two double-wick oil stoves were 
provided, the usual cast-iron bases being replaced by smaller 
reservoirs of tin, in order to avoid unnecessary weight. Coal oil was 
carried in five-gallon cans, but a few rectangular cans {77} holding 
one gallon each were provided for use while on the march. Subsequent 
experience proved that this arrangement was satisfactory.

Four seven-by-seven tents, with ridge ropes, and two pyramidal 
nine-by-nine center-pole tents, with flies, were provided, all made of 
cotton drilling. The smaller tents were for use in the higher camps, 
and the larger ones for the base camps. The tents were as light as 
seemed practicable, and were found to answer well the purpose for 
which they were intended.

Each man was supplied with one double Hudson Bay blanket, a 
water-proof coat, a water-proof hat (the most serviceable being the 
"sou'westers" used by seamen), and an alpenstock.[26] Each man also 
carried a sheet made of light duck, seven feet square, to protect his 
blankets and to be used as a shelter-tent if required. Each member of 
the party was also required to have heavy boots or shoes, and suitable 
woolen clothing. Each man was furnished with two pieces of hemp 
"cod-line," 50 feet in length, to be used in packing blankets and 
rations. The lines were doubled many times, so as to distribute the 
weight on the shoulders, and were connected with two leather straps 
for buckling about the package to be carried. The cod-lines were used 
instead of ordinary pack-straps, for the reason that they distribute 
the weight on the shoulder over a broader area, and also because they 
can be made immediately available for climbing, crossing streams, 
etc., when required. Several extra lines of the same material were 
also taken as a reserve, or to be used in roping the party together 
when necessary. Several of the party carried rifles, for each of which 
a hundred rounds of fixed ammunition were issued. Two ice-axes for the 
party were also provided.

[Footnote 26: Light rubber cloth was ordered from San Francisco for 
the purpose of allowing each man a water-proof sheet to place under 
his blankets, but was not received in time to be used.]

A canvas boat was made by the men while en route for the field, but 
there was no occasion to use it, except as a cover for a cache left at 
one of the earlier camps. Subsequent experience showed that snow-shoes 
and one or two sleds would have been serviceable; but these were not 
taken.

Our instruments were furnished by the United States Geological Survey. 
The list included one transit, one gradienter, one sextant, two 
prismatic compasses, one compass clinometer, {78} four pocket 
thermometers, two psychrometers, one field-glass, two mercurial 
barometers, three aneroids, steel tape-lines, and two photographic 
outfits.


FROM SEATTLE TO SITKA.

Preparations having been completed, the expedition sailed from Seattle 
June 16, on the steamer _Queen_, belonging to the Pacific Coast 
Steamship Company, in command of Captain James Carroll, and reached 
Sitka on the morning of June 24. This portion of our voyage was 
through the justly celebrated "inland passage" of British Columbia and 
southeastern Alaska, and was in every way delightful. We touched at 
Victoria and Wrangell, and, after threading the Wrangell narrows, 
entered Frederick sound, where the first floating ice was seen. The 
bergs were from a neighboring glacier, which enters the sea at the 
head of a deep inlet, too far away to be seen from the course followed 
by the _Queen_. The route northward led through Stephens passage, and 
afforded glimpses of glaciers both on the mainland and on Admiralty 
island. In Taku inlet several hours were spent in examining the 
glaciers, two of which come down to the sea. One on the western side 
of the fjord, an ice-stream known as the Norris glacier, descends 
through a deep valley and expands into a broad ice-foot on approaching 
the water, though it is not washed by the waves, owing to an 
accumulation of mud about its extremity. Another ice-stream is the 
Taku glacier, situated at the head of the inlet. It comes boldly down 
to the water, and ends in a splendid sea-cliff of azure blue, some 250 
feet high. The adjacent waters are covered with icebergs shed by the 
glacier. Some of the smaller fragments were hoisted on board the 
_Queen_ for table use. The bold, rocky shores of the inlet are nearly 
bare of vegetation, and indicate by their polished and striated 
surfaces that glaciers of far greater magnitude than those now 
existing formerly flowed through this channel.

After leaving Taku inlet, a day was spent at Juneau; and then the 
_Queen_ steamed up Lynn canal to Pyramid harbor, near its head. For 
picturesque beauty, this is probably the finest of the fjords of 
Alaska. Several glaciers on each side of the inlet come down nearly to 
the sea, and all the higher mountains are buried beneath perpetual 
snow. On returning from Lynn canal, the _Queen_ visited Glacier bay, 
and here passengers were allowed a few hours on shore at the Muir 
glacier. The day of our visit {79} was unusually fine, and a splendid 
view of the great ice-stream with its many tributaries was obtained 
from a hill-top about a thousand feet high, on its eastern border. The 
glacier discharges into the head of the bay and forms a magnificent 
line of ice-cliffs over two hundred feet high and three miles in 
extent.

This portion of the coast of Alaska has been described by several 
writers; yet its bleak shores are still in large part unexplored. To 
the west of the bay rise the magnificent peaks of the Fairweather 
range, from which flow many great ice-streams. The largest of the 
glaciers descending from these mountains into Glacier bay is called 
the Pacific glacier. Like the Muir glacier, it discharges vast numbers 
of icebergs into the sea.

The day after leaving Glacier bay we arrived at Sitka, and as soon as 
practicable called on Lieutenant-Commander O. F. Farenholt, of the 
U. S. S. _Pinta_, who had previously received instructions from the 
Secretary of the Navy to take us to Yakutak bay. We also paid our 
respects to the Governor and other Alaskan officials, and made a few 
final preparations for the start westward.


FROM SITKA TO YAKUTAT BAY.

All of our effects having been transferred to the _Pinta_, we put to 
sea early on the morning of June 25.

Honorable Lyman E. Knapp, Governor of Alaska, taking advantage of the 
sailing of the _Pinta_, accompanied us on the voyage. Mr. Henry 
Boursin, census enumerator, also joined us for the purpose of 
obtaining information concerning the Indians at Yakutak.

The morning we left Sitka was misty, with occasional showers; but even 
these unfavorable conditions could not obscure the beauty of the wild, 
densely wooded shore along which we steamed. The weather throughout 
the voyage was thick and foggy and the sea rough. We anchored in De 
Monti bay, the first indentation on the eastern shore of Yakutat bay, 
late the following afternoon, without having obtained so much as a 
glimpse of the magnificent scenery of the rugged Fairweather range.

At Yakutat we found two small Indian villages, one on Khantaak island 
and the other on the mainland to the eastward (both shown on plate 8). 
The village on Khantaak island is the older of the two, and consists 
of six houses built along the water's edge. The houses are made of 
planks, each hewn from a single {80} log, after the manner of the 
Thlinkets generally. They are rectangular, and have openings in the 
roofs, with wind guards, for the escape of smoke. The fires, around 
which the families gather, are built in the centers of the spaces 
below. The houses are entered by means of oval openings, elevated two 
feet above the ground on platforms along their fronts. In the interior 
of each there is a rectangular space about twenty feet square 
surrounded by raised platforms, the outer portions of which are shut 
off by partitions and divided into smaller chambers.

The canoes used at Yakutat are each hewn from a single spruce log, and 
are good examples of the boats in use throughout southern Alaska. They 
are of all sizes, from a small craft scarcely large enough to hold a 
single Indian to graceful boats forty or fifty feet in length and 
capable of carrying a ton of merchandise with a dozen or more men. 
They have high, overreaching stems and sterns, which give them a 
picturesque, gondola-like appearance.

The village on the mainland is less picturesque, if such a term may be 
allowed, than the group of houses already described, but it is of the 
same type. Near at hand, along the shore to the southward, there are 
two log houses, one of which is used at present as a mission by 
Reverend Carl J. Hendriksen and his assistant, the other being 
occupied as a trading post by Sitka merchants.

The Yakutat Indians are the most westerly branch of the great Thlinket 
family which inhabits all of southeastern Alaska and a portion of 
British Columbia. In intelligence they are above the average of 
Indians generally, and are of a much higher type than the native 
inhabitants of the older portion of the United States. They are quick 
to learn the ways of the white man, and are especially shrewd in 
bargaining. They are canoe Indians _par excellence_, and pass a large 
part of their lives on the water in quest of salmon, seals, and 
sea-otter. During the summer of our visit, about thirty sea-otter were 
taken. They are usually shot in the primitive manner with 
copper-pointed arrows, although repeating rifles of the most improved 
patterns are owned by the natives, in spite of existing laws against 
selling breech-loading arms to Indians. The fur of the sea-otter is 
acknowledged to be the most beautiful, and is the most highly prized 
of all pelts. Those taken at Yakutat during our visit were sold at an 
average price of about seventy-five dollars. This, {81} together with 
the sale of less valuable skins and the money received for baskets, 
etc., made by the women for the tourist trade in Sitka, brought a 
considerable revenue to the village. Improvident, like nearly all 
Indians, the Yakutat villagers soon spend at the trading post the 
money earned in this way.

The Yakutats belong without question to the Thlinket stock; but visits 
from tribes farther westward, who travel in skin boats, are known to 
have been made, and it seems probable that some mixture of Thlinket 
and Innuit blood may occur in the natives at Yakutat. But if such 
admixture has occurred, the Innuit element is so small that it escapes 
the notice of one not skilled in ethnology.

We found Mr. Hendriksen most kind and obliging, and are indebted to 
him for many favors and great assistance. Arrangements were made with 
him for reading a base-barometer three times a day during July and 
August. He also assisted us by acting as an interpreter, and in hiring 
Indians and canoes.

The weather continued thick and stormy after reaching Yakutat bay, and 
Captain Farenholt did not think it advisable to take his vessel up the 
main inlet, where many dangers were reported to exist. A canoe having 
been purchased from the trader and others hired from the Indians, a 
start was made from the head of Yakutat bay early on the morning of 
June 28, in company with two of the _Pinta's_ boats loaded with 
supplies, under the command of Ensign C. W. Jungen.


CANOE TRIP UP YAKUTAT BAY.

Bidding good-bye to our friends on the _Pinta_, to whom we were 
indebted for many favors, we started for our trip up the bay in a 
pouring rain-storm. Our way at first led through the narrow, placid 
water-ways dividing the islands on the eastern side of the bay. The 
islands and the shores of the mainland are densely wooded, and 
appeared picturesque and inviting even through the veil of mist and 
rain that shrouded them. The forests consist principally of spruce 
trees, so dense and having such a tangle of underbrush that it is only 
with the greatest difficulty that one can force a way through them; 
while the ground beneath the forest, and even the trunks and branches 
of the living trees, are covered and festooned with luxuriant growths 
of mosses and lichens. Our trip along these wooded shores, but half 
revealed {82} through the drifting mist, was novel and enjoyable in 
spite of discomforts due to the rain. We rejoiced at the thought that 
we were nearing the place where the actual labors of the expedition 
would begin; we were approaching the unknown; visions of unexplored 
regions filled with new wonders occupied our fancies, and made us 
eager to press on.

About noon on the first day we pitched our tents on a strip of shingle 
skirting the shore of the mainland to the east of Knight island. The 
_Pinta's_ boats spread their white wings and sailed away to the 
southward before a freshening wind, and our last connection with 
civilization was broken. As one of the frontiersmen of our party 
remarked, we were "at home once more." It may appear strange to some 
that any one could apply such a term to a camp on the wild shore of an 
unexplored country; but the Bohemian spirit is so strong in some 
breasts, and the restraint of civilization so irksome, that the homing 
instinct is reversed and leads irresistibly to the wilderness and to 
the silent mountain tops.

The morning after arriving at our first camp, Kerr, Christie, and 
Hendriksen, with all the camp hands except two, went on with the 
canoes, and in a few hours reached the entrance of Disenchantment bay. 
They found a camping place about twelve miles ahead, on a narrow strip 
of shingle beneath the precipices of Point Esperanza, and there 
established our second camp.

My necessary delay at Camp 1 was utilized, so far as possible, in 
learning what I could concerning the adjacent country, and in making a 
beginning in the study of its geology. Our camp was at the immediate 
base of the mountains, and on the northeastern side of the wide 
plateau bordering the continent. The plateau stretches southeastward 
for twenty or thirty miles, and is low and heavily forested. The 
eastern shore of the bay near our first camp is formed of bluffs about 
150 feet high, which have been eaten back by the waves so as to expose 
fine sections of the strata of sand, gravel and bowlders of which the 
plateau is composed. All the lowlands bordering the mountains have, 
apparently, a common history, and doubtless owe their origin 
principally to the deposition of débris brought from the mountains by 
former glaciers. When this material was deposited, or soon afterward, 
the land was depressed about 150 feet lower than at present, as is 
shown by a terrace cut along the base of the mountains at that 
elevation. The steep mountain face {83} extending northwestward from 
Camp 1 to the mouth of Disenchantment bay bears evidence of being the 
upheaved side of a fault of quite recent origin. The steep inclination 
and shattered condition of the rocks along this line are evidently due 
to the crushing which accompanied the displacement.

In the wild gorge above our first camp, a small glacier was found 
descending to within 500 feet of the sea-level, and giving rise to a 
wild, roaring stream of milky water. Efforts to reach the glacier were 
frustrated by the density of the dripping vegetation and by the clouds 
that obscured the mountains.

A canoe trip was made to a rocky islet between Knight island and the 
mainland toward the north. The islet, like the rocks in the adjacent 
mountain range, is composed of sandstone, greatly shattered and 
seamed, and nearly vertical in attitude. Its surface was densely 
carpeted with grass and brilliant flowers. Many sea birds had their 
homes there. From its summit a fine view was obtained of the 
cloud-capped mountains toward the northeast, of the dark forest 
covering Knight island, and of the broad plateau toward the southeast. 
Some of the most charming effects in the scenery of the forest-clad 
and mist-covered shores of Alaska are due to the wreaths of vapor 
ascending from the deep forests during the interval in which the warm 
sunlight shines through the clouds; and on the day of our visit to the 
islet, the forests, when not concealed by mist, sent up smoke-like 
vapor wreaths of many fantastic shapes to mingle with the clouds in 
which the higher mountains disappeared.

At Camp 1 the personnel of the party was unexpectedly reduced. Mr. 
Hosmer was ill, and remained with me at camp instead of pushing on 
with Kerr and Christie; and the weather continuing stormy, he 
concluded to abandon the expedition and return to the mission at Port 
Mulgrave. Having secured the services of an Indian who chanced to pass 
our camp in his canoe, Mr. Hosmer bade us good-bye, ensconced himself 
in the frail craft, and started for sunnier lands. It was subsequently 
learned that he reached Yakutak without mishap, and a few days later 
sailed for Sitka in a small trading schooner. Our force during the 
remainder of the season, not including Mr. Hendriksen and the Indians, 
whose services were engaged for only a few days, numbered nine men all 
told.

On the evening of June 30 we had a bright camp-fire blazing on the 
beach to welcome the returning party. Near sunset a {84} canoe 
appeared in the distance, and a shot was fired as it came round a bend 
in the shore. We felt sure that our companions were returning, and 
piled drift-wood on the roaring camp-fire to cheer them after their 
hard day's work on the water. As the canoe approached, each dip of the 
paddle sent a flash of light to us, and we could distinguish the men 
at their work; but we soon discovered that it was occupied not by our 
own party but by Indians returning from a seal hunt in Disenchantment 
bay. They brought their canoe high on the beach, and made themselves 
at home about our camp-fire. There were seven or eight well-built 
young men in the party, all armed with guns. In former times such an 
arrival would have been regarded with suspicion; but thanks to the 
somewhat frequent visits of war vessels to Yakutat, and also to the 
labors of missionaries, the wild spirits of the Indians have been 
greatly subdued and reduced to semi-civilized condition during the 
past quarter of a century.

Just as the long twilight deepened into night, another craft came 
around the distant headland, but less swiftly than the former one; and 
soon our picturesque canoe, with Christie at the stern steering with a 
paddle in true Indian fashion, grated on the shingle beach. Christie 
has spent many years of his life with the Indians of the Northwest, 
and has adopted some of their habits. On beginning frontier life once 
more, he discarded the hat of the white man, and wore a blue cloth 
tied tightly around his forehead and streaming off in loose ends 
behind. The change was welcome, for it added to the picturesque 
appearance of the party.

The men, weary with their long row against currents and head-winds, 
greatly enjoyed the camp-fire. Our Indian visitors, after lunching 
lightly on the leaf-stalks of a plant resembling celery 
(_Archangelica_), which grows abundantly everywhere on the lowlands of 
southern Alaska, departed toward Yakutat. Supper was served in one of 
the large tents, and we all rolled ourselves in our blankets for the 
night.

The next day, July 1, we abandoned Camp 1, passed by Camp 2, and late 
in the afternoon reached the northwestern side of Yakutat bay, 
opposite Point Esperanza. Our trip along the wild shore, against which 
a heavy surf was breaking, was full of novelty and interest. The 
mountains rose sheer from the water to a height of two or three 
thousand feet. About their bases, like {85} dark drapery, following 
all the folds of the mountain side, ran a band of vegetation; but the 
spruce forests had mostly disappeared, and only a few trees were seen 
here and there in the deeper cañons. The position of the terrace along 
the base of the mountain, first noticed at Camp 1, could be plainly 
traced, although densely covered with bushes. The mountain peaks above 
were all sharp and angular, indicating at a glance that they had never 
been subjected to glacial action. The sandstone and shales forming the 
naked cliffs are fractured and crushed, and are evidently yielding 
rapidly to the weather; but the characteristic red color due to rock 
decay could not be seen. The prevailing tone of the mountains, when 
not buried beneath vegetation or covered with snow, is a cold gray. 
Bright, warm, summer skies are needed to reveal the variety and beauty 
of that forbidding region.

Our large canoe behaved well, although heavily loaded. Sometimes the 
wind was favorable, when an extemporized sail lessened the fatigue of 
the trip. The landing on the northwestern shore was effected, through 
a light surf, on a sandy beach heavily encumbered with icebergs. As it 
was hazardous to beach the large canoe with its load of boxes and 
bags, the heavy freight was transferred, a few pieces at a time, to 
smaller canoes, each manned by a single Indian, and all was safely 
landed beyond the reach of the breakers. Camp 3 was established on the 
sandy beach just above the reach of the tide and near the mouth of a 
roaring brook. The drift-wood along the shore furnished abundant fuel 
for a blazing camp-fire; our tents were pitched, and once more we felt 
at home.

Two canoes were dispatched, in care of Doney, to the camp on the 
opposite shore (Camp 2), with instructions to bring over the 
equipments left there. Kerr went over also for the purpose of making a 
topographic station on the bluff forming Point Esperanza should the 
morrow's weather permit.

It was curious to note the care which our Indians took of their 
canoes. Not only were they drawn high up on the beach, out of the 
reach of all possible tides, but each canoe was swathed in wet cloths, 
especially at the prow and stern, to prevent them from drying and 
cracking. The canoes, being fashioned from a single spruce log, are 
especially liable to split if allowed to dry thoroughly.

The day after our arrival, all of our party and all of our camp {86} 
outfit were assembled at Camp 3. Mr. Hendriksen and our Indian friends 
took their departure, and the work for which we had come so far was 
actually begun.


BASE CAMP ON THE SHORE OF YAKUTAT BAY.

About the tents at Camp 3 the rank grass grew waist-high, sheltering 
the strawberries and dwarf raspberries that bloomed beneath. A little 
way back from the shore, clumps of alders, interspersed with spruce 
trees, marked the beginning of the forest which covered the hills 
toward the west and southwest. Toward the north rose rugged mountains, 
their summits shrouded in mist; in the steep gorges on their sides the 
ends of glaciers gleamed white, like foaming cataracts descending from 
cloudland.

The day following our arrival dawned bright and beautiful. Every cloud 
vanished from the mountains as by magic, revealing their magnificent 
summits in clear relief. We found ourselves at the base of a rugged 
mountain range extending far southeastward and northwestward, its 
first rampart so breached as to allow the waters of the ocean to 
extend into the very midst of the great peaks beyond. Through this 
opening we had a splendid view of the snow-clad mountains filling the 
northern sky and stretching away in lessening perspective toward the 
east until they blended with the distant clouds.

Topographic work was started, and the preparation of "packs" for the 
journey inland was begun at once; and all hands were kept busy. A 
base-line was measured by Mr. Kerr, and a beginning was made in the 
development of a system of triangulation which was carried on 
throughout the season.

Our stay at the camp on the shore extended over a week, and enabled us 
to become familiar with many of the changes in the rugged scenery 
surrounding Yakutat bay. The bay itself was covered with icebergs for 
most of the time. Owing to the prevailing winds and the action of 
shore currents, the ice accumulated on the coast adjacent to our camp. 
For many days the beach toward both the north and the south, as far as 
the eye could reach, was piled high with huge masses of blue and white 
ice. When the bay was rough, the surf roared angrily among the 
stranded bergs and, dashing over them, formed splendid sheets of foam; 
while on bright, sunny days the bay gleamed and flashed in the 
sunlight as the summer winds gently rippled {87} its surface, and the 
thousands of icebergs crowding the azure plain seemed a numberless 
fleet of fairy boats with crystal hulls and fantastic sails of blue 
and white. When the long summer days drew to a close and gave place to 
the soft northern twilight, which in summer lasts until the glow of 
the returning sun is seen in the east, the sea and mountains assumed a 
soft, mysterious beauty never realized by dwellers in more southern 
climes. The hours of twilight were so enchanting, the varying shades 
and changing tints on the mighty snow-fields robing the mountains were 
so exquisite in their gradations that, even when weary with many hours 
of toil, the explorer could not resist the charm, and paced the sandy 
shore until the night was far spent. Sometimes in the twilight hours, 
long after the sun disappeared, the summits of the majestic peaks 
toward the east were transformed by the light of the after-glow into 
mountains of flame. As the light faded, the cold shadow of the world 
crept higher and higher up the crystal slopes until only the topmost 
spires and pinnacles were gilded by the sunset glow. At such times, 
when our eyes were weary with watching the gorgeous transformation of 
the snow-covered mountains and were turned to the far-reaching seaward 
view, we would be startled by the sight of a vast city, with 
battlements, towers, minarets, and domes of fantastic architecture, 
rising where we knew that only the berg-covered waters extended. The 
appearance of these phantom cities was a common occurrence during the 
twilight hours. Although we knew at once that the ghostly spires were 
but a trick of the mirage, yet their ever-changing shapes and 
remarkable mimicry of human habitations were so striking that they 
never lost their novelty; and they were never the same on two 
successive evenings. One of the most common deceptions of the mirage 
is the transformation of icebergs into the semblance of fountains 
gushing from the sea and expanding into graceful, sheaf-like shapes. 
The strangest freaks due to the refraction of light on hot deserts, 
which are usually supposed to be the home of the mirage, do not excite 
the traveler's wonder so much as the phantom cities seen in the 
uncertain twilight amid the ice-packs of the north.

When the slowly deepening twilight transformed mountains and seas into 
a dreamland picture, the harvest moon, strangely out of place in far 
northern skies, spread a sheet of silver behind the dark headlands 
toward the southeast, and then slowly appeared, not rising boldly 
toward the zenith, but tracing a low {88} arch in the southern 
heavens, to soon disappear into the sea toward the southwest. Brief as 
were her visits, they were always welcome and always brought the 
feeling that distant homes were nearer when the same light was visible 
to us and to loved ones far away. The soft moonlight dimmed the 
twilight, the after-glow faded from the highest peaks, and the short 
northern night came on.

After returning from the mountains, late in September, we were again 
encamped on the northwestern shore of Yakutat bay. A heavy northeast 
storm swept down from the mountains and awakened all the pent-up fury 
of the waves. The beach was crowded with bergs, among which the surf 
broke in great sheets of feathery foam; clouds of spray were dashed 
far above the icy ramparts, carrying with them fragments of ice torn 
from the bergs over which they swept; while the stranded bergs rocked 
violently to and fro as the waves burst over them. Sometimes the 
raging waters, angered by opposition, lifted the bergs in their mighty 
arms and, turning them over and over, dashed them high on the beach. 
It seemed as if spirits of the deep, unable to leave the water-world, 
were hurling their weapons at unseen enemies on the land. The fearful 
grandeur of the raging waters and of the dark storm-swept skies was, 
perhaps, enhanced by the fact that the landward-blowing gale, combined 
with a rising tide, threatened to sweep away our frail home. Each 
succeeding wave, as it rolled shoreward, sent a sheet of foam roaring 
and rushing up the beach and creeping nearer and nearer to our shelter 
until only a few inches intervened between the highwater line and the 
crest of the sand bank that protected us. The limit was reached at 
last, however, and the water slowly retreated, leaving a fringe of ice 
within arm's length of our tents.

The wild scene along the shore was especially grand at night. The 
stranded bergs, seen through the gloom, formed strange moving shapes, 
like vessels in distress. The white banners of spray seemed signals of 
disaster. An Armada, more numerous than ever sailed from the ports of 
Spain, was being crushed and ground to pieces by the hoarse wind and 
raging surf. Sleep was impossible, even if one cared to rest when sea 
and air and sky were joined in fierce conflict. Our tents, spared by 
the waves, were dashed down by the fierce north winds, and a lake in 
the forest toward the west overflowed its banks and discharged its 
flooding waters through our encampment. At last, tired and {89} 
discomforted, we abandoned our tents and retreated to the neighboring 
forest and there took refuge in a cabin built near where a coal seam 
outcrops, and remained until the storm had spent its force. But I have 
anticipated, and must return to the thread of my narrative.


FIRST DAY'S TRAMP.

The impressions received during the first day spent on shore in a new 
country are always long remembered. Of several "first days" in my own 
calendar, there are none that exceed in interest my first excursions 
through the forest and over the hills west of Yakutat bay.

Every one about camp having plenty of work to occupy him through the 
day, I started out early on the morning of July 2, with only "Bud" and 
"Tweed" for companions. My objects were to reconnoiter the country to 
the westward, to learn what I could concerning its geology and 
glaciers, and to choose a line of march toward Mount St. Elias.

To the north of our camp, and about a mile distant, rose a densely 
wooded hill about 300 feet high, with a curving outline, convex 
southward. This hill had excited my curiosity on first catching sight 
of the shore, and I decided to make it my first study. Its position at 
the mouth of a steep gorge in the hills beyond, down which a small 
glacier flowed, suggested that it might be an ancient moraine, 
deposited at a time when the ice-stream advanced farther than at 
present. My surprise therefore was great when, after forcing my way 
through the dense thickets, I reached the top of the hill, and found a 
large kettle-shaped depression, the sides of which were solid walls of 
ice fifty feet high. This showed at once that the supposed hill was 
really the extremity of a glacier, long dead and deeply buried beneath 
forest-covered débris. In the bottom of the kettle-like depression lay 
a pond of muddy water, and, as the ice-cliffs about the lakelet melted 
in the warm sunlight, miniature avalanches of ice and stones, mingled 
with sticks and bushes that had been undermined, frequently rattled 
down its sides and splashed into the waters below. Further examination 
revealed the fact that scores of such kettles are scattered over the 
surface of the buried glacier. This ice-stream is that designated the 
_Galiano glacier_ on the accompanying map.

Continuing on my way toward the mouth of the gorge in the {90} 
mountains above, I forced my way for nearly a mile through dense 
thickets, frequently making wide detours to avoid the kettle holes. At 
length the vegetation became less dense, and gave place to broad open 
fields of rocks and dirt, covering the glacier from side to side. This 
débris was clearly of the nature of a moraine, as the ice could be 
seen beneath it in numerous crevasses; but no division into marginal 
or medial moraines could be distinguished. It is really a thin, 
irregular sheet of comminuted rock, together with angular masses of 
sandstone and shale, the largest of which are ten or fifteen feet in 
diameter. When seen from a little distance the débris completely 
conceals the ice and forms a barren, rugged surface, the picture of 
desolation.

After traversing this naked area the clear ice in the center of the 
gorge was reached. All about were wild cliffs, stretching up toward 
the snow-covered peaks above; several cataracts of ice, formed by 
tributary glaciers descending through rugged, highly inclined 
channels, were in sight; while the snow-fields far above gleamed 
brilliantly in the sunlight, and now and then sent down small 
avalanches to awaken the echoes of the cliffs and fill the still air 
with a Babel of tongues.

Pushing on toward the western border of the glacier, across the barren 
field of stones, I came at length to the brink of a precipice of dirty 
ice more than a hundred feet high, at the foot of which flowed a swift 
stream of turbid water. A few hundred yards below, this stream 
suddenly disappeared beneath an archway formed by the end of a glacial 
tunnel, and its further course was lost to view. It was a strange 
sight to see a swift, foaming river burst from beneath overhanging 
ice-cliffs, roar along over a bowlder-covered bed, and then plunge 
into the mouth of a cavern, leaving no trace of its lower course 
except a dull, heavy rumbling far down below the icy surface. A still 
grander example of these glacial streams, observed a few days later, 
is described on another page.

The bank of the gulf opposite the point at which I first reached it is 
formed by a steep mountain-side supporting a dense growth of 
vegetation. Here and there, however, streams of water plunge down the 
slope, making a chain of foaming cascades, and opening the way through 
the vegetation. It seemed practicable to traverse one of these stream 
beds without great difficulty, and thus to reach the plateau which I 
knew, from a more distant view, to exist above.

{91} Crossing the glacial river above the upper archway, I reached the 
mountain side and began to ascend. The task was far more difficult 
than anticipated. The bushes, principally of alder and currant, grew 
dense and extended their branches down the steep slope in such a 
manner that at times it was utterly impossible to force a way through 
them. Much of the way I crawled on hands and knees up the steep 
watercourse beneath the dense tangle of vegetation overhanging from 
either bank and interlacing in the center. On nearing the top I was so 
fortunate as to strike a bear trail, along which the animal had forced 
his way through the bushes, making an opening like a tunnel. Through 
this I ascended to the top of the slope, coming out in a wild 
amphitheatre in the side of the mountain. The bottom of the 
amphitheatre was exceedingly rough, owing to confused moraine-heaps, 
and held a number of small lakes. On account of its elevation, it was 
not densely covered with bushes, and no trees were in sight except 
along its southern margin. About its northern border ran a broad 
terrace, marking the height of the great glacier which formerly 
occupied the site of Yakutat bay. The terrace formed a convenient 
pathway leading westward to a sharp ridge running out from the 
mountains and connecting with an outstanding butte, which promised to 
afford an unobstructed view to the westward.

Pressing on, I found that the terrace on which I was traveling at 
length became a free ridge, some three hundred feet high, with steep 
slopes on either side, like a huge railroad embankment. This ridge 
swept across the valley in a graceful curve, and shut off a portion of 
the western part of the amphitheatre from the general drainage. In the 
portion thus isolated there was a lake without an outlet, still 
frozen. The snow banks bordering the frozen lake were traced in every 
direction by the trails of bears. Continuing my tramp, I crossed broad 
snow-fields, climbed the ridge to the westward, and obtained a 
far-reaching, unobstructed view of the surrounding country. The 
elevation reached was only about 1,500 feet above sea-level, but was 
above the timber line. The mountain slopes toward the north were bare 
of vegetation and generally covered with snow.

The first object to claim attention was the huge pyramid forming the 
summit of Mount St. Elias, which stood out clear and sharp against the 
northwestern sky. Although thirty-six miles distant, it dominated all 
other peaks in view and rose far above {92} the rugged crests of 
nearer ranges, many of which would have been counted magnificent 
mountains in a less rugged land. This was the first view of the great 
peak obtained by any of our party. Not a cloud obscured the defination 
of the mountain; and the wonderful transparency of the atmosphere, 
after so many days of mist and rain, was something seldom if ever 
equalled in less humid lands.

Much nearer than St. Elias, and a little west of north of my station, 
rose Mount Cook, one of the most beautiful peaks in the region. Its 
summit, unlike the isolated pyramid in which St. Elias terminates, is 
formed of three white domes, with here and there subordinate pinnacles 
of pure white, shooting up from the snow-fields like great crystals. 
On the southern side of Mount Cook there are several rugged and 
angular ridges, which sweep away for many miles and project like 
headlands into the sea of ice, known as the Malaspina glacier, 
bordering the ocean toward the southwest. Between the main ridges 
there are huge trunk glaciers, each contributing its flood of ice to 
the great glacier below; and each secondary valley and each 
amphitheatre among the peaks, no matter how small, has its individual 
glacier, and the majority of these are tributary to the larger 
ice-streams. All the mountains in sight exceeding 2,000 feet in 
elevation were white with snow, except the sharpest ridges and boldest 
precipices. The attention of the geologist is attracted by the fact 
that all the foot-hills of Mount Cook are composed of gray sandstone 
and black shale; and he also observes that the angular mountain crest 
so sharply drawn against the sky furnishes abundant evidence that the 
mountains were never subjected to the abrasion of a continuous 
ice-sheet.

As I stood on the steep-sloped ridge, the Atrevida and Lucia glaciers, 
their surfaces covered from side to side with angular masses of 
sandstone and shale, lay at my feet; while farther up the valley the 
débris on the surface of the ice disappeared, and all above was a 
winter landscape. The brown, desolate débris-fields on the glacier at 
my feet extended far southward, and covered the expanded ice-foot in 
which the glacier terminates. Most curious of all was the fact that 
the moraines on the lower border of the glacier were concealed from 
view by a dense covering of vegetation, and in places were clothed 
with forests of spruce trees.

To the southward, beyond the end of the Lucia glacier, and separated 
from it by a torrent-swept bowlder-bed, lay a vast {93} plateau of ice 
which stretched toward the south and west farther than the eye could 
reach. This is the Malaspina glacier, shown on plate 8. Its borders, 
like the expanded extremity of the Lucia glacier, are covered with 
débris, on the outer margins of which dense vegetation has taken root. 
All the central portion of the ice-sheet is clear of moraines, and 
shone in the sunlight like a vast snow-field. The heights formerly 
reached by the nearer glaciers were plainly marked along the mountain 
sides by well-defined terraces, sloping with the present drainage. 
When the Lucia glacier was at its flood the ridge on which I stood was 
only 200 or 300 feet above its surface; now it approaches 1,000 feet.

Turning toward the southeast, I could look down upon the waters of 
Yakutat bay, with its thousands of floating icebergs, and could 
distinguish the white breakers as they rolled in on Ocean cape. Beyond 
Yakutat stretches a forest-covered plateau between the mountains and 
the sea, and the eye could range far over the mountains bordering this 
plateau on the northeast. In the distance, fully a hundred miles away, 
stood Mount Fairweather, its position rendered conspicuous by a bank 
of shining clouds floating serenely above its cold summit.

The mountains directly east of Yakutat bay rise to a general height of 
about 8,000 feet, but are without especially prominent peaks. In a 
general way they form a rugged plateau, which has been dissected in 
various channels to depth of 2,000 or 3,000 feet. Nearly all of the 
plateau, including mountains and valleys, is covered with snow-fields 
and glaciers; but none of the ice-streams, so far as can be seen from 
a distance, descend below an elevation of about 4,000 or 5,000 feet. 
This region is as yet untraversed; and when the explorer enters it, it 
is quite possible that deep drainage lines will be found through which 
glaciers may descend nearly or quite to sea-level.

After drinking in the effect of the magnificent landscape and 
endeavoring to impress every detail in the rugged topography upon my 
memory, and having finished writing my notes, it was time to return; 
for the sun was already declining toward the west. Wishing to see more 
of the wonderful land about me, I concluded to descend the western 
slope of the ridge upon which I stood, and to return to camp by 
following a stream which issues from the Atrevida glacier directly 
below my station and empties into Yakutat bay a mile or two south of 
our third camp.

{94} The quickest and easiest way down was to slide on the snow. Using 
my alpenstock as a brake, I descended swiftly several hundred feet 
without difficulty, the dogs bounding along beside me, when on looking 
up I was startled to see two huge brown bears on the same snow 
surface, a little to the left and not more than a hundred and fifty 
yards away. Had my slide been continued a few seconds more I should 
have been in exceedingly unwelcome company. I was unarmed, and 
entirely unprepared for a fight with two of the most savage animals 
found in this country. The bears had long yellowish-brown hair, and 
were of the size and character of the "grizzly," with which they are 
thought by hunters, if not by naturalists, to be specifically 
identical. They were not at all disturbed by my presence, and in spite 
of my shouts, which I thought would make them travel off, one of them 
came leisurely toward me. His strides over the snow revealed a 
strength and activity commanding admiration despite the decidedly 
uncomfortable feeling awakened by his proximity and evident curiosity. 
Later in the season I measured the tracks of an animal of the same 
species, made while walking over a soft, level surface, and found each 
impression to measure 9 by 17 inches, and the stride to reach 64 
inches. So far as I have been able to learn, this is the largest bear 
track that has been reported. Realizing my danger, I continued my snow 
slide, but in a different direction and with accelerated speed. The 
upper limit of the dense thicket clothing the slope of the mountain 
was soon reached, and my unwelcome companions were lost to sight.

Following the bed of a torrent fed by the snow-fields above, I soon 
came to the creek chosen for my route back to camp; the waters, brown 
and turbid with sediment, welled out of a cavern at the foot of an ice 
precipice 200 feet high, and formed a roaring stream too deep and too 
swift for fording. The roaring of the brown waters and the startling 
noises made by stones rattling down the ice-cliff, together with the 
dark shadows of the deep gorge, walled in by a steep mountain slope on 
one side and a glacier on the other, made the route seem uncanny. On 
the sands filling the spaces between the bowlders there were many 
fresh bear tracks, which at least suggested that the belated traveler 
should be careful in his movements.

This locality was afterward occupied as a camping place, and is shown 
in the picture forming plate 10. The dark-colored ice, {95} mixed with 
stones and earth, might easily be mistaken for stratified rock; but 
the dirt discoloring the ice is almost entirely superficial. The crest 
of the cliff is formed of débris, and is the edge of the sheet of 
stones and earth covering the general surface of the glacier. Owing to 
the constant melting, stones and bowlders are continually loosened to 
rattle down the steep slope and plunge into the water beneath.

I followed down the bank of the stream, by springing from bowlder to 
bowlder, for about a mile, and then came to a steep bluff, the western 
side of which was swept by the roaring flood. The banks above were 
clothed with spruce trees and dense underbrush; but, there being no 
alternative, I entered the forest and slowly worked my way in the 
direction of camp. To traverse the unbroken forests of southern Alaska 
is always difficult, even when one is fresh; and, weary as I was with 
many hours of laborious climbing, my progress was slow indeed. One of 
the principal obstacles encountered in threading these Arctic jungles 
is the plant known as the "Devil's club" (_Panax horridum_), which 
grows to a height of ten or fifteen feet, and has broad, palmate 
leaves that are especially conspicuous in autumn, owing to their 
bright yellow color. The stems of this plant run on the earth for 
several feet and then curve upward. Every portion of its surface, even 
to the ribs of the leaves, is thickly set with spines, which inflict 
painful wounds, and, breaking off in the flesh, cause festering sores. 
In forcing a way through the brush one frequently treads on the 
prostrate portion of these thorny plants, and not infrequently is made 
aware of the fact by a blow on the head or in the face from the 
over-arching stems.

I struggled on through the tangled vegetation until the sun went down 
and the woods became dark and somber. Thick moss, into which the foot 
sank as in a bed of sponge, covered the ground everywhere to the depth 
of two or three feet; each fallen trunk was a rounded mound of green 
and brown, decked with graceful equiseta and ferns, or brilliant with 
flowers, but most treacherous and annoying to the belated traveler. In 
the gloom of the dim-lit woods, the trees, bearded with moss, assumed 
strange, fantastic shapes, which every unfamiliar sound seemed to 
start into life; while the numerous trails made by the bears in 
forcing their way through the thick tangle were positive evidence that 
not all the inhabitants of the forest were creatures of the 
imagination. My faithful companions, "Bud" and {96} "Tweed" showed 
signs of weariness, and offered no objection when I started a fire and 
expressed my intention of spending the night beneath the 
wide-spreading branches of a moss-covered evergreen. Having a few 
pieces of bread in my pocket, I shared them with the dogs, and 
stretching myself on a luxuriant bank of lichens tried to sleep, only 
to find the mosquitoes so energetic that there was no hope of passing 
the night in comfort.

After resting I felt refreshed, and concluded to press on through the 
gathering darkness, and after another hour of hard work I came out of 
the forest and upon a field of torrent-swept bowlders, deposited by 
the stream which I had left farther up. I was surprised to find that 
the twilight was not so far spent as I had fancied. The way ahead 
being free of vegetation, I hastened on, and after traveling about two 
miles was rejoiced by the sight of a camp-fire blazing in the 
distance. The warm fire and a hearty supper soon made me forget the 
fatigues of the day.

This, my first day's exploration, must stand as an example of many 
similar days spent on the hills and in the forests northwest of 
Yakutat bay, of which it is not necessary to give detailed 
descriptions.


CANOE TRIP IN DISENCHANTMENT BAY.

On July 3, I continued my examination of the region about the head of 
Yakutat bay by making a canoe trip up Disenchantment bay to Haenke 
island. With the assistance of Christie and Crumback, our canoe was 
launched through the surf without difficulty, and we slowly worked our 
way through the fields of floating ice which covered all the upper 
portion of the inlet. The men plied the oars with which the canoe was 
fortunately provided, while I directed its course with a paddle. A 
heavy swell rolling in from the ocean rendered the task of choosing a 
route through the grinding ice-pack somewhat difficult. After four or 
five hours of hard work, during which time several vain attempts were 
made to traverse leads in the ice which had only one opening, we 
succeeded in reaching the southern end of the island.

The shores of Haenke island are steep and rocky, and, so far as I am 
aware, afford only one cove in which a boat can take refuge. This is 
at the extreme southern point, and is not visible until its entrance 
is reached. A break or fissure in the rocks there admits of the 
accumulation of stone and sand, and this {97} has been extended by the 
action of the waves and tides until a beach a hundred feet in length 
has been deposited. The dashing of the bowlders and sand against the 
cliffs at the head of the cove by the incoming waves has increased its 
extension in that direction so as to form a well-sheltered refuge. The 
absence of beaches on other portions of the island is due to the fact 
that its bordering precipices descend abruptly into deep water, and do 
not admit of the accumulation of débris about their bases. Without 
stones and sand with which the waves can work, the excavation of 
terraces is an exceedingly slow operation. The precipitous nature of 
the borders of the island is due, to some extent at least, to the 
abrasion of the rocks by the glacial ice which once encircled it.

Pulling our canoe far up on the beach, we began the ascent of the 
cliffs. Hundreds of sea birds, startled from their nests by our 
intrusion, circled fearlessly about our heads and filled the air with 
their wild cries. The more exposed portions of the slopes were bare of 
vegetation, but in the shelter of every depression dense thickets 
obstructed the way. Many of the little basins between the rounded 
knolls hold tarns of fresh water, and were occupied at the time of our 
visit by flocks of gray geese. It is evident that the island was 
intensely glaciated at no distant day. The surfaces of its rounded 
domes are so smoothly polished that they glitter like mirrors in the 
sunlight. On the polished surfaces there are deep grooves and fine, 
hair-like lines, made by the stones set in the bottom of the glacier 
which once flowed over the island and removed all of the rocks that 
were not firm and hard. On many of the domes of sandstone there rest 
bowlders of a different character, which have evidently been brought 
from the mountains toward the northeast.

The summit of the island is about 800 feet above the level of the sea, 
and, like its sides, is polished and striated. The terraces on the 
mountains of the mainland show that the glacier which formerly flowed 
out from Disenchantment bay must have been fully 2,000 feet deep. The 
bed it occupied toward the south is now flooded by the waters of 
Yakutat bay.

At the time of Malaspina's visit, 100 years ago, the glaciers from the 
north reached Haenke island, and surrounded it on three sides.[27] At 
the rate of retreat indicated by comparing {98} Malaspina's records 
with the present condition, the glaciers must have reached Point 
Esperanza, at the mouth of Disenchantment bay, about 200 years ago; 
and an allowance of between 500 and 1,000 years would seem ample for 
the retreat of the glaciers since they were at their flood.

[Footnote 27: The map accompanying Malaspina's report and indicating 
these conditions has already been mentioned, and is reproduced on 
plate 7, page 67.]

Reaching the topmost dome of Haenke island, a wonderful panorama of 
snow-covered mountains, glaciers, and icebergs lay before us. The 
island occupies the position of the stage in a vast amphitheatre; the 
spectators are hoary mountain peaks, each a monarch robed in ermine 
and bidding defiance to the ceaseless war of the elements. How 
insignificant the wanderer who confronts such an audience, and how 
weak his efforts to describe such a scene!

From a wild cliff-enclosed valley toward the north, guarded by 
towering pinnacles and massive cliffs, flows a great glacier, the 
fountains of which are far back in the heart of the mountains beyond 
the reach of vision. Having vainly sought an Indian name for this 
ice-stream, I concluded to christen it the _Dalton glacier_, in honor 
of John Dalton, a miner and frontiersman now living at Yakutat, who is 
justly considered the pioneer explorer of the region. The glacier is 
greatly shattered and pinnacled in descending its steep channel, and 
on reaching the sea it expands into a broad ice-foot. The last steep 
descent is made just before gaining the water, and is marked by 
crevasses and pinnacles of magnificent proportion and beautiful color. 
This is one of the few glaciers in the St. Elias region that has 
well-defined medial and lateral moraines. At the bases of the cliffs 
on the western side there is a broad, lateral moraine, and in the 
center, looking like a winding road leading up the glacier, runs a 
triple-banded ribbon of débris, forming a typical medial moraine. The 
morainal material carried by the glacier is at last deposited at its 
foot, or floated away by icebergs, and scattered far and wide over the 
bottom of Yakutat bay.

The glacier expands on entering the water, as is the habit of all 
glaciers when unconfined, and ends in magnificent ice-cliffs some two 
miles in length. The water dashing against the bases of the cliffs 
dissolves them away, and the tides tend to raise and lower the 
expanded ice-foot. The result is that huge masses, sometimes reaching 
from summit to base of the cliffs, are undermined, and topple over 
into the sea with a tremendous crash. Owing to the distance of the 
glacier from Haenke island, we could {99} see the fall long before the 
roar reached our ears; the cliffs separated, and huge masses seemed to 
sink without a sound; the spray thrown up as the blue pinnacles 
disappeared ascended like gleaming rockets, sometimes as high as the 
tops of the cliffs, and then fell back in silent cataracts of foam. 
Then a noise as of a cannonade came rolling across the waters and 
echoing from cliff to cliff. The roar of the glacier continues all day 
when the air is warm and the sun bright, and is most active when the 
summer days are finest. Sometimes, roar succeeded roar, like artillery 
fire, and the salutes were answered, gun for gun, by the great Hubbard 
glacier, which pours its flood of ice into the fjord a few miles 
further northeastward. This ice-stream, most magnificent of the 
tide-water glaciers of Alaska yet discovered, and a towering mountain 
peak from which the glacier receives a large part of its drainage, 
were named in honor of Gardiner G. Hubbard, president of the National 
Geographic Society.

[Illustration: PLATE 9. HUBBARD GLACIER.]

Looking across the waters of the bay, whitened by thousands of 
floating bergs, we could see three miles of the ice-cliffs formed 
where the Hubbard glacier enters the sea. A dark headland on the shore 
of the mainland to the right shut off the full view of the glacier but 
formed a strongly drawn foreground, which enhanced the picturesque 
effect of the scenery. The Hubbard glacier flows majestically through 
a deep valley leading back into the mountains, and has two main 
branches, with a smaller and steeper tributary between. These branches 
unite to form a single ice-foot extending into the bay. The western 
branch has a dark medial moraine down its center, which makes a bold, 
sweeping curve before joining the main stream. There is also a broad 
lateral débris-belt along the bases of the cliffs forming its right 
bank. The whole surface of the united glacier, and all of the white 
tongues running back into the mountains beyond the reach of vision, 
are broken and shattered, owing to the steepness and roughness of the 
bed over which they flow. The surface, where not concealed by morainal 
material, is snow-white; but in the multitude of crevasses the blue 
ice is exposed, and gives a greenish-blue tint to the entire stream. 
Where the subglacial slopes are steep, the ice is broken into 
pinnacles and towers of the grandest description.

On the steep mountain sides sloping toward the Hubbard glacier there 
are more than a dozen secondary ice-streams which are tributary to it. 
The amphitheatres in which the glacier has {100} its beginnings have 
never been seen; but our general knowledge of the fountains from which 
glaciers flow assures us that not only scores but hundreds of other 
secondary and tertiary glaciers far back into the mountains contribute 
their floods to the same great stream.

After being received on board the _Corwin_, late in September, we had 
an opportunity to view the great sea-cliffs of the Hubbard glacier 
near at hand. Captain Hooper, attracted by the magnificent scenery, 
took his vessel up Disenchantment bay to a point beyond Haenke island, 
whence a view could be had of the eastern extension of the inlet. So 
far as is known, the _Corwin_ was the first vessel to navigate those 
waters. Soundings made between the island and the ice-foot gave forty 
to sixty fathoms. At the elbow, where the southeastern shore of the 
bay turns abruptly eastward, there is a low islet not represented on 
any map previous to the one made by the recent expedition, which 
commands even a wider prospect than can be obtained from Haenke 
island. Future visitors to this remote coast should endeavor to reach 
this islet, after having beheld the grand panorama obtainable from the 
summit of Haenke island. The portion of Disenchantment bay stretching 
eastward from the foot of Hubbard glacier is enclosed on all sides by 
bold mountains, the lower slopes of which have the subdued and flowing 
outlines characteristic of glaciated regions. Several glaciers occur 
in the high-grade lateral valleys opening from the bay; but these have 
recently retreated, and none of them have sufficient volume at present 
to reach the water. The general recession, in which all the glaciers 
of Alaska are participating, is manifested here by the broad débris 
fields, which cover all the lower ice-streams not ending in the sea. 
The absence of vegetation on the smooth rocks recently abandoned by 
the ice also tells of recent climatic changes.

A débris-covered glacier, so completely concealed by continuous sheets 
of stones and earth that its true character can scarcely be 
recognized, descends from the mountains just east of Hubbard glacier. 
It is formed by the union of two principal tributaries, and, on 
reaching comparatively level ground, expands into a broad ice-foot, 
but does not have sufficient volume to reach the sea. Another glacier, 
of smaller size but of the same general character, lies between the 
Hubbard and Dalton glaciers.

In a rugged defile in the mountains just west of Haenke island there 
is another small dirt-covered glacier, which creeps down from the 
precipices above and reaches within a mile of the water. {101} At its 
end there is a cliff of black, dirty ice, scarcely to be distinguished 
from rock at a little distance, from the base of which flows a turbid 
stream. This glacier is covered so completely with earth and stones 
that not a vestige of the ice can be seen unless we actually traverse 
its surface. Its appearance suggests the name of _Black glacier_, by 
which it is designated on the accompanying map.

The visitor to Haenke island has examples of at least two well-marked 
types of glaciers in view: The small débris-covered ice-streams, too 
small to reach the water, are typical of a large class of glaciers in 
southern Alaska, which are slowly wasting away and have become buried 
beneath débris concentrated at the surface by reason of their own 
melting. The Galiano glacier is a good example of this class. The 
Hubbard and Dalton glaciers are fine examples of another class of 
ice-streams which flow into the sea and end in ice-cliffs, and which 
for convenience we call _tide-water glaciers_. Nowhere can finer or 
more beautiful examples of this type be found than those in view from 
Haenke island.

The formation of icebergs from the undermining and breaking down of 
the ice-cliffs of the tide-water glaciers has already been mentioned. 
But there is another method by which bergs are formed--a process even 
more remarkable than the avalanches that occur when portions of the 
ice-cliffs topple over into the sea. The ice-cliffs at the foot of the 
tide-water glaciers are really sea-cliffs formed by the waves cutting 
back a terrace in the ice. The submerged terrace is composed of ice, 
and may extend out a thousand feet or more in front of the visible 
part of the ice-cliffs. These conditions are represented in the 
accompanying diagram (figure 1), which exhibits a longitudinal section 
of the lower end of a tide-water glacier where it pushes out into the 
sea.

[Illustration: FIGURE 1--_Diagram illustrating the Formation of 
Icebergs_.]

As the sea-cliff of ice recedes and the submerged terrace increases in 
breadth there comes a time when the buoyancy of the {102} ice at the 
bottom exceeds its strength, and pieces break off and rise to the 
surface. The water about the ends of the glaciers is so intensely 
muddy that the submerged ice-foot is hidden from view, and its 
presence would not be suspected were it not for the fragments 
occasionally rising from it. The sudden appearance of these masses of 
bottom ice at the surface is always startling. While watching the 
ice-cliffs and admiring the play of colors in the deep crevasses which 
penetrate them in every direction, or tracing in fancy the strange 
history of the silent river and wondering in what age the snows fell 
on the mountains, which are now returning to their parent, the sea, 
one is frequently awakened by a commotion in the waters below, perhaps 
several hundred feet in front of the ice-cliffs. At first it seems as 
if some huge sea-monster had risen from the deep and was lashing the 
waters into foam; but soon the waters part, and a blue island rises to 
the surface, carrying hundreds of tons of water, which flows down its 
sides in cataracts of foam. Some of the bergs turn completely over on 
emerging, and thus add to the tumult and confusion that attends their 
birth. The waves roll away in widening circles, to break in surf on 
the adjacent shores, and an island of ice of the most lovely blue 
floats serenely away to join the thousands of similar islands that 
have preceded it. The fragments of the glacier rising from the bottom 
in this manner are usually larger than those broken from the faces of 
the ice-cliffs, sometimes measuring 200 or 300 feet in diameter. Their 
size and the suddenness with which they rise would insure certain 
destruction of a vessel venturing too near the treacherous ice-walls.

At the time of our visit to Haenke island, the entire surface of 
Disenchantment bay and all of Yakutat bay as far southward as we could 
see formed one vast field of floating ice. Most of the bergs were 
small, but here and there rose masses which measured 150 by 200 feet 
on their sides and stood 40 or 50 feet out of the water. The bergs are 
divided, in reference to color, into three classes--the white, the 
blue, and the black. The white ones are those that have fallen from 
the face of the ice-walls or those that have been sufficiently exposed 
to the atmosphere to become melted at the surface and filled with air 
cavities. The blue bergs are of many shades and tints, finding their 
nearest match in color in Antwerp blue. These are the ones that have 
recently risen from the submerged ice-foot, or have turned over owing 
to a change of position in the center of gravity. Rapid as is the 
{103} melting of the ice when exposed to the air, it seems to liquefy 
even more quickly when submerged. The changes thus produced finally 
cause the bergs to reverse their positions in the water. This is done 
without the slightest warning, and is one of the greatest dangers to 
be guarded against while canoeing among them. The white color 
presented by the majority of the bergs is changed to blue when they 
become stranded, and the surf breaks over them and dissolves away 
their porous surfaces. A few of the bergs are black in color, owing to 
the dirt and stones that they carry on their surfaces or frozen in 
their mass. Quantities of débris are thus floated away from the 
tide-water glaciers and strewn over the bottoms of the adjacent 
inlets.

This digression may be wearisome, but one cannot stand on Haenke 
island without wishing to know all the secrets of the great 
ice-streams that flow silently before him.

Returning from our commanding station at the summit of the island to 
where we left our canoe, we were surprised and not a little startled 
to find that the tide had run out and left the strand between our 
canoe and the water completely blocked with huge fragments of ice. 
There was no way left for us to launch our canoe except by cutting 
away and leveling off the ice with our axe, so as to form a trail over 
which we could drag it to the water. This we did, and then, poising 
the canoe on a low flat berg, half of which extended beneath the 
water, I took my place in it with paddle in hand, while Christie and 
Crumback, waiting for the moment when a large wave rolled in, launched 
the canoe far out in the surf. By the vigorous use of my paddle I 
succeeded in reaching smooth water and brought the canoe close under 
the cliff forming the southern side of the cove, where the men were 
able to drop in as a wave rolled under us.

We slowly worked our way down the bay through blue lanes in the 
ice-pack, against an incoming tide, and reached our tents near sunset. 
Thus ended one of the most enjoyable and most instructive days at 
Yakutat bay.


FROM YAKUTAT BAY TO BLOSSOM ISLAND.

Our camp on the shore of Yakutat bay was held for several days after 
returning from Haenke island, but in the meantime an advance-camp was 
established on the side of the Lucia glacier, from which Mr. Kerr and 
myself made explorations ahead.

{104} Before leaving the base-camp I visited Black glacier for the 
purpose of taking photographs and studying the appearance of an old 
glacier far spent and fast passing away. This, like the Galiano 
glacier, is a good example of a great number of ice-streams in the 
same region which are covered from side to side with débris. The cañon 
walls on either side rise precipitously, and their lower slopes, for 
the height of 200 or 300 feet, are bare of vegetation. The surface of 
the glacier has evidently sunken to this extent within a period too 
short to allow of the accumulation of soil and the rooting of plants 
on the slopes. The banks referred to are in part below the upper limit 
of timber growth, and the adjacent surfaces are covered with bushes, 
grasses, and flowers. Under the climatic conditions there prevailing, 
it is evident that the formation of soil and the spreading of plants 
over areas abandoned by ice is a matter of comparatively few years. It 
is for this reason that a very recent retreat of Black glacier is 
inferred. Many of the glaciers in southern Alaska give similar 
evidence of recent contraction, and it is evident that a climatic 
change is in progress which is either decreasing the winter's snow or 
increasing the summer's heat. The most sensitive indicators of these 
changes, responding even more quickly than does the vegetation, are 
the glaciers.

The fourth of July was spent by us in cutting a trail up the steep 
mountain slope to the amphitheatre visited during my first tramp. No 
one can appreciate the density and luxuriance of the vegetation on the 
lower mountain in that region until he has cut a passage through it. 
Seven men, working continuously for six or seven hours with axes and 
knives, were able to open a comparatively good trail about a mile in 
length. The remainder of the way was along stream courses and up 
bowlder-washes, which were free from vegetation. In the afternoon, 
having finished our task, a half-holiday was spent in an exciting 
search for two huge brown bears discovered by one of the party, but 
they vanished before the guns could be brought out.

The next day an advance-camp was made in the amphitheatre above timber 
line, and there Mr. Kerr and myself passed the night, molested only by 
swarms of mosquitoes, and the day following occupied an outstanding 
butte as a topographical station. In the afternoon of the same day the 
advance-camp was moved to the border of the Atrevida glacier at a 
point already described, where a muddy stream gushes out from under 
the ice.

{105} Our next advance-camp, established a few days later, was at 
Terrace point, as we called the extreme end of the mountain spur 
separating the Lucia and Atrevida glaciers. These ice-streams were 
formerly much higher than now, and when at their flood formed terraces 
along the mountain side, which remain distinctly visible to the 
present day. The space between the two glaciers at the southern end of 
the mountain spur became filled with bowlders and stones carried down 
on the side of the ice-streams, and, as the glaciers contracted, added 
a tapering point to the mountain. Between the present surface of the 
ice and the highest terrace left at some former time there are many 
ridges, sloping down stream, which record minor changes in the 
fluctuation of the ice. A portion of one of these terraces is seen to 
the left in plate 10.

[Illustration: PLATE 10. WALL OF ICE ON EASTERN SIDE OF THE ATREVIDA 
GLACIER.]

Terrace point, like all the lower portions of the mountain spurs 
extending southward from the main range, is densely clothed with 
vegetation, and during the short summers is a paradise of flowers. Our 
tent was pitched on a low terrace just beyond the border of the ice. 
The steep bluff rising to an elevation of some 200 feet on the east of 
our camp was formed by glacial ice buried beneath an absolutely barren 
covering of stones and dirt. On the west the ascent was still more 
precipitous, but the slope from base to summit was one mass of 
gorgeous flowers.

[Illustration: PLATE 11. VIEW ON THE ATREVIDA GLACIER.]

Kerr and myself made several excursions from the camp at Terrace 
point, and explored the country ahead to the next mountain spur for 
the purpose of selecting a site for another advance-camp. In the 
meantime the men were busy in bringing up supplies.

Our reconnoissance westward took us across the Lucia glacier to the 
mouth of a deep, transverse gorge in the next mountain spur. The 
congeries of low peaks and knobs south of this pass we named the 
_Floral hills_, on account of the luxuriance of the vegetation 
covering them; and the saddle separating them from the mountains to 
the north was called _Floral pass_.

In crossing the Lucia glacier we experienced the usual difficulties 
met with on the débris-covered ice-field of Alaska. The way was 
exceedingly rough, on account of the ridges and valleys on the ice, 
and on account of the angular condition of the débris resting upon it. 
Many of the ridges could not conveniently be climbed, owing to the 
uncertain footing afforded by the angular {106} stones resting on the 
slippery slope beneath. Fortunately, the crevasses were mostly filled 
with stones fallen from the sides, so that the danger from open 
fissures, which has usually to be guarded against in glacial 
excursions, was obviated; yet, as is usually the case when crevasses 
become filled with débris, the melting of the adjacent surfaces had 
caused them to stand in relief and form ridges of loose stones, which 
were exceedingly troublesome to the traveler.

[Illustration: PLATE 12. ENTRANCE TO AN ICE TUNNEL; FORMERLY THE 
OUTLET OF A GLACIAL LAKE.]

Near the western side of the Lucia glacier, between Terrace point and 
Floral pass, there is a huge rounded dome of sandstone rising boldly 
out of the ice. This corresponds to the "nunataks" of the Greenland 
ice-fields, and was covered by ice when the glaciation was more 
intense than at present. On the northern side of the island the ice is 
forced high up on its flanks, and is deeply covered with moraines; but 
on the southwestern side its base is low and skirted by a sand plain 
deposited in a valley formerly occupied by a lake. The melting of the 
glacier has, in fact, progressed so far that the dome of rock is free 
from ice on its southern side, and is connected with the border of the 
valley toward the west by the sand plain. This plain is composed of 
gravel and sand deposited by streams which at times became dammed 
lower down and expanded into a lake. Sunken areas and holes over 
portions of the lake bottom show that it rests, in part at least, upon 
a bed of ice.

[Illustration: PLATE 13. DELTAS IN AN ABANDONED LAKE BED.]

The most novel and interesting feature in the Lucia glacier is a 
glacial river which bursts from beneath a high archway of ice just at 
the eastern base of the nunatak mentioned above, and flows for about a 
mile and a half through a channel excavated in the ice, to then enter 
the mouth of another tunnel and become lost to view. An illustration 
of this strange river and of the mouth of the tunnel in the 
débris-covered ice into which it rolls, reproduced from a photograph 
by a mechanical process, is given on plate 14, and another view of the 
mouth of the same tunnel is presented in the succeeding plate. This is 
the finest example of a glacial river that it has ever been my good 
fortune to examine.

[Illustration: PLATE 14. A RIVER ON THE LUCIA GLACIER.]

The stream is swift, and its waters are brown and heavy with sediment. 
Its breadth is about 150 feet. For the greater part of its way, where 
open to sunlight, it flows between banks of ice and over an icy floor. 
Fragments of its banks, and portions of {107} the sides and roof of 
the tunnel from which it emerges, are swept along by the swift 
current, or stranded here and there in midstream. The sand plain 
already mentioned borders the river for a portion of its course, and 
is flooded when the lower tunnel is obstructed.

[Illustration: PLATE 15. ENTRANCE TO A GLACIAL TUNNEL.]

The archway under which the stream disappears is about fifty feet 
high, and the tunnel retains its dimensions as far as one can see by 
looking in at its mouth. Where the stream emerges is unknown; but the 
emergence could no doubt be discovered by examining the border of the 
glacier some miles southward. No explorer has yet been bold enough to 
enter the tunnel and drift through with the stream, although this 
could possibly be done without great danger. The greatest risk in such 
an undertaking would be from falling blocks of ice. While I stood near 
the mouth of the tunnel there came a roar from the dark cavern within, 
reverberating like the explosion of a heavy blast in the chambers of a 
mine, that undoubtedly marked the fall of an ice mass from the arched 
roof. The course of the stream below the mouth of the tunnel may be 
traced for some distance by scarps in the ice above, formed by the 
settling of the roof. Some of these may be traced in the 
illustrations. When the roof of the tunnel collapses so completely as 
to obstruct the passage, a lake is formed above the tunnel, and when 
the obstruction is removed the streams draining the glacier are 
flooded.

At the mouth of the tunnel there are always confused noises and 
rhythmic vibrations to be heard in the dark recesses within. The air 
is filled with pulsations like deep organ notes. It takes but little 
imagination to transform these strange sounds into the voices and 
songs of the mythical inhabitants of the nether regions.

Toward the right of the tunnel, as shown on plate 14, there appears a 
portion of the former river bed, now abandoned, owing to the cutting 
across of a bend in the stream. The floor of this old channel is 
mostly of clear, white ice, and has a peculiar, hummocky appearance, 
which indicates the direction of the current that once flowed over it. 
A portion of the bed is covered with sand and gravel, and along its 
border are gravel terraces resting on ice. These occurrences 
illustrate the fact that rivers flowing through channels of ice are 
governed by the same general laws as the more familiar surface 
streams.

After examining this glacial river, during our first excursion on the 
Lucia glacier, we reached its western banks by crossing {108} above 
the upper archway. Traversing the sand plain to the westward, we came 
to another stream of nearly equal interest, flowing along the western 
margin of the glacier, past the end of the deep gorge called Floral 
pass. A small creek, flowing down the pass, joins the stream and 
skirts the glacier just below the mouth of a wild gorge on the side of 
the main valley. This stream once flowed along the border of the Lucia 
glacier when it was much higher than now, and began the excavation of 
a channel in the rock, which was retained after the surface of the 
glacier was lowered by melting. It still flows in a rock-cut channel 
for about a mile before descending to the border of the glacier as it 
exists at present. The geologist will see at once that this is a 
peculiar example of superimposed drainage. The gorge cut by the stream 
is a deep narrow trench with rough angular cliffs on either side, and 
is a good example of a water-cut cañon. When the Lucia glacier melts 
away and leaves the broad-bottomed valley clear of ice, the deep 
narrow gorge on its western side, running parallel with its longer 
axes, but a thousand feet or more above its bottom, will remain as one 
of the evidences of a former ice invasion.

During our reconnoissance we turned back at the margin of the second 
river, but a day or two later reached the same point with the camp 
hands and camping outfit, and, placing a rope from bank to bank, 
effected a crossing. Our next camp was in Floral pass. From there we 
occupied a topographical station on the summit of the Floral hills, 
and made another reconnoissance ahead, across the _Hayden 
glacier_,[28] to the next mountain spur.

[Footnote 28: Named in honor of the late Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden, 
founder of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories.]

Floral pass, like so many of the topographical features examined 
during the recent expedition, has a peculiar history. It is a 
comparatively low-grade gorge leading directly across the end of an 
angular mountain range forming one of the spurs of Mount Cook. The 
position of the pass was determined by an east-and-west fault and by 
the erosion of soft shales turned up on edge along the line of 
displacement. At its head it is shut in by the Hayden glacier, which 
flows past it and forms a wall of ice about two hundred feet high. The 
water flowing out from beneath the side of the glacier forms a muddy 
creek, which finds its way over a bowlder-covered bed in the bottom of 
the gorge to the border of Lucia glacier. Along the sides of the gorge 
there are {109} many terraces, which record a complicated history. 
Evenly stratified clays near its lower end, adjacent to the Lucia 
glacier, show that it was at one time occupied in part by a lake. 
Above the lacustral beds there are water-worn deposits, indicating 
that at a later date the gorge was filled from side to side by 
moraines and coarse stream deposits several hundred feet thick. These 
were excavated, and portions were left clinging to the hill-sides, 
forming the terraces of to-day. Diverse slopes in the terraces suggest 
that the drainage may at times have been reversed, according as the 
Lucia or the Hayden glacier was the higher.

The routes between our various camps, scattered along between Yakutat 
bay and Blossom island, were traversed several times by every member 
of the party. To traverse the same trail several times with heavy 
loads, and perhaps in rain and mist, is disheartening work which I 
will spare the reader the effort of following even in fancy.

From our camp in Floral pass another reconnoissance ahead was made by 
Mr. Kerr and myself, as already mentioned. These advances, each one of 
which told us something new, were the most interesting portions of our 
journey. The little adventures and experiences of each advance were 
reported and talked over when we rejoined our companions around the 
camp-fire at night, and were received with gratifying interest by the 
men.

A view of the Hayden glacier from the Floral hills showed us that it 
differed from any of the glaciers previously traversed. Its surface, 
where we planned to cross it, was free of débris except along the 
margins and also near the center, where we could distinguish a light 
medial moraine. Farther southward, near the terminus of the glacier, 
its surface from side to side was buried beneath a sheet of stones and 
dirt. As in many other instances, the débris on the lower portion of 
the glacier has been concentrated at the surface, owing to the melting 
of the ice, so as to form a continuous sheet.

Early one morning, while traveling over the torrent-swept bowlders in 
the stream-bed on our way up Floral pass, we were a little startled at 
seeing the head of a bear just visible through the flowers fringing 
the bank. Before a shot could be fired, he vanished, and remained 
perfectly quiet among the bushes for several minutes. But a trembling 
of the branches at length betrayed his presence, and a few minutes 
later he came out in full view, his yellow-brown coat giving him the 
appearance of a huge {110} dog. Standing on a rounded mound he looked 
inquiringly down the valley, with his shaggy side in full view. I 
fired--but missed my aim. The unsuccessful hunter always has an excuse 
for his failure; I had never before used the rifle I carried, and the 
hair-trigger with which it was provided deceived me. Fortunately for 
the bear, and probably still more fortunately for me, the bullet went 
far above the mark. The huge beast vanished again, although the 
vegetation was not dense, and left us wondering how such a large 
animal could disappear so quickly and so completely in such an open 
region. On searching for his tracks, we found that he had traversed 
for a few rods the plant-covered terrace on which he was first 
discovered, and then escaped up a lateral gorge to a broader terrace 
above.

Reaching the head of the Floral pass and climbing the hill of débris 
bordering the Hayden glacier, we came out upon the clear, white ice of 
the central portion of the ice-stream. The ice was greatly crevassed, 
but nearly all the gaps in its surface could be crossed by jumping or 
else by ice-bridges. The most interesting feature presented by the 
glacier was the way in which it yields itself to the inequality of the 
rocks over which it flows. Starting on the eastern side, below the 
entrance to Floral pass, and extending northwestward diagonally across 
the stream, there is a line of steep descent in the rocks beneath, 
which causes the ice to be greatly broken. This is not properly an 
ice-fall, except near the confining walls of the cañon; but it might 
be called an ice-rapid. The ice bends down over the subglacial scarp 
with many long breaks, but does not form pinnacles, as in many similar 
instances where the descent is greater, and true ice cascades occur. 
The most practicable way for crossing the glacier was to ascend the 
stream above the line of rapids for some distance, and then follow 
diagonally down its center, finally veering westward to the opposite 
bank. By following this course, and making a double curve like the 
letter S, we could cross the steep descent in the center, where it was 
least crevassed.

The marginal moraines on the Hayden glacier are formed of fragments of 
brown and gray sandstone and black shale of all sizes and shapes. It 
is clear that this débris was gathered by the cliffs bordering the 
glacier on either side. The medial moraine which first appears at the 
surface just above the rapids is of a different character, and tells 
that the higher peaks of Mount Cook are composed, in part at least, of 
a different material from {111} the spurs projecting from it. The 
medial moraine looks black from a distance, but, on traversing it, it 
was found to be composed mainly of dark-green gabbro and serpentine. 
The débris is scattered over the surface in a belt several rods wide; 
but it is not deep, as the ice can almost everywhere be seen between 
the stones. Where the fragments of rock are most widely separated, 
there are fine illustrations of the manner in which small, dark stones 
absorb the heat of the sun and melt the ice beneath more rapidly than 
the surrounding surface, sinking into the ice so as to form little 
wells, several inches deep, filled with clear water. Larger stones, 
which are not warmed through during a day's sunshine, protect the ice 
beneath while the adjacent surface is melted, and consequently become 
elevated on pillars or pedestals of ice. The stones thus elevated are 
frequently large, and form tables which are nearly always inclined 
southward. In other instances the ice over large areas, especially 
along the center of the medial moraine, was covered with cones of 
fine, angular fragments from a few inches to three or four feet in 
height. These were not really piles of gravel, as they seemed, but 
consisted of cones of ice, sheeted over with thin layers of small 
stones. The secret of their formation, long since discovered on the 
glaciers of Switzerland, is that the gravel is first concentrated in a 
hole in the ice and, as the general surface melts away, acts like a 
large stone and protects the ice beneath. It is raised on a pedestal, 
but the gravel at the borders continually rolls down the sides and a 
conical form is the result.

Where we crossed the Hayden glacier it is only about a mile broad in a 
direct line; but to traverse it by the circuitous route rendered 
necessary by the character of its surface required about three hours 
of hard tramping, even when unincumbered with packs. From the center 
of the glacier a magnificent view may be obtained of the snow-covered 
domes of Mount Cook, from which rugged mountain ridges stretch 
southward like great arms and enclose the white snow-field from which 
the glacier flows. At an elevation of 2,500 feet the icy portion 
disappears beneath the névé on which not a trace of débris is visible. 
All the higher portions of the mountains are white as snow can make 
them, except where the pinnacles and precipices are too steep to 
retain a covering.

On reaching the western side of the glacier we found a bare space on 
the bordering cliffs, about a hundred feet high, which {112} has been 
abandoned by the ice so recently that it is not yet grassed over. 
Above this came the luxuriant and beautiful vegetation covering all 
the lower mountain slopes.

The mountain spur just west of the glacier, like several of the ridges 
stretching southward from the higher mountains, ends in a group of 
hills somewhat separate from the main ridge. The hills are covered 
with a rank vegetation, and in places support a dense growth of spruce 
trees. Reaching the grassy summit, we had a fine, far-reaching view of 
the unexplored region toward the west, and of the vast plateau of ice 
stretching southward beyond the reach of the vision. West of our 
station, another great ice-stream, named the _Marvine glacier_, in 
honor of the late A. R. Marvine, flows southward with a breadth 
exceeding that of any of the icy streams yet crossed. Beyond the 
Marvine glacier, and forming its western border, there is an 
exceedingly rugged mountain range trending northeast and southwest. 
Although this is, topographically, a portion of the mountain mass 
forming Mount Cook, its prominence and its peculiar geological 
structure render it important that it should have an independent name. 
In acknowledgment of the services to science rendered by the first 
state geologist of Massachusetts, it is designated the _Hitchcock 
range_ on our maps. Rising above the angular crest line of this 
mountain mass towers the pyramidal summit of Mount St. Elias, 
seemingly as distant as when we first beheld it from near Yakutat bay.

About a mile west of the hill on which we stood, and beyond the bed of 
a lake now drained of its waters by a tunnel leading southward through 
the ice, rose a steep, rocky island out of the glaciers, its summit 
overgrown with vegetation and dark with spruce trees. This oasis in a 
sea of ice, subsequently named Blossom island, we chose as the most 
favorable site for our next advance-camp.

We then returned to our camp in Floral pass, and a day or two later 
Kerr and Christie started on a side trip up the Hayden glacier, to be 
absent five days. During this trip the weather was stormy, and only 
allowed half an hour for topographical work when a somewhat favorable 
station was reached. This was of great service, however, in mapping 
the country, as it gave a station of considerable elevation on the 
side of Mount Cook. The trip was nearly all above the snow-line, and 
was relieved by many novel experiences.

{113} While Kerr and Christie were away, I assisted the camp hands in 
advancing to Blossom island. Our first day's work consisted in packing 
loads across the Hayden glacier to the wooded hills on its western 
border, reached during the reconnoissance described above. The weather 
was stormy, and a dense fog rolled in from the ocean, obscuring the 
mountains, and compelling us to find our way across the glacier as 
best we could without landmarks. Patiently threading our way among 
crevasses, we at length came in sight of the forests on the extremity 
of the mountain spur toward the west, and concluded to camp there 
until the weather was more favorable. We climbed the bare slope 
bordering the glacier, and forced our way through the dripping 
vegetation to an open space beside a little stream and near some aged 
spruce trees that would furnish good fuel for a camp-fire. We were 
glad of a refuge, but did not fully appreciate the fact that our tents 
were in a paradise of flowers until the next morning, when the sun 
shone clear and bright for a few hours. We hailed with delight the 
world of summer beauty with which we were surrounded. Our camp was in 
a little valley amid irregular hills of débris left by the former ice 
invasion, each of which was a rounded dome of flowers. The desolate 
ice-fields were completely shut out from view by the rank vegetation. 
On the slope above us, dark spruce trees loaded with streamers of 
moss, and seemingly many centuries old, formed a background for the 
floral decoration with which the ground was everywhere covered. 
Flowering plants and ferns were massed in such dense luxuriance that 
the streams were lost in gorgeous banks of bloom.

Reluctantly we returned to Floral pass for another load of camp 
supplies, and late in the afternoon pressed on to Blossom island, 
where we again pitched our tents in rain and mist, and again, when the 
storm cleared away, found ourselves in an untrodden paradise. Kerr and 
Christie rejoined us at Blossom island on July 31, and we were once 
more ready for an advance.


BLOSSOM ISLAND.

Our camp on Blossom island was near a small pond of water and close 
beside a thick grove of spruce trees on the western side of the 
land-mass. The tents were so placed as to secure an unobstructed view 
to the westward; and they were visible, in turn, to parties descending 
from the mountains toward the northwest, whither our work soon led us.

{114} The sides of Blossom island are rough and precipitous. The 
glaciers flowing past it cut away the rocks and, as the surface of the 
ice-fields was lowered, left them in many places in rugged cliffs bare 
of vegetation. The top of the island was also formerly glaciated and 
in part covered with débris; but the ice retreated so long ago that 
the once desolate surface has become clothed in verdure. Everywhere 
there are dense growths of flowers, ferns and berry bushes. On the 
rocky spurs, thrifty spruce trees, festooned with drooping streamers, 
shelter luxuriant banks of mosses, lichens and ferns. There was no 
evidence that human hand had ever plucked a flower in that luxuriant 
garden; not a trace could be found of man's previous invasion. The 
only trails were those left by the bears in forcing their way through 
the dense vegetation in quest of succulent roots. Later in the season, 
when the berries ripened, there was a feast spread invitingly for all 
who chose to partake. On the warm summer days the air was filled with 
the perfume of the flowers, birds flitted in and out of the shady 
grove, and insects hummed in the glad sunlight; the freshness and 
beauty on every hand made this island seem a little Eden, preserved 
with all its freshness and fragrance from the destroying hand of man.

This oasis in a desert of ice is so beautiful and displays so many 
instructive and attractive features that I wish the reader to come 
with me up the flowery slopes and study the interesting pictures to be 
seen from its summit.

The narrow ravine back of our camp is festooned and overhung with tall 
ferns, shooting out from the thickets on either hand like bending 
plumes. You will notice at a glance, if perchance your youthful 
excursions happened to be in the northeastern states, as were mine, 
that many of the plants about us are old friends, or at least former 
acquaintances. The tall fern nodding so gracefully as we pass is an 
_Asplenium_, but of ranker growth than in most southern regions. These 
tall white flowers with aspiring, flat-topped umbels, looking like 
rank caraway plants, but larger and more showy, belong to the genus 
_Archangelica_, and are at home in the Cascade range and the Rocky 
Mountains as well as here. The lily-like plant growing so profusely, 
especially in the moist dells, with tall, slim spikes of greenish 
flowers and long parallel veined leaves, is _Veratrum viride_. These 
brilliant yellow monkey-flowers, bending so gracefully over the banks 
of the pond, are closely related to the little {115} _Mimulus_ which 
nods to its own golden reflection in many of the brooks of New 
England. That purple _Epilobrum_, with now and then a pure white 
variety, so common everywhere on these hills, is the same wanderer 
that we have seen over many square miles beneath the burnt woods of 
Maine. These bushes with obscure white flowers, looking like little 
waxen bells, we recognize at once as huckleberries; in a short time 
they will be loaded with luscious fruit. Inviting couches of moss 
beneath the spruce trees are festooned and decorated with fairy shapes 
of brown and green, that recall many a long ramble among the 
Adirondack hills and in the Canadian woods. The licapods, equiseta and 
ferns are many of them identical with the tracery on mossy mounds 
covering fallen hemlocks in the Otsego woods in New York, but display 
greater luxuriance and fresher and more brilliant colors. That 
graceful little beach-fern, here and there faded to a rich brown, 
foretelling of future changes, is identical with the little fairy form 
we used to gather long ago along the borders of the Great Lakes. 
Asters and gentians, delicate orchids and purple lupines, besides many 
less familiar plants, crowd the hillsides and deck the unkept meadows 
with a brilliant mass of varied light. In the full sunshine, the 
hill-slopes appear as if the fields of petals clothing them had the 
prism's power, and were spreading a web of rainbow tints over the lush 
leaves and grasses below.

       *       *       *       *       *

On our return to Blossom island, late in September, we found many of 
the flowers faded, but in their places there was a profusion of 
berries nearly as brilliant in color as the petals that heralded their 
coming. Many of the thickets, inconspicuous before, had then a deep, 
rich yellow tint, due to an abundance of luscious salmon berries, 
larger than our largest blackberries. The huckleberries were also 
ripe, and in wonderful profusion. These additions to our table were 
especially appreciated after living for more than a month in the snow. 
The ash trees were holding aloft great bunches of scarlet berries, 
even deeper and richer in color than the ripe leaves on the same 
brilliant branches. The deep woods were brilliant with the broad 
yellow leaves of the Devil's club, above which rose spikes of crimson 
berries. The dense thickets of currant bushes, so luxuriant that it 
was difficult to force one's way through them, had received a dusky, 
smoke-like tint, due to abundant blue-black strings of fruit suspended 
all along the under sides of the branches.

       *       *       *       *       *

{116} Let us not look too far ahead, however. Wandering on over the 
sunny slopes, where the gardener has forgotten to separate the colors 
or to divide the flower banks, we gain the top of the island; but so 
dense are the plants about us, and so eager is each painted cup to 
expand freely in the sunlight at the expense of its neighbors, that we 
have to beat them down with our alpenstocks--much as we dislike to mar 
the beauty of the place--before we can recline on the thick turf 
beneath and study the strange landscape before us.

The foreground of every view is a bank of flowers nodding and swaying 
in the wind, but all beyond is a frozen desert. The ice-fields before 
us, with their dark bands of débris, are a picture of desolation. The 
creative breath has touched only the garden which we, the first of 
wanderers, have invaded. The land before us is entirely without human 
associations. No battles have there been fought, no kings have ruled, 
no poets have sung of its ruggedness, and no philosopher has explained 
its secrets. Yet it has its history, its poetry, and its philosophy!

The mountains toward the north are too near at hand to reveal their 
grandeur; only the borders of the vast snow-fields covering all of 
these upper slopes are in view. In the deep cañon with perpendicular 
walls, just north of our station, but curving westward so that its 
upper course is concealed from view, there flows a secondary glacier 
which forces its terminal moraine high up on the northern slope of 
Blossom island, but does not now join the ice-field on the south. 
Streams of turbid water flow from this glacier on each side of the 
oasis on which we stand and unite at the mouth of a dark tunnel in the 
ice toward the south.

The barren gravel plain just east of our station, and at the foot of 
the glacier from the north, is the bed of a glacial lake which has 
been drained through the tunnel in the ice. On our way to Blossom 
island we crossed this area and found that it had but recently lost 
its waters. Miniature terraces on the gravel banks forming the sides 
of the basin marked the height to which the waters last rose, and all 
the slopes formerly submerged were covered with a thin layer of 
sediment. On the sides of the basin where this fresh lining rests on 
steep slopes there are beautiful frettings made by rills in the soft 
sediment. The stream from the glacier now meanders across this sand 
plain, dividing as it goes into many branches, which unite on {117} 
approaching the dark archway below. The lake is extremely irregular in 
its behavior, and may be filled and emptied several times in a season. 
The waters are either restrained or flow freely, according as the 
tunnel through which they discharge is obstructed or open. The lake is 
typical of a class. Similar basins may be found about many of the 
spurs projecting into the Malaspina glacier.

A little west of the glacier to which I have directed your attention 
there is a narrow mountain gorge occupied by another glacier, of small 
size but having all the principal characteristics of even the largest 
Alpine glaciers of the region. It is less than half a mile in length, 
has a high grade, and is fed by several lateral branches. Its surface 
is divided into an ice region below and a névé region above. It has 
lateral and medial moraines, ice pinnacles, crevasses, and many other 
details peculiar to glaciers. From its extremity, which is dark with 
dirt and stones, there flows a stream of turbid water. It is, in fact, 
a miniature similitude of the ice-streams on the neighboring mountain, 
some of which are forty or fifty miles in length and many times wider 
in their narrowest part than the little glacier before us is long. The 
more thoroughly we become acquainted with the mountains of southern 
Alaska the more interesting and more numerous do the Alpine glaciers 
of the third order become. Already, thousands could be enumerated.

I will not detain my imaginary companion longer with local details, 
but turn at once to the objects which will ever be the center of 
attraction to visitors who may chance to reach this remote island in 
the ice. Looking far up the Marvine glacier, beyond the tapering 
pinnacles and rugged peaks about its head, you will see spires and 
cathedral-like forms of the purest white projected against the 
northern sky. They recall at once the ecclesiastic architecture of the 
Old World; but instead of being dim and faded by time they seem built 
of immaculate marble. They have a grandeur and repose seen only in 
mountains of the first magnitude. The cathedral to the right, with the 
long roof-like crest and a tapering spire at its eastern terminus, is 
Mount Augusta; its elevation is over 13,000 feet. A little to the 
west, and equally beautiful but slightly less in elevation, is Mount 
Malaspina--a worthy monument to the unfortunate navigator whose name 
it bears. These peaks are on the main St. Elias range, but from our 
present point of view they form only the {118} background of a 
magnificent picture. Later in the season our tents were pitched at 
their very bases, and they then revealed their full grandeur and 
fulfilled every promise given by distant views.

The rugged Hitchcock range bordering the distant margin of the Marvine 
glacier, like the mountains near at hand and the rocky island on which 
we stand, is composed of sandstone and shale, but presents one 
interesting feature, to which I shall direct your attention. The trend 
of the range is northeast and southwest, but the strata of which it is 
composed run east and west and are inclined northward. As the range is 
some eight miles long, these conditions would seem to indicate a 
thickness of many thousands of feet for the rocks of which it is 
composed; yet the beds were deposited in horizontal sheets of sand and 
mud of very late date, as will be shown farther on. But the great 
apparent thickness of the strata is deceptive: a nearer examination 
would reveal the fact that the rocks have been so greatly crushed that 
even a hand specimen can scarcely be broken off with fresh surfaces. 
More than this, the black shale, exhibiting the greatest amount of 
crushing, is usually in wedge-shaped masses, which, in some cases at 
least, are bordered by what are known as thrust planes, nearly 
coinciding with the bedding planes of the strata. The rocks have been 
fractured and crushed together in such a way as to pile fragments of 
the same layer on top of each other, and thus to increase greatly 
their apparent thickness. In the elevations before us the thrust 
planes are tipped northeastwardly, and it would seem that the force 
that produced them acted from that direction. The apparent thickness 
of the beds has thus been increased many times. What their original 
thickness was, it is not now possible to say. Similar indications of a 
lateral crushing in the rocks may be found in several of the mountain 
spurs between the Hitchcock range and Yakutat bay; but space will not 
permit me to follow this subject further.

Turning from the mountains, we direct our eyes seaward; but it is a 
sea of ice that meets our view and not the blue Pacific. Far as the 
eye can reach toward the west, toward the south, and toward the 
southeast there is nothing in view but a vast plateau of ice or barren 
débris fields resting on ice and concealing it from view. This is the 
Malaspina glacier.

On the border of the ice, just below the cliffs on which we {119} 
stand, there is a belt of débris perhaps five miles in breadth, which 
almost completely conceals the ice beneath. Portions of this moraine 
are covered by vegetation, and in places it is brilliant with flowers. 
The vegetation is most abundant on the nearer border and fades away 
toward the center of the glacier. Its distant border, adjacent to the 
white ice-field beyond, is {120} absolutely bare and desolate. An 
attempt has been made to reproduce this scene in the picture forming 
plate 16. The drawing is from a photograph and shows the barren débris 
field stretching away towards the southwest. The extreme southern end 
of the Hitchcock range appears at the right. In the distance is the 
white ice of the central part of the Malaspina glacier. Far beyond, 
faintly outlined against the sky, are the snow-covered hills west of 
Icy bay. The flowers in the foreground are growing on the crest of the 
steep bluff bordering Blossom island on the south.

[Illustration: PLATE 16: MALASPINA GLACIER, FROM BLOSSOM ISLAND.]

On the moraine-covered portion, especially where plants have taken 
root, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lakelets occupying 
kettle-shaped depressions. A view of one of these interesting 
reservoirs in the ice is given in figure 2. If we should go down to 
the glacier and examine such a lakelet near at hand, we should find 
that the cliffs of ice surrounding them are usually unsymmetrical, 
being especially steep and rugged on one side and low or perhaps 
wanting entirely on the other. But there is no regularity in this 
respect; the steep slopes may face in any direction. On bright days 
the encircling walls are always dripping with water produced by the 
melting of the ice; little rills are constantly flowing down their 
sides and plunging in miniature cataracts into the lake below; the 
stones at the top of the ice-cliffs, belonging to the general sheet of 
débris covering the glacier, are continually being undermined and 
precipitated into the water. A curious fact in reference to the walls 
of the lakelets is that the melting of the ice below the surface is 
more rapid than above, where it is exposed to the direct rays of the 
sun. As a result the depressions have the form of an hour-glass, as 
indicated in the accompanying section.

[Illustration: FIGURE 2--_View of a glacial Lakelet_ (_drawn from a 
Photograph_).]

[Illustration: FIGURE 3--_Section of a glacial lakelet_.]

Beyond the bordering moraines at our feet, we can look far out over 
the ice-plateau and view hundreds of square miles of its {121} frozen 
surface. At the same time we obtain glimpses of other vast ice-fields 
toward the west, beyond Icy bay; but their limits in that direction 
are unknown.

       *       *       *       *       *

Later in the season I made an excursion far out on the Malaspina 
glacier from the extreme southern end of the Hitchcock range, and 
became acquainted with many of its peculiarities. Its surface, instead 
of being a smooth snow-field, as it appears from a distance, is 
roughened by thousands of crevasses, many of which are filled with 
clear, blue water. Over hundreds of square miles the surface appears 
as if a giant plow had passed over it, leaving the ice furrowed with 
crevasses. The crevasses are not broad; usually one can cross them at 
a bound. They appear to be the scars left by rents in the tributary 
ice-streams.

The stillness far out on the great ice-field is immediately noticed by 
one who has recently traversed the sloping surfaces of the tributary 
glaciers. It is always silent on that vast frozen plateau. There are 
no surface streams and no lakes; not a rill murmurs along its channel 
of ice; no cascades are formed by streams plunging into moulins and 
crevasses. The water produced by the melting of the ice finds its way 
down into the glacier and perhaps to its bottom, and must there form 
rivers of large size; but no indications of their existence can be 
obtained at the surface. The icy surface is undulating, and resembles 
in some respects the great rolling prairies of the west; it is a 
prairie of ice. In the central portion not a shoot of vegetation casts 
its shadow, and scarcely a fragment of rock can be found. The 
boundaries of the vast plateau have never been surveyed, but its area 
cannot be less than five hundred square miles. The clear ice of the 
center greatly exceeds the extent of the moraine-covered borders. It 
has a general elevation of fifteen or sixteen hundred feet, being 
highest near the end of the Hitchcock range, where the Seward glacier 
comes in, and decreasing from there in all directions. From the summit 
of Blossom island and other commanding stations it is evident that the 
dark moraine belts about its borders are compound and record a varied 
history. Far away toward the southeast the individual elements may be 
distinguished. The dark bands of débris sweep around in great curves 
and concentric, swirl-like figures, which indicate that there are 
complicated currents in the seemingly motionless plateau.

The Malaspina glacier belongs to a class of ice bodies not {122} 
previously recognized, which are formed at the bases of mountains by 
the union of several glaciers from above. Their position suggests the 
name of _Piedmont glaciers_ for the type. They differ from continental 
glaciers in the fact that they are formed by the union of ice-streams 
and are not the sources from which ice-streams flow. The supply from 
the tributary glacier is counterbalanced by melting and evaporation.

       *       *       *       *       *

If the reader has become interested in the vast ice-fields about 
Blossom island, he may wish to continue our acquaintance and go with 
me into the great snow-fields on the higher mountains, where the 
ice-rivers feeding the Malaspina glacier have their sources.


LIFE ABOVE THE SNOW-LINE.

Early on the morning of August 2, all necessary preparations having 
been made the day previous, we started in the direction of the great 
snow peak to be seen at the head of the Marvine glacier, where we 
hoped to find a pass leading through the mountains which would enable 
us to reach the foot of Mount St. Elias or to discover a practicable 
way across the main range into the unknown country toward the north.

All of the camp hands were with us at the start, except Stamy and 
White, who had been despatched to Port Mulgrave to purchase shoes. All 
but Crumback and Lindsley were to return to Blossom island, however, 
after leaving their loads at a rendezvous as far from Blossom island 
as could be reached in a day and allow sufficient time to return to 
the base-camp. Kerr and myself, with the two camp hands mentioned, 
were to press on to the snow-fields above. We took with us a tent, 
blankets, rations, an oil-stove, and a supply of coal oil, and felt 
equal to any emergency that might arise.

The morning of our departure was thick and foggy, with occasional 
showers, and the weather grew worse instead of better as we advanced. 
All the mountains were soon shut out from view by the vast vapor banks 
that settled down from above, and we had little except the general 
character of the glacier to guide us.

Our way at first led up the eastern border of the Marvine glacier, 
over seemingly interminable fields of angular débris. Traveling on the 
rugged moraine, some idea of which may be obtained from plate 17, was 
not only tiresome in the extreme, but ruinous to boots and shoes. On 
passing the mouth of the {123} first lateral gorge (about a mile from 
Blossom island), from which flows a secondary glacier, we could look 
up the bed of the steep ravine to the white precipices beyond, which 
seemed to descend out of the clouds, and were scarred by avalanches; 
but all of the higher peaks were shrouded from view. At noon we passed 
the mouth of a second and larger gorge, which discharges an important 
tributary. We then left the border of the glacier and traveled up its 
center, the crevasses at the embouchures of the tributary stream being 
too numerous and too wide to be crossed without great difficulty.

[Illustration: PLATE 17. MORAINES ON THE MARVINE GLACIER.]

In the center of the Marvine glacier there is a dark medial moraine, 
composed mainly of débris of gabbro and serpentine, of the same 
character as the medial moraine on the Hayden glacier, already briefly 
mentioned. Here, too, we found broad areas covered with sand cones and 
glacial tables. There are also rushing streams, flowing in channels of 
ice, which finally plunge into crevasses or in well-like moulins and 
send back a deep roar from the caverns beneath. The murmurs of running 
waters, heard on every hand, seem to indicate that the whole glacier 
is doomed to melt away in a single season.

Early in the afternoon we reached the junction of the two main 
branches of the Marvine glacier, and chose the most westerly. We were 
still traveling over hard blue ice in which the blue and white 
vein-structure characteristic of glaciers could be plainly 
distinguished. The borders of the ice-streams were dark with lateral 
moraines; but after passing the last great tributary coming in from 
the northeast we reached the upper limit of the glacier proper and 
came to the lower border of the névé fields, above which there is 
little surface débris. The glacier there flows over a rugged descent, 
and is greatly broken by its fall. At first we endeavored to find a 
passage up the center of the crevassed and pinnacled ice, but soon 
came to an impassable gulf. Turning toward the right, we traversed a 
ridge of ice between profound gorges and reached the base of the 
mountain slope bordering the glacier on the east. Our party was now 
divided; Christie and his companion were left searching for a 
convenient place to leave the cans of rations they carried, while we, 
who were to explore the regions above, were endeavoring to find a way 
up the ice-fall. A shout from our companions below called our 
attention to the fact that they were unable to reach the border of the 
glacier, where they had been directed to leave their packs, and that 
they {124} had left them on the open ice. They waved us "good-bye" and 
started back toward Blossom island, leaving our little band of four to 
make the advance.

Descending into a deep black gorge at the border of the ice, formed by 
its melting back from the bordering cliffs, we clambered upward 
beneath overhanging ice-walls, from which stones and fragments of ice 
were occasionally dropping, and finally reached a great snow-bank on 
the border of the glacier. As the storm still continued, and was even 
increasing in force, we concluded to find a camping ground soon as 
possible and make ourselves comfortable as the circumstances would 
permit.


FIRST CAMP IN THE SNOW.

We had now reached the lower limit of perpetual snow. There were no 
more moraines on the surface of the glacier, and no bare rock surfaces 
large enough to hold a tent. The entire region was snow-mantled as far 
as the eye could see, except where pinnacles and cliffs too steep and 
rugged for the snow to accumulate rose above the general surface. A 
little to one side of the mouth of a steep lateral gorge we found a 
spot in which a mass of partly disintegrated shale had fallen down 
from the cliff. We scraped the fragments aside, smoothed the snow 
beneath, and built a wall of rock along the lower margin. The space 
above was filled in with fragments of shale, so as to form a shelf on 
which to pitch our tent. Soon our blankets were spread, with our 
water-proof coats for a substratum, and supper was prepared over the 
oil-stove.

Darkness settled down over the mountains, and the storm increased as 
the night came on. What is unusual in Alaska, the rain fell in 
torrents, as in the tropics. Our little tent of light cotton cloth 
afforded great protection, but the rain-drops beat on it with such 
force that the spray was driven through and made a fine rain within. 
Weary with many hours of hard traveling over moraines and across 
crevassed ice, and in an atmosphere saturated with moisture, we rolled 
ourselves in our blankets, determined to rest in spite of the storm 
that raged about.

As the rain became heavier, the avalanches, already alarmingly 
numerous, became more and more frequent: A crash like thunder, 
followed by the clatter of falling stones, told that many tons of ice 
and rocks on the mountains to the westward had slid {125} down upon 
the borders of the glacier; another roar near at hand, caused by an 
avalanche on our own side of the glacier, was followed by another, 
another, and still another out in the darkness, no one could tell 
where. The wilder the storm, the louder and more frequent became the 
thunder of the avalanches. It seemed as if pandemonium reigned on the 
mountains. One might fancy that the evil spirits of the hills had 
prepared for us a reception of their own liking--but decidedly not to 
the taste of their visitors. Soon there was a clatter and whiz of 
stones at our door. Looking out I saw rocks as large as one's head 
bounding past within a few feet of our tent. The stones on the 
mountain side above had been loosened by the rain, and it was evident 
that our perch was no longer tenable. Before we could remove our frail 
shelter to a place of greater safety, a falling rock struck the 
alpenstock to which the ridge-rope of our tent was fastened and 
carried it away. Our tent "went by the board," as a sailor would say, 
and we were left exposed to the pouring rain. Before we could gather 
up our blankets they were not only soaked, but a bushel or more of mud 
and stones from the bank above, previously held back by the tent, 
flowed in upon them. Rolling up our blankets and "caching" the 
rations, instruments, etc., under a rubber cloth held down by rocks, 
we hastily dragged our tent-cloth down to the border of the glacier, 
at the extremity of a tapering ridge, along which it seemed impossible 
for stones from above to travel. We there pitched our tent on the hard 
snow, without the luxury of even a few handfuls of shale beneath our 
blankets. Wet and cold, we sought to wear the night away as best we 
could, sleep being impossible. Crumback, who had been especially 
energetic in removing the tent, regardless of his own exposure, was 
wet and became cold and silent. The oil-stove and a few rations were 
brought from the cache at the abandoned camp, and soon a dish of 
coffee was steaming and filling the tent with its delicious odor. Our 
shelter became comfortably warm and the hot coffee, acting as a 
stimulant, restored our sluggish circulation. We passed an 
uncomfortable night and watched anxiously for the dawn. Toward morning 
a cold wind swept down the glacier and the rain ceased. With the dawn 
there came indications that the storm had passed, although we were 
still enveloped in dense clouds and could not decide whether or not a 
favorable change in the weather had occurred. We were still cold and 
wet and the desire to return to Blossom {126} island, where all was 
sunshine and summer, was great. Uncertain as to what would be the 
wisest course, we packed our blankets and started slowly down the 
mountain, looking anxiously for signs that the storm had really 
passed.

An hour after sunrise a rift in the mist above us revealed the 
wonderful blue of the heavens, and allowed a flood of sunlight to pour 
down upon the white fields beneath. Never was the August sun more 
welcome. The mists vanished before its magic touch, leaving here and 
there fleecy vapor-wreaths festooned along the mountain side; as the 
clouds disappeared, peak after peak came into view, and snow-domes and 
glaciers, never seen before, one by one revealed themselves to our 
astonished eyes. When the curtain was lifted we found ourselves in a 
new world, more wild and rugged than any we had yet beheld. There was 
not a tree in sight, and nothing to suggest green fields or flowery 
hill-sides, except on a few of the lower mountain spurs, where 
brilliant Alpine blossoms added a touch of color to the pale 
landscape. All else was stern, silent, motionless winter.

The glacier, clear and white, without a rock on its broken surface, 
looked from a little distance like a vast snow-covered meadow. We were 
about a mile above the lower limit of the snow-fields, where the blue 
ice of the glacier comes out from beneath the névé. The blue ice was 
deeply buried, and could only be seen in the deepest crevasses. Across 
the glacier rose the angular cliffs and tapering spires of the 
Hitchcock range. Every ravine and gulch in its rugged sides was 
occupied by glaciers, many of which were so broken and crevassed that 
they looked like frozen cataracts.

Cheered by the bright skies and sun-warmed air, we pushed on up the 
glacier, taking the center of the stream in order to avoid the 
crevasses, which were most numerous along its borders. Two or three 
miles above our first camp we found a place where a thin layer of 
broken shale covered the snow, at a sufficient distance from the steep 
slopes above to be out of the reach of avalanches. We there 
established our second camp after leaving Blossom island, dried our 
blankets, and spent the remainder of the day basking in the sunlight 
and gathering energy for coming emergencies.

We found the névé of the Marvine glacier differing greatly from the 
lower or icy portion previously traversed. Instead of ice with blue 
and white bands, as is common lower down, the {127} entire surface, 
and as far down in the crevasses as the eye could distinguish, was 
composed of compact snow, or snow changed to icy particles resembling 
hail and having in reality but few of the properties of ordinary snow: 
it might properly be called névé ice. Usually the thickness of the 
layers varied from ten to fifteen feet. Separating them were dark 
lines formed by dust blown over the surface of the glacier and buried 
by subsequent snow-storms, or by thin blue lines formed by the edges 
of sheets of ice and showing that the snow surface had been melted 
during bright sunny days and frozen again at night. The horizontal 
stratification so plainly marked in all the crevasses in the névé was 
almost entirely wanting, or at least was not conspicuous, in the lower 
portion of the glacier, where, instead, we found those narrow blue and 
white bands already mentioned, the origin of which has been so well 
described and explained by Tyndall.

The center of the Marvine glacier, as in most similar ice-streams, is 
higher and less broken by crevasses than its borders. The crevasses at 
the side trend up stream, as is the case with marginal crevasses 
generally. In the present instance the courses of these rents could be 
plainly distinguished on each border of the glacier, when looking down 
upon it from neighboring slopes. The crevasses occur at quite regular 
intervals of approximately fifty feet, and diverge from the bank at 
angles of about 40°. In the banks of snow bordering the glacier 
similar crevasses diverge from the margin of the flowing glacier and 
trend down along its banks. The marginal crevasses and the crevasses 
in the bordering snow-fields, to which no special name has been given, 
fall nearly in line; but between the two there is a series of 
irregular cracks and broken snow, sharply defining the border of the 
moving névé.

The origin of the marginal crevasses trending up stream was explained 
during the study of the glaciers of Switzerland. The following diagram 
and explanation illustrating their development are copied from 
Tyndall:

"Let _A C_ be one side of the glacier and _B D_ the other; and let the 
direction of motion be that indicated by the arrow. Let _S T_ be a 
transverse slice of the glacier, taken straight across it, say to-day. 
A few days or weeks hence the slice will have been carried down, and 
because the center moves more quickly than the sides it will not 
remain straight, but will bend into the form _S' T'_. Supposing _T i_ 
to be a small square of the original slice near the side of the 
glacier; in the new position the square will be distorted to the 
lozenge-shaped figure _T' i'_. Fix your attention upon the {128} 
diagonal _T i_ of the square; in the lower position this diagonal, _if 
the ice could stretch_, would be lengthened to _T' i'_. But the ice 
does not stretch; it breaks, and we have a crevasse formed at right 
angles to _T' i'_. The mere inspection of the diagram will assure you 
that the crevasse will point obliquely _upward_."[29]

[Illustration: FIGURE 4--_Diagram illustrating the Formation of 
marginal Crevasses_.]

[Footnote 29: The Forms of Water: International Scientific Series, New 
York, 1875, pp. 107-108.]

The explanation given above applies especially to the lower or icy 
portion of a glacier; above the snow-line other facts appear. When a 
glacier flows through fields of snow on a level with its surface, 
crevasses are formed in the adjacent banks. These trend down stream 
for the same reason that the crevasses in the glacier proper trend up 
stream--that is, the friction of the moving stream against its banks 
tends to carry them along, while the portions at a distance are 
stationary. Fissures are thus opened which trend in the direction in 
which the glacier moves. The angle made by these crevasses with the 
axis of the glacier is about the same as those of the marginal 
crevasses, but in an opposite direction. They are widest near the 
margin of the glacier and taper to a sharp end towards the stationary 
snow-banks above. The crevasses in the two series thus fall nearly in 
line, but are separated by a narrow band of irregularly broken snow, 
marking the actual border of the glacier.[30]

[Footnote 30: Crevasses in snow-fields through which ice-streams flow 
will be mentioned again in describing the Seward glacier.]

After leaving Blossom island the party was divided, and we began a new 
series of numbers for our camp above the snow-line, although in this 
narrative and on the accompanying map a single series of numbers for 
all the camps will be used. While in the field the camps in the snow 
were usually termed, facetiously, "sardine camps," in allusion to the 
uncomfortable manner in which we were packed in our tent at night.


{129} ACROSS PINNACLE PASS.

The morning after reaching Camp 12 dawned gloriously bright. The night 
had been cold, and a heavy frost had silenced every rill from the 
snow-slopes above. The clear, bracing air gave us renewed energy and a 
firmer desire to press on. Mr. Kerr and myself made an excursion 
ahead, while Lindsley and Crumback brought up a load of supplies from 
the cache left on the glacier below Camp 11.

On gaining the center of the Marvine glacier we had a magnificent view 
down the broad ice-stream, bordered on either hand by towering, 
snow-laden precipices, and changing, as the eye followed the downward 
slope, from pure white to brown and black in the distance. Far below 
we could barely discern the wooded summit of Blossom island, beyond 
which stretched the seemingly limitless ice-fields of the Malaspina 
glacier. All about us the white slope reflected the sunlight with 
painful brilliancy, while the black moraines and forests below and the 
mists over the distant ocean, made it seem as if one was looking down 
into a lower and darker world.

As we advanced toward the head of the glacier we found, as on several 
subsequent occasions, that the nearer we approached the sources of an 
ice-stream the easier our progress became. Following up the center of 
the glacier, we learned that it curved toward the east; and after an 
hour or two of weary tramping we reached the great amphitheatre in 
which it has its source. All about us were rugged mountain slopes, 
heavily loaded with snow, and forming clear white cliffs from which 
avalanches had descended. To the westward the wall of the amphitheatre 
was broken, and it was apparent that we could cross its rim in that 
direction. Pressing onward up the gently ascending slope, we came at 
length to a gap in the mountains bordered on the north by a towering 
cliff fully a thousand feet high, and were rejoiced to find that the 
snow surface on the opposite side of the divide inclined westward with 
a grade as gentle as the one we had ascended. Looking far down the 
western snow-slope, we could see where it joined a large glacier 
flowing southward past the end of the great cliffs which extended 
westward from the divide. The glacier we saw in the valley below is 
designated on our map as the _Seward glacier_, in honor of William H. 
Seward, the former Secretary of State, who negotiated the purchase of 
Alaska for the United States.

{130} The pass we named _Pinnacle pass_, on account of the many 
towering pinnacles overshadowing it. Its elevation is about four 
thousand feet, and at the summit it has a breadth of only two or three 
hundred feet. The snow on the divide is greatly crevassed, but a 
convenient snow-bridge enabled us to cross without difficulty. The 
crevasses increased in breadth with the advance of the season, and on 
returning from our mountain trip in September we had to climb up on 
the bordering cliff in order to pass the main crevasse at the summit. 
Some idea of the crevasses of this region may be obtained from the 
following figure, drawn from a photograph taken on the western side of 
Pinnacle pass, not far from the summit.

[Illustration: Figure 5--_Crevasses on Pinnacle Pass; from a 
Photograph_.]

The cliff on the north of Pinnacle pass is really a huge fault-scarp 
of recent date, intersecting stratified shale, limestone, and 
conglomerate, with a few thin coal-seams. The strata dip toward the 
north at a high angle, and present their broken edges in the great 
cliff rising above the pass. The cliffs extend westward from the pass, 
and retain a nearly horizontal crest line, but increase in height and 
grandeur, owing to the downward grade of the glacier along their base. 
A mile to the westward their elevation is fully two thousand feet. The 
cliffs throughout are {131} almost everywhere bare of snow and too 
steep and rugged to be scaled. They form a strongly drawn boundary 
line in the geology of the region, and furnish the key to the 
structure and geological character of an extended area. All the rocks 
to the southward are sandstone and shale belonging to a well-defined 
series, and differ materially from the rocks in the fault-scarp. I 
have called the rocks toward the south, the _Yakutat system_, and 
those exposed in the faces of the fault-scarp the _Pinnacle system_. 
Directly north of Pinnacle pass, and at the base of Mount Owen, the 
rocks of the Yakutat system are exposed, and from their position and 
association it is evident that they are younger than the Pinnacle 
system and belong above it. If these conclusions are sustained by 
future investigation, they will carry with them certain deductions 
which are among the most remarkable in geological history. On the 
crest of the Pinnacle pass cliffs I afterwards found strata containing 
fossil shells and leaves belonging to species still living. These 
records of animal and plant life show that not only were the rocks of 
the Pinnacle system deposited since living species of mollusks and 
plants came into existence, but that the Yakutat system is still more 
recent. More than this, the upheaval of the mountains, the formation 
of numerous fault-scarps, and the origin of the glaciers, have all 
occurred since Pliocene times.

The discovery of Pinnacle pass left no question as to the route to be 
traversed in order to reach the mountains to the westward. We returned 
to Camp 12, and the following day, with Crumback and Lindsley to 
assist us, advanced our camp across Pinnacle pass and far down the 
western snow-slope.

The day we crossed the pass was bright and clear in the morning, but 
clouds gathered around all the higher peaks about midday, vanishing 
again at nightfall. As it was desirable to occupy, for topographic and 
other purposes, a station on the top of the cliffs overlooking 
Pinnacle pass, we made an effort to reach the crest of the ridge by 
climbing up the steep scarp just at the divide, where the cliffs are 
lowest. While Crumback returned to Camp 12 for an additional load and 
Lindsley went ahead to discover a new camping place, Kerr and myself, 
taking the necessary instruments, began the ascent; but we found it 
exceedingly difficult. The outcrops of shale in the lower portion of 
the cliff furnished but poor foothold, and crumbled and broke away at 
every step. Once my companion, losing his support, slid slowly {132} 
down the slope in spite of vigorous efforts to hold on, and a rapid 
descent in the yawning chasm below seemed inevitable, when, coming to 
a slightly rougher surface, he was able to control his movements and 
to regain what had been lost. Climbing on, we came to the base of a 
vertical wall of shale several hundred feet high, and made a detour to 
the left where a cascade plunged down a narrow channel. We ascended 
the bed of the stream, which was sometimes so steep that the spray 
dashed over us, and reached the base of an overhanging cliff of 
conglomerate composed of well-worn pebbles. Above this rose a cliff of 
snow fifty feet or more in height, which threatened to crash down in 
avalanches at any moment. One small avalanche did occur during the 
ascent, and scattered its spray in our faces. Had a heavy avalanche 
formed, our position would have been exceedingly dangerous; but by 
taking advantage of every overhanging ledge, and watching for the 
least sign of movement in the snow above, we reached without accident 
a sheltered perch underneath an overhanging cliff near the base of the 
snow. We then discovered that clouds were forming on all the high 
mountains, and shreds of vapor blown over the crest of the cliff above 
told us that further efforts would be useless. Seeking a perch 
protected from avalanches by an overhanging cliff, we had a splendid 
view far out over the sloping snow-plain toward the west and of the 
mountains bordering Pinnacle pass on the south. My notes written in 
this commanding station read as follows:

"Looking down from my perch I can plainly distinguish the undulations 
and crevasses in the broad snow-fields stretching westward from 
Pinnacle pass. Each inequality in the rock beneath the glacier is 
reproduced in flowing and subdued outlines in the white surface above. 
The positions of bosses and cliffs in the rock beneath are indicated 
by rounded domes and steep descents in the snow surface. About the 
lower sides of these inequalities there are in some cases concentric 
blue lines and in others radiating fissures, marking where the snow 
has broken in making the descent. The side light shining from the 
eastward down the long westerly slope reveals by its delicate shading 
the presence of broad, terrace-like, transverse steps into which the 
stream is divided. Were the snow removed and the rock beneath exposed, 
we should find broad terraces separated by scarps sweeping across the 
bed of the glacier from side to side. Similar terraces occur in 
glaciated cañons in the Rocky Mountains and {133} the Sierra Nevada, 
but their origin has never been explained. The glacier is here at work 
sculpturing similar forms; but still it is impossible to understand 
how the process is initiated.

"Right in front of us, and only a mile or two away, rise the cliffs, 
spires, and pinnacles of the Hitchcock range. Every ravine and 
amphitheatre in the great mountain mass is deeply filled with snow, 
and the sharp angular crests look as if they had been thrust up 
through the general covering of white. The northern end of the range 
is clearly defined by the east-and-west fault to which Pinnacle pass 
owes its origin. The trend of the mighty cliffs on the southern face, 
on which we have found a perch, is at right angles to the longer axis 
of the Hitchcock range, and marks its northern terminus both 
topographically and geologically.

"There is not even a suggestion of vegetation in sight. The eye fails 
to detect a single dash of green or the glow of a single Alpine flower 
anywhere on the rugged slopes. A small avalanche from the snow-cliffs 
above, cascading over the cliff which shelters me and only a few yards 
away, tells why the precipices are so bare and desolate: they have 
been swept clean by avalanches.

"Far down the western snow-slope I can distinguish crevasses and dirt 
bands in the Seward glacier, which flows southward past the range on 
which we sit. The marginal crevasses along the border of the glacier 
can clearly be distinguished. As usual, they trend up-stream and, 
meeting medial crevasses, break the surface of the glacier into 
thousands of pinnacles and tables. Along the center of the stream 
there are V-shaped dirt bands, separated by crevasses, which point 
down-stream and give the appearance of a rapid flow to the central 
portion of the glacier. From this distance its center has the 
appearance of 'watered' ribbon.

"A little toward the south of where the medial crevasses are most 
numerous, and at a locality where two opposite mountain spurs force 
the ice-stream through the comparatively narrow gorge, there is 
evidently an ice-fall, as the whole glacier from side to side 
disappears from view. The appearance of Niagara when seen from the 
banks of the river above the Horseshoe falls is suggested. Beyond this 
silent cataract, the eye ranges far out over the broad, level surface 
of the Malaspina glacier, and traces the dark morainal ribbons 
streaming away for miles from the mountain spurs among which they 
originate. From the extreme {134} southern cape of the Samovar hills 
there is a highly compound moraine-belt stretching away toward the 
south, and then dividing and curving both east and west. The central 
band of débris must be a mile broad. Along its eastern margin I can 
count five lesser bands separated by narrow intervals of ice, and on 
the farther side similar secondary bands are suggested, but the height 
of the central range almost completely conceals them from view. In the 
distant tattered ends, however, their various divisions can be clearly 
traced. Great swirls in the ice are there indicated by concentric 
curves of débris on its surface.

"Still farther westward there are hills rising to the height of 
impressive mountains, in which northward dipping rocks, apparently of 
sandstone and shale, similar to those forming the Hitchcock range, are 
plainly distinguishable. All the northern slopes of these hills are 
deeply buried beneath a universal covering of snow evidently hundreds 
of feet thick, which is molded upon them so as to reveal every 
swelling dome and ravine in their rugged sides. Farther westward 
still, beyond a dark headland apparently washed by the sea, there are 
other broad ice-fields of the same general character as the Malaspina 
glacier, which stretch away for miles and miles and blend in the dim 
distance with the haze of the horizon.

"Just west of the Seward glacier, and in part forming its western 
shore, there are dark, rocky crests projecting through the universal 
ice mantle, suggesting the lost mountains of Utah and Nevada which 
have become deeply buried by the dusts of the desert. The character of 
the sharp crests beyond the Seward glacier indicate that they are the 
upturned edges of fault-blocks similar to the one on which we are 
seated. Interesting geological records are there waiting an 
interpreter. The vastness of the mountains and the snow-fields to be 
seen at a single glance from this point of view can scarcely be 
realized. There are no familiar objects in sight with which to make 
eye-measurements; the picture is on so grand a scale that it defies 
imagination's grasp."

Searching the snow-sheet below with a field-glass, I discover a minute 
spot on the white surface. Its movement, slow but unmistakable, 
assures me that it is Lindsley returning from the site chosen for our 
camp to-night. Although apparently near at hand, he forms but an 
inconspicuous speck on the vast snow-field.

{135} Having learned all that I could of the geology of the cliff, and 
the gathering clouds rendering it unnecessary to climb the summits 
above, we descended with even more difficulty than we had encountered 
on our way up, and met Lindsley as he reached the pass. Resuming our 
packs, we started on, knowing that Crumback would follow our trail; 
and after two hours' hard tramping over a snow surface rendered 
somewhat soft by the heat of the day, but fortunately little 
crevassed, we reached the place chosen for our camp. Crumback soon 
joined us, and we pitched our tent for the night. The place chosen was 
on a little island of débris, the farthest out we could discover from 
the base of the great cliff on the north. We judged that we should 
there be safe from avalanches, although the screech and hiss of stones 
falling from the cliff were heard many times during the night.

Lindsley and Crumback, on revisiting the site of our camp two days 
later, found that a tremendous avalanche of snow and rocks had in the 
mean time fallen from the cliffs and ploughed its way out upon the 
glacier to within fifteen or twenty feet of where we had passed the 
night. They remarked that if the avalanche had occurred while we were 
in camp, our tent would not have been reached, but that we should 
probably have been scared to death by the roar.


FIRST FULL VIEW OF ST. ELIAS.

Leaving Crumback and Lindsley to make our camp as comfortable as 
possible, Kerr and I pressed on with the object of seeing all we could 
of the country ahead before the afternoon sunlight faded into 
twilight. Mount St. Elias had been shut out from view, either by 
clouds or by intervening mountains, for several days; but it was 
evident that on approaching the end of the Pinnacle pass fault-scarp 
we should behold it again, and comparatively near at hand.

Continuing down the even snow-slope, in which there were but few 
crevasses, the view became broader and broader as we advanced, and at 
length the great pyramid forming the culminating summit of all the 
region burst into full view. What a glorious sight! The great mountain 
seemed higher and grander and more regularly proportioned than any 
peak I had ever beheld before. The white plain formed by the Seward 
glacier gave an even foreground, broken by crevasses which, lessening 
in perspective, gave distance to the foot-hills forming the western 
{136} margin of the glacier. Far above the angular crest of the 
Samovar hills in the middle distance towered St. Elias, sharp and 
clear against the evening sky. Midway up the final slope a thin, 
horizontal bar of gray clouds was delicately penciled. Through the 
meshes of the fairy scarf shone the yellow sunset sky. The strong 
outlines of the rugged mountain, which had withstood centuries of 
storms and earthquakes, were softened and glorified by the breath of 
the summer winds, chilled as they kissed its crystal slopes.

Could I give to the reader a tithe of the impressions that such a view 
suggests, they would declare that painters had never shown them 
mountains, but only hills. So majestic was St. Elias, with the halo of 
the sunset about his brow, that other magnificent peaks now seen for 
the first time or more fully revealed than ever before, although 
worthy the respect and homage of the most experienced 
mountain-climber, scarcely received a second glance.

Returning to camp, we passed the night, and the following day, August 
6, advanced our camp to the eastern border of the Seward glacier at 
the extreme western end of the upturned crest forming the northern 
wall of Pinnacle pass.

The western end of the Pinnacle pass cliff is turned abruptly 
northward, and the rocks dip eastward at a high angle, showing, 
together with other conditions, that the end of the ridge is 
determined by a cross-fault running northeast and southwest. West of 
the Seward glacier there is a continuation of the Pinnacle-pass cliff, 
but it is greatly out of line. The position of the Seward glacier, in 
this portion of its course, was determined by the fault which broke 
the alignment of the main displacement.

Many facts of similar nature show that the glaciers of the St. Elias 
region have had their courses determined, to a large extent, by the 
faults which have given the region its characteristic structure: the 
ice drainage is consequent to the structure of the underlying rocks; 
the glaciers not only did not originate the channels in which they 
flow, but have failed to greatly modify them.

Camp 14 was on a sharp crest of limestone, conglomerate, and shale 
belonging to the Pinnacle system, which was not over ten feet broad 
where our tent was pitched. East of our tent there was a broad, upward 
sloping snow-plain banked against the precipitous base of a hill about 
a thousand feet high. At the edge of the snow, within three feet of 
our tent, there was a pond {137} of clear water, seemingly placed 
there for our special use. The western edge of our tent was at the 
margin of a cliff about a hundred feet high, overlooking the Seward 
glacier. We held this camp for several days and reöccupied it on our 
return from St. Elias.


SUMMIT OF PINNACLE PASS CLIFFS.

From Camp 14 Crumback returned to Blossom island, and Stamy took his 
place. Word from Christie assured me that supplies would be advanced 
to Blossom island, and that our cache on the Marvine glacier would be 
renewed. Stamy's arrival was especially welcome for the reason that he 
brought letters from dear ones far away, which had been forwarded from 
Sitka by a trading schooner that chanced to visit Yakutat bay.

While the camp hands were busy in bringing up fresh supplies, Kerr and 
I occupied two stations on the summit of the Pinnacle pass cliffs. One 
of these was on a butte at the western end of the ridge and just above 
our camp; the other was on the crest of the main line of cliffs almost 
directly above Pinnacle pass, at an elevation of 5,000 feet. Each of 
the stations embraced magnificent views, extending from the outer 
margin of the Malaspina glacier to the crest of the St. Elias range. 
The station on the butte near camp was occupied several times, and 
proved to be a most convenient and commanding point for study of the 
geography, geology, and distribution of glacier over a wide area. On 
account of the splendid view obtained from the top we named it _Point 
Glorious_. Its elevation is 3,500 feet.

One of the days on which we occupied Point Glorious was especially 
remarkable on account of the clearness and freshness of the air and 
the sharpness with which each peak and snow-crest stood out against 
the deep-blue heavens. We left our camp early in the morning, and 
spent several hours on the summit. On our way up we found several 
large patches of Alpine flowers and, under a tussock of moss, a soft, 
warm nest just abandoned by a mother ptarmigan with her brood of 
little ones. One hundred feet higher we came to the borders of the 
snow-field which covered all of the upper slopes except a narrow crest 
of sandstone at the top.

The Seward glacier, sweeping down from the northeast, curves about the 
base of Point Glorious and flows on southward. Its surface has the 
appearance of a wide frozen river. Toward the {138} east of our 
station there was a broad, level-floored amphitheatre, bounded on the 
south by the cliffs of Pinnacle pass and on the east by long 
snow-slopes which stretch up the gorges in the side of Mount Cook. The 
amphitheatre opens toward the northwest, and discharges its 
accumulated snows into the Seward glacier. Beyond this, on the north, 
stood the great curtain-wall named the Corwin cliffs, west of which 
rose Mount Eaton, Mount Augusta, Mount Malaspina, and other giant 
summits of the main St. Elias range. Toward the west the view 
culminated in St. Elias itself, ruggedly outlined against the sky. As 
the reader will become more and more familiar with the magnificent 
scenery of the St. Elias region as we advance, it need not be 
described in detail at this time.

All day the skies were clear and bright, giving abundant opportunity 
for making a detailed survey of the principal features in view, and 
for reading the history written in cliffs and glaciers. When the long 
summer day drew to a close, we returned to our tent and watched the 
great peaks become dim and generalized in outline as the twilight 
deepened. The fading light caused the mountains to recede farther and 
farther, until at last they seemed ghostly giants, too far away to be 
definitely recognized. With the twilight came soft, gray, uncertain 
clouds drawn slowly and silently about the rugged precipices by the 
summer winds from the sea. St. Elias became enveloped in luminous 
clouds, with the exception of a few hundred feet of the shining 
summit; and a glory in the sky, to the left of the veiled Saint, 
marked the place where the sun went down. The shadows crept across the 
snow-fields and changed them from dazzling white to a soft gray-blue. 
Night came on silently, and with but little change. There was no 
folding of wings; no twittering of birds in leafy branches; no sighing 
of winds among rustling leaves. All was stern and wild and still; 
there was not a touch of life to relieve the desolation. A midwinter 
night in inhabited lands was never more solemn. Man had never rested 
there before.

The air grew chill when the shadows crossed our tent, and delicate ice 
crystals began to shoot on the still surface of our little pond. We 
bade good night to the stern peaks, about which there were signs of a 
coming storm, and sought the shelter of our tent. Small and 
comfortless as was that shelter, it shut out the wintry scene and 
afforded a welcome retreat. Sound, refreshing sleep, with dreams of 
loved ones far away, renewed our strength for another advance.

{139} The next day, August 8, a topographic station was occupied on 
the summit of the Pinnacle pass cliffs. We were astir before sunrise, 
and had breakfast over before four o'clock. The morning was cold, and 
a cutting wind swept down the Seward glacier from the northeast. All 
of the mountains were lost to view in dense clouds. A few rays of 
sunshine breaking through the vapor banks above Point Glorious gave 
promise of better weather during the day. Lindsley and Stamy had not 
yet returned from the lower camp, where they were to obtain additional 
rations; and Kerr and I concluded to try to reach the crest of the 
Pinnacle pass cliffs and take the chances of the weather being 
favorable for our work.

Leaving camp in the early morning light, we chose to climb over the 
summit of Point Glorious rather than thread the crevasses at its 
northern base. Reaching the top of the point, we were still beneath 
the low canopy of clouds, and could see far up the great amphitheatre 
to the base of _Mount Owen_.[31] Descending the eastern slope, we soon 
reached the floor of the amphitheatre, and found the snow smooth and 
hard and not greatly crevassed. Cheered by faint promise of blue 
skies, we pressed on rapidly, the snow creaking beneath our tread as 
on a winter morning. Two or three hours of rapid walking brought us to 
the southern wall of the amphitheatre, nearly beneath the point we 
wished to occupy. As we ascended the slope the way became more 
difficult, owing not only to its steepness but also to the fact that 
the snow was softening, and also because great crevasses crossed our 
path. Looking back over the snow we had crossed, two 
well-characterized features on its surface could be distinguished: 
these were large areas with a gray tint, caused by a covering of dust. 
This dust comes from the southern faces of the Pinnacle pass cliffs, 
and is blown over the crest of the ridge and scattered far and wide 
over the snow-fields toward the north. Should the dust-covered areas 
become buried beneath fresh snow, it is evident that the strata of 
snow would be separated by thin layers of darker color. This is what 
has happened many times, as we could see by looking down into the 
crevasses. In one deep gulf I counted five distinct strata of clear 
white snow, separated by narrow dust-bands. In other instances there 
are twenty or more such strata visible. Each layer is evidently the 
record of a snow-storm, while the dust-bands indicate intervals of 
fine weather. {140} The strata of snow exposed to view in the 
crevasses, after being greatly compressed, are usually from ten to 
fifteen feet thick, but in one instance exceeded fifty feet. If we 
assume that each layer represents a winter's snow, and that 
compression has reduced each stratum to a third of its original 
thickness (and probably the compression has been greater than this), 
it is evident that the fresh snows must sometimes reach the depth of 
from 50 to 150 feet.

[Footnote 31: Named for David Dale Owen, United States geologist.]

Toiling on up the snow-slope, we had to wind in and out among deep 
crevasses, sometimes crossing them by narrow snow-bridges, and again 
jumping them and plunging our alpenstocks deep in the snow when we 
reached the farther side. After many windings we reached the summit of 
the Pinnacle-pass cliffs. The crest-line is formed of an outcrop of 
conglomerate composed of sand and pebbles, in one layer of which I 
found large quantities of mussel shells standing in the position in 
which the creatures lived. The present elevation of this ancient 
sea-bottom is 5,000 feet. The strata incline northward at angles of 
30° to 40°. All of the northern slope of the ridge is deeply covered 
with snow, and the rock only appears along the immediate crest. There 
are, in fact, two crests, as is common with many mountain ridges in 
this region, one of rock and the second of snow; the snow crest, which 
is usually the higher, is parallel to the rock crest and a few rods 
north of it. In the valley between the two ridges we found secure 
footing, and ascended with ease to the highest point on the cliffs. 
Looking over the southern or rocky crest, we found a sheer descent of 
about 1,500 feet to the snow-fields below.

The clouds diminished in density and gradually broke away, so that the 
entire extent of the St. Elias range was in view, with the exception 
of the crowning peak of all, which was still veiled from base to 
summit. A spur of St. Elias, extending southward from the main peak, 
and named _The Chariot_, gleamed brightly in the sunlight. It was the 
first point on which we made observations. Stretching eastward from 
St. Elias is the sharp crest of the main range, on which stand Mounts 
Newton, Jeannette, Malaspina, Augusta, Logan, and several other 
splendid peaks not yet named. Just to the right of Mount Augusta, on 
the immediate border of the Seward glacier, rise the Corwin cliffs, 
marking an immense fault-scarp of the same general character as the 
one on which we stood.

{141} Mr. Kerr endeavored at first to occupy a station on the crest of 
the rocky ridge, but as the steepness of the slope and the shattered 
condition of the rock rendered the station hazardous, the snow-ridge, 
which was covered with dust and sand and nearly as firm as rock, was 
occupied instead. The clouds parting toward the northeast revealed 
several giant peaks not before seen, some of which seem to rival in 
height St. Elias itself. One stranger, rising in three white domes far 
above the clouds, was especially magnificent. As this was probably the 
first time its summit was ever seen, we took the liberty of giving it 
a name. It will appear on our maps as _Mount Logan_, in honor of Sir 
William E. Logan, founder and long director of the Geological Survey 
of Canada.

The clouds grew denser in the east, and shut off all hope of extending 
the map-work in that direction. While Kerr was making topographic 
sketches I tried to decipher some of the geological history of the 
region around me and make myself more familiar with its glaciers and 
snow-fields.

Even more remarkable than the mighty peaks toward the north, beheld 
that day for the first time, was the vast plateau of ice stretching 
seaward from the foot of the mountains. From my station what seemed to 
be the ocean's shore near Icy bay could just be distinguished. Beyond 
the bay there is a group of hills which come boldly down to the sea, 
and apparently form a sea-cliff at the water's edge. Beyond this 
headland there is another vast glacier extending westward to the 
limits of vision. The view from this point is essentially the same as 
that obtained from the cliffs at Pinnacle pass a few days earlier, 
except that it is far more extended. It need not be described in 
detail.

The clouds becoming thicker and settling in dark masses about the 
mountains, we gave up all hope of further work and started for our 
camp. On the way down the ridge between the crest of snow and the 
crest of rock we found a stratum of sandstone filled with fossil 
leaves, and near at hand another layer charged with very recent 
sea-shells. Collecting all of these that we could carry, we trudged 
on, finding the snow soft and some of the bridges which we had easily 
crossed in the morning now weak, trembling, and insecure. We crossed 
them safely, however, and, reaching the level floor of the 
amphitheatre, marched wearily on toward Point Glorious. This time we 
passed along the northern base of the butte at an elevation of two or 
three hundred feet {142} above the glacier, and, taking a convenient 
slide down the snow-slope, reached our tent.

Soon a delicious cup of coffee was prepared, bacon was fried, and 
these were put in a warm place while some griddle cakes were being 
baked. A warm supper, followed by a restful pipe, ended the day. Kerr 
and I were our own cooks and our own housekeepers during much of the 
time we lived above the snow-line. We cleared away the remains of the 
supper, and prepared our blankets for the night. One of the huge ice 
pinnacles on the glacier fell with a great crash just as we were 
turning in. Rain began to fall, and the night was cold and 
disagreeable; how it passed I do not know, as I slept soundly. 
Scarcely anything less serious than the blowing away of our tent could 
have awakened me.


ACROSS SEWARD GLACIER TO DOME PASS.

Stormy weather and the necessity of bringing additional supplies from 
Blossom island detained us at Camp 14 until August 13. We rose at 
three o'clock on the morning of that day, and, after a hasty 
breakfast, prepared to cross the Seward glacier. The morning was cold 
but clear, and the air was bracing. Each peak and mountain crest in 
the rugged landscape stood out boldly in the early light, although the 
sun had not risen. Soon the summit of St. Elias became tipped with 
gold, and then peak after peak, in order of their rank, caught the 
radiance, and in a short time the vast snow-fields were of dazzling 
splendor.

The frost of the night before had hardened the snow, which made 
walking a pleasure. We crossed a rocky spur projecting northward from 
Point Glorious into the Seward glacier, and had to lower our packs 
down the side of the precipice with the aid of ropes. Our course led 
at first up the border of the great glacier to a point above the head 
of the rapids already referred to, then curved to the westward, and 
for a mile or two coincided with the general trend of the crevasses. 
We made good progress, but at length we came to where the Augusta 
glacier pours its flood of ice into the main stream and, owing to its 
high grade, is greatly broken. Skirting this difficult area, we passed 
a number of small blue lakelets and reached the western border of the 
Seward glacier. We found a gently rising snow-slope leading westward 
through a gap that could be seen in hills a few miles in advance. But 
little difficulty was now experienced, except that the snow {143} had 
become soft under the summer's sun, and walking over it with heavy 
loads was wearisome in the extreme. We could see, however, that the 
way ahead was clear, and that encouraged us to push on. Toward night 
we found a camping place on a steep ridge of shale and sandstone 
projecting eastward from a spur of Mount Malaspina. This ridge rises 
about five hundred feet above the surrounding glacier, and has steep 
roof-like slopes. The summer sun had melted nearly all the snow from 
its southern face, but the northern slope was still heavily loaded. 
The snow on the northern side stood some thirty or forty feet higher 
than the rocky crest of the ridge itself, and between the rock crest 
and the snow crest there was a little valley which afforded ample 
shelter for our tent and was quite safe from avalanches. The melting 
of the snow-bank during the warm days supplied us with water.

The formation of crests of snow standing high above the rocky ridges 
on which they rest is a peculiar and interesting feature of the 
mountains of the St. Elias region. A north-and-south section through 
the ridge on which Camp 15 was situated, exhibiting the double crests, 
one of rock and the other of snow, is shown at _a_ in figure 6. _b_ is 
a section through a similar ridge with a still higher snow crest. The 
remaining figures in the illustration are sketches of mountain peaks, 
as seen from the south, which have been increased in height by a heavy 
accumulation of snow on their northern slopes. These sketches are of 
peaks among the foothills of Mount Malaspina, and show snow pinnacles 
from fifty to more than a hundred feet high. In some instances, domes 
and crests of snow were seen along the western sides of the ridges and 
peaks, but as a rule these snow-tips on the mountains are confined to 
their northern slopes. The edges and summits of the snow-ridges are 
sharply defined and clearly cut. The southern slope exposed above the 
crest of rock is often concave, while the northern slopes are usually 
convex.

[Illustration: FIGURE 6--_Snow Crests on Ridges and Peaks; from Field 
Sketches_.]

In climbing steep ridges the double crests are frequently of great 
assistance. Safe footing may frequently be found in the channels 
between the crests of rock and snow, by the aid of which {144} very 
precipitous peaks may be climbed with ease. In case the ascent between 
the two crests is not practicable, the even snow-slope itself affords 
a sure footing for one used to mountain climbing.

After establishing Camp 15, Lindsley and Stamy returned to one of the 
lower camps for additional supplies, while Kerr and I explored a way 
for farther advance.

[Illustration: PLATE 18. HITCHCOCK RANGE, FROM NEAR DOME PASS.]

Our camp occupied a commanding situation. From the end of the ridge on 
which it was located there was a splendid view of glaciers and 
mountains to the eastward. The illustration forming plate 18 is from a 
photograph taken from that station. Toward the north, and only a few 
miles away, rose the bare, rugged slope of Mount Malaspina. In a wild, 
high-grade gorge on its western side, a glacier, all pinnacles and 
crevasses, tumbles down into the broad white plain below. On account 
of its splendid ice-fall this was named the _Cascade glacier_. Beyond 
the white plain, stretching eastward for fifteen or twenty miles, 
there rise the foothills of Mount Cook. Farther south, the rugged, 
angular summits of the Hitchcock range are in full view, and toward 
the north stands _Mount Irving_,[32] which rivals even Mount Cook in 
the symmetrical proportions of its snow-covered slopes.

[Footnote 32: Named in honor of Professor Roland Duer Irving, U. S. 
geologist.]

The surface of the vast snow-plain near at hand is gashed by many 
gaping fissures, but the distance is so great that these minor details 
disappear in a general view. Looking down over the snow, one may see 
the crevasses as in a diagram. They look as if the white surface had 
been gashed with a sharp knife, and then stretched in such a way as to 
open the cuts. That the snow of the névés may be stretched, at least 
to a limited extent, is shown by the character of these fissures. The 
crevasses are widest in the center and come to a point at their 
curving extremities. Two crevasses frequently overlap at their ends 
and leave a sliver of ice stretching across diagonally between them. 
It is by means of these diagonal bridges that one is enabled to thread 
his way through the crevasses.

On returning to camp in the evening, weary with a hard day's climb, a 
never-failing source of delight was found in the matchless winter 
landscape to the eastward. The evenings following days of 
uninterrupted sunshine were especially delightful. The blue shadows of 
the western peaks creeping across the shining surface were nearly as 
sharp in outline as the peaks that cast {145} them. When the chill of 
evening made itself felt, and the dropping water and the indefinite 
murmurs from the glacier below were stilled, the silence became 
oppressive. The stillness was so profound that it seemed as though the 
footsteps of the advancing shadows should be audible.

On warm sunny days, however, there are noises enough amid the 
mountains. The snow, partially melted and softened by the heat, falls 
from the cliffs in avalanches that make the mountains tremble and, 
with a roar like thunder, awaken the echoes far and near. During our 
stay at Camp 15 the avalanches were sometimes so frequent on the steep 
mountain faces toward the north that the roar of one falling mass of 
snow and rocks was scarcely hushed before it was succeeded by another.

On the southward-facing cliffs of Mount Augusta, composed of schist 
which disintegrates rapidly, there are frequent rock avalanches. A 
rock or a mass of comminuted schist sometimes breaks away even in 
midday, although these avalanches occur most frequently when the 
moisture in the rocks freezes. The midday avalanches, I fancy, may be 
started by the expansion of the rocks owing to the sun's heat. A few 
stones dislodged high up on the cliffs fall, and, loosening others in 
their descent, soon set in motion a train of dirt and stones, which 
flows down the steep ravines with a long rumbling roar, at the same 
time sending clouds of dust into the air. If the wind is blowing up 
the cliffs, as frequently happens on warm days, the dust is carried 
far above the mountains, and hangs in the air like clouds of smoke.

It has been frequently stated that St. Elias is a volcano, and sea 
captains sailing on the Pacific have seen what they supposed to be 
smoke issuing from its summit. As its southern face is composed of the 
same kind of rocks and is of the same precipitous nature as the 
southern slope of Mount Augusta, it appears probable that what was 
supposed to be volcanic smoke was in reality avalanche dust blown 
upward by ascending air currents.

The disintegration of the mountain summits all through the St. Elias 
region is so great that one constantly wonders that anything is left; 
yet, except late in the fall, the snow surfaces at the bases of even 
the steepest cliffs are mostly bare of débris. The absence of earth 
and stones on the surfaces of the névé fields is mainly due, of 
course, to the fact that these are regions of accumulation where the 
winter's snow exceeds the summer's melting. {146} Thus each year the 
surface is renewed and made fresh and clean, and any débris that may 
have previously accumulated is concealed.

There is another reason, however, why but little débris is found at 
the bases of the steep precipices. The snows of winter are banked high 
against these walls, but when the rocks are warmed by the return of 
the summer's sun the snow near their dark surfaces is melted, and 
leaves a deep gulf between the upward-sloping banks of snow and the 
sides of the cliffs. These black chasms are frequently 150 or 200 feet 
deep, and receive all the débris that falls from above. In this way 
very large quantities of earth and stones are injected, as it were, 
into the glacier, and only come to light again far down toward the 
ends of the ice-streams, where the summer's melting exceeds the 
winter's supply.

[Illustration: PLATE 19. MT. ST. ELIAS, FROM DOME PASS.]

On August 14, Kerr and I made an excursion ahead to the border of the 
Agassiz glacier. The snow-slope south of our camp led westward up a 
gentle grade to a gap in the hills between two bold, snow-covered 
domes. The gap through which the snow extended, uniting with a broad 
snow-field sloping westward, was only a few hundred feet wide, and 
formed a typical mountain pass, designated on our map as _Dome pass_. 
Its elevation is 4,300 feet. When near the summit of the pass a few 
steps carried us past the divide of snow, and revealed to our eager 
eyes the wonderland beyond. St. Elias rose majestically before us, 
unobstructed by intervening hills, and bare of clouds from base to 
summit. We were greatly encouraged by the prospect ahead, as there 
were evidently no obstacles between us and the actual base of the 
mountain. A photograph of the magnificent peak was taken, from which 
the illustration forming plate 19 has been drawn. To the right of the 
main mountain mass, as shown in the illustration, rises _Mount 
Newton_,[33] one of the many separate mountain peaks crowning the 
crest of the St. Elias range. Our way led down the snow-slope in the 
foreground to the border of the Agassiz glacier, which comes in view 
between the foot-hills in the middle distance and the sculptured base 
on which the crowning pyramid of St. Elias stands. After reaching the 
Agassiz glacier we turned to the right, and made our way to the {147} 
amphitheatre lying between Mount St. Elias and Mount Newton. On the 
day we discovered Dome pass, we pressed on down the western snow-slope 
and reached the side of the Agassiz glacier, which we found greatly 
crevassed; selecting a camping place on a rocky spur, we returned to 
Camp 15, and two days later established camp at the place chosen.

[Footnote 33: Named for Henry Newton, formerly of the School of Mines 
of Columbia college and author of a report on the geology of the Black 
hills of Dakota.]

Camp 16 was similar in many ways to Camp 14. It had about the same 
altitude; it was at the western end of a rugged mountain spur, and on 
the immediate border of a large southward-flowing glacier. On the 
lower portions of the cliffs, near at hand, there were velvety patches 
of brilliant Alpine flowers mingled with thick bunches of wiry grass 
and clumps of delicate ferns. Most conspicuous of all the showy 
plants, so bright and lovely in the vast wilderness of snow, were the 
purple lupines. Already the flowers on the lower portions of their 
spikes had matured, and pods covered with a thick coating of wooly 
hairs were beginning to be conspicuous. There are no bees and 
butterflies in these isolated gardens, but brown flies with 
long-pointed wings were abundant. A gray bird, a little larger than a 
sparrow, was seen flitting in and out of crevasses near the border of 
the ice, apparently in quest of insects. Once, while stretched at full 
length on the flowery carpet enjoying the warm sunlight, a humming 
bird flashed past me. Occasionally the hoarse cries of ravens were 
heard among the cliffs, but they seldom ventured near enough to be 
seen. These few suggestions were all there was to remind us of the 
summer fields and shady forests in far-away lands.


UP THE AGASSIZ GLACIER.

From Camp 16 Kerr and I made an excursion across the Agassiz glacier, 
while Stamy and Lindsley returned to a lower camp for additional 
supplies. We found the glacier greatly crevassed and the way across 
more difficult than on any of the ice-fields we had previously 
traversed; but by dint of perseverance, and after many changes in our 
course, we succeeded at last in reaching the western bank, and saw 
that by climbing a precipice bordering an ice-cascade we could gain a 
plateau above, which we knew from previous observations to be 
comparatively little broken. We returned to camp, and on August 18 
began the ascent of the glacier in earnest. We were favored in the 
task by brilliant weather.

{148} After reaching the western bank of the glacier, we made our way 
to the base of the precipice up which we had previously wished to 
climb. In order to reach it, however, we had to throw our packs across 
a crevasse over which there was no bridge, and followed them by 
jumping. The side of the crevasse from which we sprang was higher than 
its opposite lip, and left us very uncertain as to how we were to 
return; but that was a matter for the future; our aim at the time was 
to ascend the glacier, and the return was of no immediate concern.

Reaching the base of the cliff at the side of the glacier, we ascended 
it without great difficulty, and came out upon the broad plateau of 
snow above. Thinking that the way onward would be easier along the 
steep snow-slope bordering the glacier, we made an effort to ascend in 
that direction, and spent two or three precious hours in trying to 
find a practicable route. Although the crevasses were fewer than on 
the glacier proper, yet they were of larger size and had but few 
bridges. At last we came to a wide gulf on the opposite side of which 
there was a perpendicular wall of snow a hundred feet high, and all 
further advance in that direction was stopped. Although obliged to 
turn back, our elevated position commanded a good view of the glacier 
below and enabled us to choose a way through the maze of crevasses 
crossing it. Descending, we plodded wearily on in an irregular zigzag 
course; but the crevasses became broader and deeper as we advanced, 
and at length we found ourselves traversing flat table-like blocks of 
snow, bounded on all sides by crevasses so deep that their bottoms 
were lost to view. We made our way from one snow-table to another by 
jumping the crevasses where they were narrowest, or by frail 
snow-bridges spanning the profound gulfs. Night came on while we were 
yet in this wild, broken region, and no choice was left us but to 
pitch our tent in the snow and wait until morning. The night was clear 
and cold, and a firm crust formed on the snow before morning. Although 
the temperature was uncomfortable, we were cheered by the prospects of 
a firm snow surface on the morrow.

We continued our march at sunrise and found the walking easy; but the 
sun soon came out with unusual brilliancy and softened the snow so 
much that even the slowest movements were fatiguing. We endeavored to 
force our way up the center of the glacier through the crevasses and 
pinnacles of a second ice-fall; but after several hours of exhausting 
experience we were {149} obliged to change our plan, and endeavored to 
reach a mountain spur projecting from the western border of the 
glacier. The sunlight reflected from the snow was extremely brilliant, 
and the glare from every surface about us was painful to our eyes, 
already weakened by many days' travel over the white snow. Each member 
of the party was provided with colored glasses, but in traversing 
snow-bridges and jumping crevasses these had to be dispensed with. The 
result was that all of us were suffering more or less from 
snow-blindness.

About noon we reached the base of the mountain spur toward which our 
course was bent. It projects into the western border of Agassiz 
glacier. It is the extension of this cliff underneath the glacier that 
caused the ice-fall which blocked our way. To go round the end of the 
cliff with our packs was impracticable, but there seemed a way up the 
face of the cliff itself, which one could scale by taking advantage of 
the joints in the rocks. I ascended the snow-slope to the base of the 
precipice, but found the way upward more difficult than anticipated; 
and, as the light was very painful to my eyes when not protected by 
colored glasses, I decided to postpone making the climb until I was in 
better condition, and in the meantime to see if some other route could 
not be found. We decided to camp on a small patch of débris near the 
base of the cliff, and there left our loads. Kerr and Lindsley, taking 
a rope and alpenstocks, went around the end of the rocky spur and 
worked their way upward with great difficulty to the top of the cliff 
immediately above where I had essayed to climb it. A rope was made 
fast at the top, and our way onward was secured. This place was 
afterward called _Rope cliff_. The remainder of the afternoon I rested 
in the tent, with my eyes bound up with tea-leaves, and when evening 
came found the pain in my head much relieved.

Our tent that night was so near the brink of a crevasse that in order 
to stay the tent one end of the ridge-rope was made fast to a large 
stone, which was lowered into the gulf to serve as a stake. Above us 
rose a precipice nearly a thousand feet high, from which stones were 
constantly falling; but a deep black gulf intervened between the 
position we had chosen and the base of the cliffs, and into this the 
stones were precipitated. Not one of the falling fragments reached the 
edge of the snow slope on which we were camped, but many times during 
the night we heard the whiz and hum of the rocks as they shot down 
from the cliffs. {150} The noise made by each fragment in its passage 
through the air increased rapidly in pitch, thus indicating that they 
were approaching us; but they always fell short of our camp. The 
bombardment from above was most active just after the shadows fell on 
the cliffs, showing that the stones were loosened by the freezing of 
the water in the interstices of the rock.

The next day, August 20, Stamy and Lindsley went back to Camp 16 for 
more rations, while Kerr and I remained at Camp 18 nursing our eyes 
and resting. The day passed without anything worthy of note, except 
the almost constant thunder of avalanches on the mountains. About 
sunset a dense fog spread over the wintry landscape and threatened to 
delay the return of the men. When the sun went down, however, the 
temperature fell several degrees, the mist vanished, and a few stars 
came out clear and bright. Just as we were about to despair of seeing 
the men that night we heard a distant shout announcing their return. 
We had a cup of hot coffee for them when they reached the tent, which 
they drank with eagerness; but they were too tired to partake of food. 
Rolling themselves in their blankets, they were asleep in a few 
minutes.


CAMP ON THE NEWTON GLACIER.

On August 21 we climbed the cliff above Camp 18 by means of the rope 
already placed there, and found the snow above greatly crevassed. We 
traveled upward along the steep slope bordering the glacier, but soon 
came to a deep crevasse which forbade further progress in that 
direction. Returning to a lower level, we undertook to smooth off an 
extremely narrow snow-bridge so as to make it wide enough to cross, 
but found the undertaking so hazardous that we abandoned it. By this 
time it was midday, and we prepared a cup of hot coffee before 
renewing our attack on the cliffs. After luncheon and a short rest, 
feeling very much refreshed, we began to cut a series of steps in a 
bluff of snow about fifty feet high, and made rapid progress in the 
undertaking. After an hour's hard work one of us reached the top and, 
planting an alpenstock deep in the snow, lowered a rope to those 
below. The packs were drawn up one at a time and we were soon ready to 
advance again.

We found ourselves in a vast amphitheatre bounded on all sides 
excepting that from which we had come with rugged, {151} snow-covered 
precipices. The plain was crossed by huge crevasses, some of which 
were fully a mile in length; but by traveling around their ends or 
crossing snow-bridges we slowly worked our way onward toward St. 
Elias. Threading our way through the labyrinth of yawning gulfs, we at 
last, after the sun had gone down behind the great pyramid toward the 
west, found a convenient place on the snow, near a blue pond of water, 
on which to pass the night. Everything was snow-covered in the vast 
landscape except the most precipitous cliffs, and these were dangerous 
to approach, owing to the avalanches that frequently fell from them. 
The weather continued fine. The night was clear and the stars were 
unusually brilliant. Everything seemed favorable for pushing on. The 
way ahead presented such even snow-slopes and seemed so free from 
crevasses that we decided to leave our tent and blankets in the 
morning and, taking with us as little as possible of impedimenta, 
endeavor to reach the summit of St. Elias.


HIGHEST POINT REACHED.

Rising at three o'clock on the morning of August 22, we started for 
the summit of St. Elias, taking with us only our water-proof coats, 
some food, and the necessary instruments. The higher mountain summits 
were no longer clearly defined, but in the early light it was 
impossible to tell whether or not the day was to be fair. From the 
highest and sharpest peaks, cloud banners were streaming off towards 
the southeast, showing that the higher air currents were in rapid 
movement. Vapor banks in the east were flushed with long streamers of 
light as the sun rose, but soon faded to a dull ashen gray, while the 
cloud banners between us and the sun became brilliant like the halo 
seen around the moon when the sky is covered with fleecy clouds. This 
was the first time in my experience that I had seen colored banners 
waving from the mountain tops.

We found the snow-surface hard, and made rapid headway up the glacier. 
Our only difficulty was the uncertainty of the early light, which 
rendered it impossible to tell the slope of the uneven snow-surfaces. 
The light was so evenly diffused that there were no shadows. The rare 
beauty of that silent, wintry landscape, so delicate in its pearly 
half tones and so softly lighted, was unreal and fairy-like. The winds 
were still; but {152} strange forebodings of coming changes filled the 
air. Long, waving threads of vapor were woven in lace-work across the 
sky; the white-robed mountains were partially concealed by 
cloud-masses drifting like spirits along their mighty battlements; and 
far, far above, from the topmost pinnacles, irised banners were 
signaling the coming of a storm.

We made rapid progress, but early in the day came to the base of a 
heavy cloud bank which enshrouded all the upper part of St. Elias. 
Then snow began to fall, and it was evident that to proceed farther 
would be rash and without promise of success. After twenty days of 
fatigue and hardship since leaving Blossom island, with our goal 
almost reached, we were obliged to turn back. Hoping to be able to 
renew the attempt after the storm had passed, Mr. Kerr left his 
instruments on the snow between two huge crevasses and we returned to 
our tent, where we passed the remainder of the day and the night 
following. The snow continued to fall throughout the day, and the 
storm increased in force as night came on. When we awoke in the 
morning the tempest was still raging. We were in the midst of the 
storm-cloud; the dense vapor and the fine drifting snow-crystals swept 
along by the wind obscured everything from view; the white snow 
surface could not be distinguished from the vapor-filled air; there 
was no earth and no sky; we seemed to be suspended in a white, 
translucent medium which surrounded us like a shroud. The snow was 
already more than three feet deep about our tent, and to remain longer 
with the short supply of provisions on hand was exceedingly hazardous, 
as there seemed no limit to the duration of the storm. A can of 
rations had been left at Rope cliff, and we decided to return to that 
place if possible. Resuming our packs, we roped ourselves together and 
began to descend through the blinding mist and snow which rendered the 
atmosphere so dense that a man could not be distinguished at a 
distance of a hundred feet. With only an occasional glimpse of the 
white cliff around to guide us, we worked our way downward over 
snow-bridges and between the crevasses. Our ascent through this 
dangerous region had been slow and difficult, but our descent was 
still more tedious. All day long we continued to creep slowly along 
through the blinding storm, and as night approached believed ourselves 
near the steps cut in a snow-cliff during the ascent, but darkness 
came before we reached them. Shoveling the snow away as best we could 
with our hands and {153} basins, we cleared a place down to the old 
snow large enough for our tent and went into camp.

In the morning, August 24, the storm had spent its force and left the 
mountains with an immaculate covering, but still partially veiled by 
shreds of storm-clouds. We found ourselves on one of the many tables 
of snow, bounded on all sides by crevasses of great depth, but not far 
from the snow-cliff where we had cut steps. The steps were obliterated 
by the new snow, but by means of a rope and alpenstocks we made the 
descent without much difficulty. The last man to go down, not having 
the help of the rope, used two alpenstocks, and descended by first 
planting one firmly in the snow and lowering himself as far as he 
could, still retaining a firm hold, and then planting the other in the 
snow at a lower level and removing the higher one. By slowly and 
carefully repeating this operation he descended the cliff safely and 
rejoined his companions. Passing on beneath the cliffs, dangerous on 
account of avalanches, we reached in safety the precipice where we had 
left our rope. A heavy avalanche had swept down from the heights above 
during our absence and sent its spray over the precipice we had to 
descend. The cliff of ice towering above the place where our rope was 
fastened had become greatly melted and honey-combed, and threatened 
every moment to crash down and destroy any one who chanced to be 
beneath. To stand above the precipice in the shadow of the treacherous 
snow-cliffs while the men were descending the rope was exceedingly 
trying to one's nerves; but the avalanches did not come, and the 
previous camping place below Rope cliff was reached with safety.

The following day, August 25, after some consultation, it was decided 
to once more attempt to reach the top of Mount St. Elias. Lindsley and 
Stamy, who had shared without complaint our privations in the snow, 
volunteered to descend to a lower camp for additional rations, while 
Kerr and myself returned to the higher camp in the hope that we might 
be able to ascend the peak before the men returned, and, if not, to 
have sufficient rations when they did rejoin us to continue the 
attack. The men departed on their difficult errand, while Kerr and I, 
with blankets, tents, oil-stoves, and what rations remained, once more 
scaled the cliff where we had placed a rope, and returned on the trail 
made the day previously. About noon we reached the excavation in the 
snow where we had bivouacked in the storm, {154} and there prepared a 
lunch. It was then discovered that we had been mistaken as to the 
quantity of oil in our cans; we found scarcely enough to cook a single 
meal. To attempt to remain several days in the snow with this small 
supply of fuel seemed hazardous, and Mr. Kerr volunteered to descend 
and overtake the men at the lower camp, procure some oil, and return 
the following day. We then separated, Mr. Kerr starting down the 
mountain, leaving me with a double load, weighing between sixty and 
seventy pounds, to carry through the deep snow to the high camp 
previously occupied.


ALONE IN THE HIGHEST CAMP.

Trudging wearily on, I reached the high camp at sunset, and pitched my 
tent in the excavation previously occupied. An alpenstock was used for 
one tent-pole, and snow saturated with water, piled up in a column, 
for the other; the snow froze in a few minutes, and held the tent 
securely. The ends of the ridge-rope were then stamped into the snow, 
and water was poured over them; the edges of the tent were treated in 
a similar manner, and my shelter was ready for occupation. After 
cooking some supper over the oil-stove, I rolled myself in a blanket 
and slept the sleep of the weary. I was awakened in the morning by 
snow drifting into my tent, and on looking out discovered that I was 
again caught in a blinding storm or mist of snow. The storm raged all 
day and all night, and continued without interruption until the 
evening of the second day. The coal oil becoming exhausted, a can was 
filled with bacon grease, in which a cotton rag was placed for a wick; 
and over this "witch lamp" I did my cooking during the remainder of my 
stay. The snow, falling steadily, soon buried my tent, already 
surrounded on three sides by an icy wall higher than my head, and it 
was only by almost constant exertion that it was kept from being 
crushed in. With a pint basin for a shovel I cleared the tent as best 
I could, and several times during the day re-excavated the hole 
leading down to the pond, which had long since disappeared beneath the 
level plain of white. The excavation of a tunnel in the snow was also 
begun in the expectation that the tent would become uninhabitable. The 
following night it became impossible to keep the tent clear in spite 
of energetic efforts, and early in the morning it was crushed in by a 
great weight of snow, {155} leaving me no alternative but to finish my 
snow-house and move in. A tunnel some four or five feet in length was 
excavated in the snow, and a chamber about six feet long by four feet 
wide and three feet high was made at right angles to the tunnel. In 
this chamber I placed my blankets and other belongings, and, hanging a 
rubber coat on an alpenstock at the entrance, found myself well 
sheltered from the tempest. There I passed the day and the night 
following. At night the darkness and silence in my narrow tomb-like 
cell was oppressive; not a sound broke the stillness except the 
distant, muffled roar of an occasional avalanche. I slept soundly, 
however, and in the morning was awakened by the croaking of a raven on 
the snow immediately above my head. The grotto was filled with a soft 
blue light, but a pink radiance at the entrance told that the day had 
dawned bright and clear.

What a glorious sight awaited me! The heavens were without a cloud, 
and the sun shone with dazzling splendor on the white peaks around. 
The broad unbroken snow-plain seemed to burn with light reflected from 
millions of shining crystals. The great mountain peaks were draped 
from base to summit in the purest white, as yet unscarred by 
avalanches. On the steep cliffs the snow hung in folds like drapery, 
tier above tier, while the angular peaks above stood out like crystals 
against the sky. St. Elias was one vast pyramid of alabaster. The 
winds were still; not a sound broke the solitude; not an object moved. 
Even the raven had gone, leaving me alone with the mountains.

As the sun rose higher and higher and made its warmth felt, the snow 
was loosened on the steep slopes and here and there broke away. 
Gathering force as it fell, it rushed down in avalanches that made the 
mountains tremble and awakened thunderous echoes. From a small 
beginning high up on the steep slopes, the new snow would slip 
downward, silently at first, and cascade over precipices hundreds of 
feet high, looking like a fall of foaming water; then came the roar, 
increasing in volume as the flowing snow involved new fields in its 
path of destruction, until the great mass became irresistible and 
ploughed its way downward through clouds of snow-spray, which hung in 
the air long after the snow had ceased to move and the roar of the 
avalanche had ceased. All day long, until the shadow of evening fell 
on the steep slopes, this mountain thunder continued. The echoes of 
one avalanche scarcely died away before they were {156} awakened by 
another roar. To witness such a scene under the most favorable 
conditions was worth all the privations and anxiety it cost.

Besides the streams of new snow, there were occasional avalanches of a 
different character, caused by the breaking away of portions of the 
cliffs of old snow, accumulated, perhaps, during several winters. 
These start from the summits of precipices, and are caused by the slow 
downward creep of the snow-fields above. The snow-cliffs are always 
crevassed and broken in much the same manner as are the ends of 
glaciers which enter the sea, and occasionally large masses, 
containing thousands of cubic yards, break away and are precipitated 
down the slopes with a suddenness that is always startling. Usually 
the first announcement of these avalanches is a report like that of a 
cannon, followed by a rumbling roar as the descending mass ploughs its 
way along. The avalanches formed by old snow are quite different from 
those caused by the descent of the new surface snow, but are 
frequently accompanied by surface streams in case there has been a 
recent storm. The paths ploughed out by the avalanches are frequently 
sheathed with glassy ice, formed by the freezing of water produced by 
the melting of snow on account of the heat produced by the friction of 
the moving mass. A third variety of avalanches, due to falling stones, 
has already been noticed.

The floor of my snow-chamber was the surface of the old snow on which 
we had pitched our tents at the time we first reached that camping 
place. On this hard surface, and forming the walls of the cell, there 
were thirty inches of clear white snow, the upper limit of which was 
marked by a blue layer of ice about a quarter of an inch thick. This 
indicated the thickness of snow that fell during the first storm. Its 
surface had been melted and softened during the days of sunshine that 
followed its fall, and had frozen into clear ice. Above the blue band 
which encircled the upper portion of my chamber was the soft, pure 
white snow of the second storm. The stratification of snow which I had 
seen fall rendered it evident that my interpretation of the 
stratification observed in the sides of crevasses was correct. The 
snow when it fell was soft and white, and composed of very fine 
crystals; but under the influence of the air and sunshine it changed 
its texture and became icy and granular, and then resembled the névé 
snow so common in high mountains.

{157} The day following the storm was bright and beautiful; the 
sunlight was warm and pleasant, but the temperature in the shadows was 
always below freezing. The surface of the snow did not melt 
sufficiently during the day to freeze and form a crust during the 
night. It thus became more and more apparent that the season was too 
far advanced to allow the snow to harden sufficiently for us to be 
able to climb the mountain. The snow settled somewhat and changed its 
character, but even at midday the crystals on the surface glittered as 
brilliantly in the sunlight as they did in the early morning. Although 
the snow did not melt, its surface was lowered slightly by 
evaporation. The tracks of the raven, at first sunken a quarter of an 
inch in the soft surface, after the first day of sunshine stood 
slightly in relief, but were still clearly defined.

       *       *       *       *       *

On the sixth day after separating from my companions, judging that 
they must have returned at least to the camping place where we had 
separated, I packed my blankets and what food remained, abandoned the 
tent and oil-stove, and started to descend the mountain. The snow had 
settled somewhat, but was still soft and yielding and over six feet 
deep. Tramping wearily on through the chaff-like substance, I slowly 
worked my way downward, and again threaded the maze of crevasses, now 
partially concealed by the layer of new snow, with which we had 
struggled several times before. Midway to the next camping place I met 
my companions coming up to search for me. Instead of meeting three 
men, as I expected, I saw five tramping along in single file through 
the deep snow. The sight of human beings in that vast solitude was so 
strange that I watched them for some time before shouting. Glad as I 
was to meet my companions once more, I could not help noticing their 
rough and picturesque appearance. Each man wore colored glasses and 
carried a long alpenstock, and two or three had packs strapped on 
their backs. Several weeks of hard tramping over moraines and 
snow-fields had made many rents in their clothes, which had been 
mended with cloth of any color that chanced to be available. Not a few 
rags were visible fluttering in the wind. To a stranger they would 
have appeared like a dangerous band of brigands.

The reason for the presence of five men instead of three was this: 
Lindsley and Stamy, when they left us at Rope cliff to {158} return 
for additional rations, were obliged to go back to Camp 12 in order to 
get a tent and an oil-stove. On reaching that place the temptation to 
return to Blossom island was so great that Lindsley could not resist 
it and went back to the base-camp, where he reported that Kerr and I 
were storm-bound in the mountains and in need of assistance. Three 
men, Partridge, Doney, and White, started at once, and found Stamy, 
who had waited for their arrival at Camp 12. A day was thus lost, 
which increased Mr. Kerr's hardship and might have proved disastrous. 
The party then returned to Rope cliff and joined Kerr on the evening 
of August 29. On this occasion, as on several others, I found myself 
indebted to Stamy for willing assistance when others hesitated.

During my imprisonment at the highest camp, Mr. Kerr was detained 
under similar circumstances at the camp below Rope cliff. On 
endeavoring to rejoin me with the supply of coal oil, so very valuable 
under the circumstances, he was caught in the storm and was unable to 
reach the rendezvous appointed. He reached Rope cliff late in the 
afternoon of the first day of the storm, climbed the precipice, and 
found his way through the gathering darkness, along the nearly 
obliterated trail beneath the avalanche cliffs, and up the steps cut 
in the snow-cliff, to the site of our bivouac camp. Finding nothing 
there, and being unable to proceed farther through the blinding storm, 
he abandoned the attempt and returned to the camp below Rope cliff. In 
descending the rope, he found that its lower end had become fast in 
the snow. The taut line, sheathed with ice, was an uncertain help in 
the darkness. Midway in the descent his hands slipped and he slid to 
the bottom; but the cushion of new snow broke the fall and prevented 
serious injury. Alone, without fire, without blankets, having only a 
canvas cover and a rubber cloth for shelter, and with but little food, 
he passed three anxious days and nights before the arrival of the camp 
hands.


THE RETURN.

Deciding that the ascent of Mount St. Elias could not be accomplished 
through the new snow, which refused to harden, it was decided to 
abandon the attempt and return to Blossom island. Our retreat was none 
too soon. Storm succeeded storm throughout September. Each time the 
clouds lifted, the mantle {159} of new snow was seen to have descended 
lower and lower. Our last view showed the wintry covering nearly down 
to timber-line.

On the night of August 31 we slept at the camp beneath Rope cliff, but 
had a most uncomfortable night. Six men sleeping in a tent measuring 
seven by seven feet, with but little protection from the ice beneath, 
certainly does not seem inviting to one surrounded by the comforts of 
civilization. A large part of the night was occupied by Doney in 
preparing breakfast over our oil-stove. An early start was welcome to 
all; we were disappointed at not being able to reach the top of St. 
Elias, and were anxious to return to more comfortable quarters. Kerr 
concluded to return at once to Blossom island to recuperate, while I 
made an excursion up the Seward glacier, with the hope of gaining the 
upper ice-fall and seeing the amphitheatre beyond.

We left Rope cliff about six in the morning, and found the snow hard 
and traveling easy for several hours. After descending the lower 
ice-fall, however, the snow became soft, and a change in the 
atmosphere indicated the approach of another storm. Kerr and Doney 
pressed on and were soon lost to sight, while the rest of the party 
were delayed, owing to Partridge having become snow-blind and almost 
helpless. As the crevasses were exceedingly numerous and the 
snow-bridges soft and uncertain, the task of conducting a blind man to 
a place of safety was by no means light. Partridge bore up bravely 
under his affliction, however, and did not hesitate in crawling across 
the treacherous snow-bridges with a rope fastened about his body and a 
man before and behind to assist his movements. Late in the day we 
reached our camping place at the eastern border of the Agassiz 
glacier, while Kerr and Doney crossed Dome pass and spent the night in 
a tent that had been left standing at the first camping east of the 
pass. We pitched a tent on our old camping place at Camp 16, and had 
the luxury of a rocky bed to sleep on that night. As Partridge's 
blindness still continued, White was sent ahead to tell Kerr and Doney 
to wait for us in the morning, so that Partridge could accompany them 
to Blossom island. Rain continued all that night and all the next day. 
As Partridge's eyes were still unserviceable in the morning, I 
concluded to wait a day before allowing him to start for Blossom 
island.

Toward evening on September 2 we moved our camp across {160} Dome 
pass, and pitched our tent on the high ridge beside the one occupied 
by Kerr and Doney. In the morning, although the storm still continued, 
our party divided, Kerr, Doney, and Partridge starting early for 
Blossom island, while Stamy, White, and myself, after following their 
tracks for a few miles, turned to the left and worked our way 
northeastward among the crevasses of the Seward glacier. Toward 
evening we reached the northwestern spur of Mount Owen, but found the 
cliffs rising abruptly from the glacier and too favorable for 
avalanches to admit of our camping near them. Again we were forced to 
go into camp on the open glacier, and were less comfortable than 
previously on similar occasions, owing to the fact that we had been 
exposed to the rains for three successive days and our blankets and 
clothes were wet. Rain continued all night and all the next day, and 
on the following night changed to snow.

On the morning of September 4 we awoke to find the skies clear, but 
the mountains all about us were white with snow. Before the sun rose, 
White and I started for the top of the high ridge above us, determined 
to have at least a distant view of the amphitheatre which we wished to 
explore. The snow about our camp was only six or eight inches deep, 
but as we ascended the mountain it grew more and more troublesome, and 
at a height of a thousand feet above camp was thirty inches deep. On 
gaining the summit of the ridge a magnificent view was obtained of the 
upper portion of the Seward glacier and of Mount Irving and Mount 
Logan, and many bold, tapering mountains farther northeastward. The 
whole landscape was snow-covered, and as the sun rose clear in the 
east became of the most dazzling brilliancy. An icy wind swept down 
from the northeast and rendered it exceedingly difficult to take 
photographs or to make measurements. On endeavoring to use my 
prismatic compass, I found that, having been soaked with moisture 
during the previous days of storm, it froze solid and refused to move, 
on being exposed to the air. Making what observations I could, we 
started back to camp with the intention of abandoning all further 
attempts to work in the high mountains.

On the steep slope now exposed to the full sunshine several avalanches 
had gone down, and there was great danger of others. Selecting a point 
where an avalanche had already swept away the new snow, we worked our 
way downward in a zigzag course and reached the bottom safely, 
although an avalanche starting {161} near at hand swept by within a 
few yards. When nearly at the bottom my attention was attracted by a 
noise above, and on looking up I saw two rocks bounding down the slope 
and coming straight for me. To dodge them on the steep slippery slope 
was difficult and dangerous. Allowing one to pass over my right 
shoulder, I instantly moved in that direction and allowed the other to 
pass over my left shoulder. They shot by me like fragments of shells, 
but did no injury. Reaching camp, we found that Stamy had dried our 
blankets and clothes.

Resuming our packs, we slowly threaded our way downward to Camp 14, at 
the western end of the Pinnacle pass cliffs. We there found cans of 
rations left several days before and, pitching our tent, passed the 
night. We knew by the signs found there that Kerr and his companions, 
after taking lunch, had renewed their journey toward Blossom island. 
Our camp was just at the lower limit of the new snow. To the northward 
all was of the purest white, but southward, down the glacier, the 
snow-fields were yellow and much discolored. Many changes had taken 
place in the Seward glacier since we first saw it; the pinnacles, 
snow-tables, and crevasses in the rapids were less striking than 
formerly, and had evidently suffered greatly from the summer's heat. 
About the bases of the cliffs there were dark, irregular patches of 
débris, where a month previously all was white. As nearly as could be 
judged, the surface of the glacier had been lowered by melting and 
settling during our absence about fifty feet.

The following morning, September 5, we started for Blossom island, the 
weather still continuing thick and stormy. On crossing Pinnacle pass 
we found over a foot of new snow which had fallen since our companions 
passed that way. Toward nightfall the lower limit of snow on the 
Marvine glacier was reached, and at night we camped on the first 
moraines which appeared below the névé. The day following, September 
6, we reached Blossom island about noon, and found that Kerr and his 
party had arrived there safely, and that Partridge had recovered from 
his snow-blindness.

       *       *       *       *       *

Our stay above the snow-line had lasted thirty-five days, and we were 
extremely glad to see the light of a camp-fire and have the trees and 
flowers about us once more. The vegetation indicated that the season 
was already far advanced. Most of the flowers had faded, and autumn 
tints gave brilliancy to the {162} lower mountain slopes; salmon 
berries and huckleberries were in profusion, and furnished an 
exceedingly agreeable change in our diet. After a bath in one of the 
small lakelets on the island and a good night's rest on a luxuriant 
bed of spruce boughs, we felt fully restored and ready for another 
campaign.

As Kerr was anxious to get back to Port Mulgrave, it was arranged that 
Lindsley and Partridge should go with him, and that the rest of the 
men should remain. Kerr took his departure on the morning of September 
7, and on the following day Christie, Doney, and myself crossed the 
Marvine glacier to the southern end of the Hitchcock range, and the 
following day made an excursion out upon the Malaspina glacier. The 
day of our excursion was bright and beautiful, and the mountains to 
the northward revealed their full magnificence. The level plateau of 
ice formed a horizontal plain, from which the mountain rose 
precipitously and appeared grander and more majestic than from any 
other point of view. St. Elias rose clear and sharp, without a cloud 
to obscure its dizzy height, and appeared to be one sheer precipice. 
It is doubtful if a more impressive mountain face exists anywhere else 
in the world. After learning all we could concerning the Malaspina 
glacier we returned to our camp at the end of the Hitchcock range, and 
the following day tramped across the extremely rough moraine-covered 
surface back to Blossom island.

The following morning, September 12, we started on our return trip to 
Yakutat bay. Two small tents and many articles for which we had no 
further use were abandoned, so as to make our packs light as possible. 
We crossed the Hayden glacier, and at night camped at the foot of 
Floral pass. After making two intermediate camps, traveling each day 
in the rain, we reached the shore of Yakutat bay on September 15.

Doney and I halted at Dalton's cabin for the purpose of seeing what we 
could of the openings there made for coal, while the rest of the party 
pressed on to our old camping place on the shore. There they found 
Kerr and his party still encamped, but ready to leave for Port 
Mulgrave early the next morning.

September 18 was occupied by us in catching salmon and trout. We were 
abundantly successful, as every man returned to camp with all that he 
could carry. These were spread out on a rack over our camp-fire and 
smoked for further use, as we did not know how long our stay would be 
extended. On the next day Stamy and Lindsley returned from Port 
Mulgrave, where they {163} had left Kerr, quite recovered from his 
exposure on the mountain. Stormy weather continued, and a gale from 
the northeast piled the ice high on the beach and threatened to sweep 
away our tents, as has already been briefly described in earlier 
pages.

On September 20, our tents having been beaten in by a violent storm 
and our camping place overflowed by the waters from a lake above us, 
we removed our goods to a place of safety and went to Dalton's cabin, 
where we awaited better weather. The morning of September 23 dawned 
clear and bright, and after drying our clothes around a blazing 
camp-fire, we started back to our camping place on the shore. Before 
reaching there, however, we were rejoiced to see the _Corwin_ coming 
up the bay. It took us but a short time to get on board, where Captain 
C. L. Hooper, her commander, did everything in his power to make us 
welcome and comfortable. To him we are indebted for a delightful 
voyage back to civilization.

After steaming up Disenchantment bay nearly to the ice-cliffs of the 
Hubbard glacier, and obtaining a fine view of the glaciers about 
Disenchantment bay, the _Corwin_ returned to Port Mulgrave and, on 
September 25, put to sea. After a splendid ocean passage, we arrived 
at Port Townsend on October 2.

       *       *       *       *       *

During our stay in Alaska not a man was seriously sick and not an 
accident happened. The work planned at the start was carried out 
almost to the letter, with the exception that snow-storms and the 
lateness of the season did not permit us to reach the summit of Mount 
St. Elias.


SUGGESTIONS.

Should another attempt be made to climb Mount St. Elias, the shortest 
and most practicable route from the coast would be to land at Icy bay 
and ascend the Agassiz glacier. The course taken by us in 1890 could 
be intersected just north of where the tributary glacier from Dome 
pass joins the main ice-stream; and from there the route followed last 
summer would be the most practicable. A camp should be established on 
the divide between Mount St. Elias and Mount Newton, from which 
excursions to either of these peaks could be made in a single day.

In the preceding narrative many details have been omitted. One of 
these is that tents, together with blankets, rations, etc., were left 
at two convenient points between Blossom island and {164} the Agassiz 
glacier, and were used by the men in bringing up supplies. In 
attempting to ascend Mount St. Elias from Icy bay by the route 
suggested, at least three such relay stations should be established 
between the Chaix hills, where wood for camp-fires can be obtained (as 
is known from the reports of the New York _Times_ and Topham 
expeditions), and the high camp on the divide. The relay camps 
suggested should be one day's march apart, and would serve not only 
for stopping places while carrying rations during the advance, but 
would furnish a line of retreat. A party making this journey should be 
provided with snow-shoes, which unfortunately we did not take with us.

All rations intended for use above the snow-line should be packed in 
tin cans, each of sufficient size to hold between fifty and sixty 
pounds, and each should be securely soldered. All articles packed in 
this way should be thoroughly dry and should be packed in a dry, warm 
room. When secured in this manner they are about as easy to carry as 
if packed in bags, and can be "cached" anywhere out of the reach of 
floods and avalanches, with the certainty of being serviceable when 
wanted. The more perishable articles to be used where camp-fires are 
possible should also be secured in tin cans. Sacks of flour, 
corn-meal, etc., should be protected by an outer covering of strong 
canvas. The experience of last summer showed that the cans of rations 
intended for use above the snow-line should each contain about the 
following ration, which may be varied to suit individual taste:

  Bacon, smoked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10 lbs.
  Corned beef, in can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6  "
  Flour and corn-meal, with necessary quantity of baking
    powder  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15  "
  Coffee  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2  "
  Rolled oats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5  "
  Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5  "
  Chocolate, sweet  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2  "
  Salt  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   ¼  "
  Extract of beef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   ¼  "
  Tobacco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   ½  "
  Condensed milk (small cans) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
  Matches (wax) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   1 box.

Our experience with oil-stoves showed that they are serviceable. While 
on the march they can be carried as hand packs in {165} gunny-sacks. 
Rectangular cans holding about a gallon each, with small screw-tops, 
were found convenient for carrying coal oil. The experience of Arctic 
explorers indicates that alcohol would perhaps be better than coal oil 
to use in snow-camps.

Among the most important articles to be provided are strong shoes or 
boots; of these each man should have at least two pairs. Strong 
hip-boots, with lacings over the instep, are exceedingly serviceable. 
When sleeping on the ice the boot-legs may be spread beneath one's 
blankets and the feet used as a pillow. The long legs are serviceable 
alike in the thick brush on the shore and in the deep snow on the high 
mountains. With their protection, many streams can be waded without 
getting wet. Leather, waxed ends, awls, etc., for repairing boots, and 
tallow mixed with bees-wax for greasing them, should be taken and 
distributed in part through the cans of rations. Heavy woolen socks 
are indispensable, and an effort should be made to have a dry pair 
always at hand. This may be arranged, even under the most unfavorable 
conditions, by drying a pair as thoroughly as is convenient and 
carrying them in the bosom of one's shirt.

Long alpenstocks are always necessary. My own choice is a stiff one of 
hickory, about six feet long and an inch and a quarter in diameter, 
provided with a spike and hook at one end and a chisel about two 
inches broad at the other. Ice axes are desirable while climbing in 
the high mountains, but even more serviceable are light axes of the 
usual pattern, but with handles about fourteen inches long; these 
supplement the alpenstock, and when not actually in use are carried in 
the packs.

Each man should be provided with a water-tight match-box, and should 
have, besides, a bundle of wax matches wrapped in oil-cloth and sewed 
in the collar of his shirt, to be held as a last reserve. Each man 
should also have a small water-tight bag in which to carry salt enough 
to last a week or ten days, in case he has to live by hunting or 
fishing. A heavy hunting knife is very convenient, and can be used not 
only in cutting trails through thick brush, but in cases of necessity 
is serviceable in making steps in ice. Heavy woolen clothing is 
preferable to furs. Sleeping bags were not used during our expedition, 
but are highly recommended by others. For protection at night, a thick 
woolen blanket with a light canvas cover and a sheet of light rubber 
cloth to protect it are all that is necessary. Our tents were of 
cotton drilling, seven feet square and about six feet high, and {166} 
provided with ridge-ropes. Alpenstocks were used for tent poles. 
"Sou'westers" and strong water-proof coats are indispensable in a 
climate like that of Alaska, and at night may be used as a substratum 
on which to sleep. While traveling over the snow-line we used colored 
glasses to protect the eyes, and also found that a strip of dark 
mosquito netting tied across the face below the eyes afforded great 
protection. Some of the party found relief from the glare of the snow 
by blacking their faces with grease and burnt cork, but one experiment 
with that method is usually enough. While camping below timber-line 
during the months of June to September fine mosquito netting is 
indispensable. In carrying packs, hemp "cod-line" of the largest size 
was found to answer every requirement, and is preferred by expert 
packers to pack-straps.

It has been suggested that experienced Swiss guides are necessary to 
ensure success in climbing Mount St. Elias. Having never followed a 
guide in the mountains, I am not able to judge of their efficiency, 
but it must be remembered that no one can _guide_ in a region that has 
never been traversed. The "guide" as understood in Europe is unknown 
in America. In the exploration of this country by engineers, 
geologists, etc., the camp hands have followed their leaders and have 
not shown them the way. In every frontier town there are hunters, 
trappers, miners, prospectors, cow-boys, voyageurs, etc.--men who have 
passed their lives on the plains or among "the hills" and are enured 
to hardship and danger. This is the best material in the world from 
which to recruit an exploring party. A foreigner engaging the services 
of such men must take into account the independent spirit that 
animates them and is the secret of their usefulness. They are not 
servants, but retainers; that too in regions far beyond the reach of 
civil law. They will follow their leader anywhere, support him in all 
dangers, and do their work faithfully so long as their rights as men 
are respected.

By taking proper precautions while traveling across crevassed snow and 
ice, and guarding against avalanches and snow-blindness, an excursion 
can be made above the snow-line with as little danger as in better 
known and more frequented regions.


{167}


PART III.

SKETCH OF THE GEOLOGY OF THE ST. ELIAS REGION.


GENERAL FEATURES.

In the preceding narrative, many references have been made to the 
character of the rocks and to the geological structure of the region 
explored. It was not practicable during the journey to carry on 
detailed geological studies, but such facts as were noted are of 
interest, for this reason, if for no other: they relate to a country 
previously unknown.

My reconnoissance enabled me to determine that there are three 
well-defined formations in the St. Elias region. These are--

1. The sandstones and shales about Yakutat bay and westward along the 
foot of the mountain to Icy bay, named the _Yakutat system_.

2. A system of probably later date, composed of shale, conglomerate, 
limestone, sandstone, etc., best exposed in the cliffs of Pinnacle 
pass and along the northern and western borders of the Samovar hills, 
and named the _Pinnacle system_.

3. The metamorphic rocks of the main St. Elias range, called the _St. 
Elias schist_.


YAKUTAT SYSTEM.

The rocks of this system are of gray and brown sandstones and nearly 
black shales. They are uniform in lithological character over a large 
area, and are usually greatly crushed and seamed. So great has been 
the crushing to which they have been subjected that it is difficult to 
work out a hand specimen with fresh surfaces. Fragments broken out 
with a hammer are almost invariably bounded by plains of previous 
crushing, and are usually somewhat weathered.

These rocks form the bold shores of Yakutat and Disenchantment bays, 
and were the only rocks seen along our route from Yakutat bay to 
Pinnacle pass. The whole of the Hitchcock range is composed of rocks 
of this series, as are also the Chaix {168} hills and the hills west 
of Icy bay and the southern portion of the Samovar hills. North of 
Pinnacle pass there are rocks undistinguishable lithogically from 
those about Yakutat bay. These are exposed in Mount Owen and on each 
side of Dome pass; they also form the bold spurs about the immediate 
bases of Mount Augusta, Mount Malaspina, and Mount St. Elias. In the 
three instances last named these rocks dip beneath the schist forming 
the crest of the St. Elias range, and it is probable that a great 
overthrust there took place before the formation of the faults to 
which the present relief of the mountains is due.

All the mountain spurs of Mount Cook, so far as is known, are composed 
of sandstones and shales of the Yakutat series, with the exception of 
the Pinnacle pass cliffs. Nearly all the débris on the glaciers from 
Disenchantment bay to the Seward glacier, and probably beyond, is 
derived from the rocks of this system. The distribution of the rocks 
from which the débris was derived may be ascertained in a general way 
by tracing out the sources of the glaciers. Medial moraines on the 
Hayden and Marvine glaciers, however, have their sources on the 
northern slope of Mount Cook, and are composed of gabbro and 
serpentine. These rocks were not seen in place, and their relation to 
the Yakutat series can only be conjectured.

Although the rocks of this system are stratified, it is impossible to 
determine their thickness, for the reason that they have been greatly 
crushed and overthrust. This is well illustrated in the Hitchcock 
range, which, as already explained, trends about northeast and 
southwest, and is composed of strata of shale and sandstone, having a 
nearly east-and-west strike and a uniform dip toward the northeast. 
Were the rocks in normal position their thickness would be incredible. 
In addition to this negative evidence, there is the crushed condition 
of the strata to show that movement has taken place all through their 
mass; and in a few instances thrust faults were distinguished, dipping 
northeastward at about the same angle as the lines of bedding. In the 
crushing to which the rocks have been subjected the shales have 
suffered more than the sandstones, and have been drawn out into 
wedge-shaped masses, the sharp edges of which usually point toward the 
northeast, which is presumably the direction from which the crushing 
force acted.

The hypothesis that the rocks in the St. Elias region have been 
crushed and overthrust explains many otherwise {169} inharmonious 
facts, and accounts for the superposition of the St. Elias schist upon 
rocks of the Yakutat system.

Coal has been discovered in the rocks of the Yakutat system about two 
miles west of the southern end of Disenchantment bay, and is reported 
to be of workable thickness. I saw thin lignite seams at the surface 
at this locality, but as the shafts were filled with water I was 
unable to examine the coal in the openings, and cannot vouch for its 
thickness. Samples obtained from the mine show it to be a black 
lignite which would apparently be of value for fuel. Fossil leaves are 
reported to occur in connection with the lignite, but these have never 
been seen by any one who could identify them.

The rocks of the Yakutat system, wherever seen, dip northeastward, 
except when greatly disturbed near fault-lines. East of Disenchantment 
bay the inclination of the beds is from 15° to 20°; farther westward 
the dip increases gradually all the way to the Hitchcock range, where 
the prevailing inclination is from 30° to 40°, and frequently still 
greater. Beneath Mount Malaspina and Mount St. Elias the Yakutat 
sandstones dip northeastward at an angle of about 15°, and in the 
hills west of Icy bay the dip is about the same. Exceptions to the 
prevailing dips occur along the immediate shore of Yakutat bay, 
northwest of Knight island, and at the southern extremity of each of 
the mountain spurs between Yakutat bay and Blossom island. At these 
localities the rocks are frequently vertical or nearly so, owing their 
high dip to the proximity of lines of displacement. The faults 
indicated by these unusual dips also mark the boundary between the 
mountains and the seaward-stretching plateau of alluvium and ice.

The crushing, overthrusting and faulting that has affected the rocks 
of this system render it doubtful whether the coal seams which occur 
in it, even if of requisite thickness, can be worked to advantage. 
Some of the samples of coal obtained at the openings made near Yakutat 
bay were slickensided, showing that movements in the coal seam had 
there taken place.

As already stated, the rocks of the Yakutat series are remarkably 
uniform in character throughout the extent now known, and offer but 
little variety. The sandstones are intersected in every direction by 
thin quartz seams, which stand in relief on the weathered surfaces, 
giving the rocks a peculiar and {170} characteristic appearance. The 
first important change in the geology along the route traversed by us 
was met on reaching Pinnacle pass.


PINNACLE SYSTEM.

The rocks of this system, as already stated, are best exposed in the 
great fault-scarp forming the northern wall of Pinnacle pass. They are 
more varied in composition and have preserved a better record of the 
conditions under which they were deposited than the sandstones and 
shales of the Yakutat system.

Only an approximate section of the rocks exposed in the Pinnacle-pass 
cliff was obtained.

  Sandstone and conglomerate weathering into spires . . .    500 feet.
  Evenly bedded, sandy shale in thin layers . . . . . . .    600  "
  Coarse conglomerate; bowlders of crystalline rock . . .     50  "
  Thinly bedded, dark-colored sandstone and shale . . . .    500  "
  Reddish conglomerate  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     10  "
  Light-gray sandstone, with thin, irregular coal seams .     40  "
                                                           -----
    Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1,800  "

There is also a compact, crystalline, gray limestone near the upper 
portion of the series, which escaped notice in the cliffs. At the end 
of the Pinnacle-pass cliffs, however, where the rocks are turned 
northward by the great fault which decides the course of the Seward 
glacier, and dip eastward at a high angle, the limestone is well 
exposed, and has a thickness of about 50 feet. In many places the 
surfaces of the layers are covered with fragments of large _Pecten_ 
shells. Associated with the limestone there are reddish shales, much 
crushed and broken, and a peculiar conglomerate. The pebbles in the 
conglomerate are of many varieties, and were observed at places along 
the Pinnacle pass cliffs. Their most marked peculiarity lies in the 
fact that they have been sheared by a movement in the rocks and 
sometimes broken into several fragments which have been reunited, 
probably by pressure. These faulted pebbles are characteristic of the 
strata from which they were derived. Similar pebbles were afterward 
obtained in the Marvine glacier near its junction with the Malaspina 
glacier, thus indicating that there are other outcrops of the 
conglomerate about Mount Cook, near where the Marvine glacier {171} 
has its source. Two quartz pebbles from the conglomerate of Pinnacle 
pass are shown in the accompanying illustrations. The larger pebble 
(shown in figure 7) is of bluish-gray quartz, and the smaller one 
(depicted in figure 8) is of white quartz. The fragments into which 
they have been broken are now firmly united. The engravings are 
photo-mechanical (Moss process) reproductions from the objects.

[Illustration: FIGURE 7--_Faulted Pebble from Pinnacle Pass_.]

[Illustration: FIGURE 8--_Faulted Pebble from Pinnacle Pass_.]

In the northern and western part of the Samovar hills the rocks of the 
Pinnacle system again appear, forming a bold angular ridge, curving 
southward and reaching the border of the Agassiz glacier. The southern 
face of this range is precipitous and, like the Pinnacle pass cliffs, 
exhibits the edges of northward-dipping strata. Its northern and 
western slopes are heavily snow-bound. It is in reality a continuation 
of the Pinnacle pass fault, but thrown out of line by the cross-fault 
which marked out the course of the Seward glacier.

The Yakutat and Pinnacle systems are so easily recognized that their 
distribution can be distinguished at a glance, when the outcrops are 
not concealed beneath the nearly universal covering of snow. The rocks 
of the Yakutat series are heavily bedded sandstones and shales, and 
have in general a light-brown tint; while the rocks of the Pinnacle 
series are thinly bedded and dark in color, appearing black at a 
distance.

The presence of a _Pecten_ (_P. caurinus_ (?) Gld.) in the limestone 
of the Pinnacle series has already been mentioned. Other fossils were 
obtained from sandstones and shales at the crest of the cliffs above 
Pinnacle pass at an elevation of 5,000 feet. These {172} were 
submitted to Dr. W. H. Dall, who kindly identified them as follows:

  _Mya arenaria_, L.;
  _Mytilus edulis_, L.;
  _Leda fossa_, Baird, or _L. minuta_, Fabr.;
  _Macoma inconspicua_, B. and S.;
  _Cardium islandicum_, L.;
  _Litorina atkana_, Dall.

All of these species are stated by Dall to be still living in the 
oceanic waters of Alaska. The very recent age of the rocks in which 
they occur is thus established.

In strata closely connected with the layers in which these shells were 
found there occur many fine leaf impressions, a few of which were 
brought away. These have been examined by Professor L. F. Ward, who 
has identified them with four species of _Salix_, closely resembling 
living species. The report on these interesting fossils forms Appendix 
D.

The age indicated by both invertebrates and plants is late Tertiary 
(Pliocene) or early Pleistocene. This determination is of great 
significance when taken in connection with the structure of the 
region, and shows that the mountains in the St. Elias region are 
young.

Not only was a part, at least, of the Pinnacle system deposited during 
the life of living species of mollusks, but also the whole of the 
Yakutat series, the stratigraphic position of which is, if my 
determination is correct, above the Pinnacle system. After the 
sediments composing the rocks of these two series were {173} deposited 
in the sea as strata of sand, mud, etc., they were consolidated, 
overthrust, faulted, and upheaved into one of the grandest mountain 
ridges on the continent. Then, after the mountains had reached a 
considerable height, if not their full growth, the snows of winter 
fell upon them, and glaciers were born; the glaciers increased to a 
maximum, and their surfaces reached from a thousand to two thousand 
feet higher than now on the more southern mountain spurs, and 
afterward slowly wasted away to their present dimensions. All of this 
interesting and varied history has been enacted during the life of 
existing species of plants and animals.

The relative age of the Yakutat and Pinnacle series is the weakest 
point in the history sketched above. The facts on which it rests are 
as follows: At Pinnacle pass the sandstones and shales forming the 
southern wall belong to the Yakutat system and are much disturbed, 
while the northern wall, or the heaved side of the fault, is composed 
of the rocks of the Pinnacle system, inclined northward at an angle of 
30° or 40°. North of this fault-scarp, in the foothills of Mount Owen, 
sandstones and shales, seemingly identical with those of the Yakutat 
system, again occur, although their direct connection with the rocks 
south of Pinnacle pass was not observed, owing to the snow that 
obscured the outcrops. Again at Dome pass a similar relation seems 
evident, but cannot be directly established. The immediate foothills 
of Mounts Augusta, Malaspina, and St. Elias are also of sandstone, 
lithologically the same as the Yakutat series. The conclusion that the 
Yakutat system is younger than the Pinnacle-pass rocks was reached in 
the field after many other hypotheses had been tried and found 
wanting, and to my mind it explains all the observations made. Even 
should the supposed relations of the two series under discussion be 
reversed, it would still be true that a very large part of the rocks 
of the St. Elias region were deposited since the appearance of living 
species of mollusks and plants, and that the prevailing structure of 
the region was imposed at a still later date. This will appear more 
clearly after examining the structure of the region.


ST. ELIAS SCHIST.

The rock forming several thousand feet of the upper portion of the St. 
Elias range is a schist in which the planes of bedding {174} are 
preserved. The dip of the strata is northeastward, and has exerted a 
decided influence on the weathering of the mountain crests. As the 
opportunities for examining this formation were unsatisfactory, a 
detailed account of it will not now be attempted.


GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE.

The abnormal thickness of the Yakutat series, due to crushing and 
overthrust, has been referred to, as has also the superposition of the 
St. Elias schist upon rock supposed to belong to the Yakutat system.

The plane of contact between the sandstone and the overlying schist of 
the St. Elias range dips northeastward at an angle of about 15°, 
corresponding, as nearly as can be determined, with the dip of the 
strata in the sandstone itself. All of the observations made in this 
connection indicate that the schist has been overthrust upon the 
sandstones. After this took place the great faults to which the range 
owes its present relief were formed.

About Mount Cook, however, and in the elevated plateau east of Yakutat 
bay, the conditions are different from those observed along the base 
of the St. Elias range. The only displacements known in the Yakutat 
system south and east of Pinnacle pass is the great fault which 
presumably exists where the rocks of the foothills disappear beneath 
the gravel and glaciers of the Piedmont region, the faults referred to 
belonging to the same series as those which determine the southern and 
southwestern borders of the St. Elias range and many of the foothills 
south of the main escarpment. Besides the great faults which trend 
from St. Elias toward the northeast and northwest, there are several 
cross-faults, one of which determines the position of the Seward 
glacier through a portion of its course, while another marks out the 
path of the Agassiz glacier; and two others may be recognized just 
east of the summit of St. Elias, which have dropped portions of the 
eastern end of the orographic block forming the crowning peak of the 
range.

The southern face of Mount St. Elias is a fault-scarp. The mountain 
itself is formed by the upturned edge of a faulted block in which the 
stratification is inclined northeastward. As has just been mentioned, 
the mountain stands at the intersection of two lines of displacement, 
one trending in a northeasterly and the other in a northwesterly 
direction. The one trending {175} northwestward extends beyond the end 
of the northeast fault. The point of union is at the pass between 
Mount St. Elias and Mount Newton. The upturned block, bounded on the 
southwest by a great fault, projects beyond the junction with the 
northeasterly fault. It is this projecting end of a roof-like block 
that forms Mount St. Elias. That this is the case may be clearly seen 
when viewing the mountain from the glacier near the base of Mount 
Owen. Such a view is shown on plate 20. The crest-line of St. Elias 
extends with a decreasing grade northwestward from the culminating 
peak, and the northern slope of the ridge is the surface of the tilted 
block.

[Illustration: PLATE 20. MT. ST. ELIAS, FROM THE SEWARD GLACIER.]

From what has been stated already, it will be seen that the St. Elias 
range is young. Its upheaval, as indicated by our present knowledge, 
was since the close of the Tertiary. The breaking of the rocks and 
their upheaval is an event of such recent date that erosion has 
scarcely modified the forms which the mountains had at their birth. 
The formation of glaciers followed the elevation of the region so 
quickly, that there was no opportunity for streams to act. The ice 
drainage is consequent upon the geological structure, and has made but 
slight changes in the topography due to that structure.

About Mount Cook, and in the elevated plateau east of Yakutat bay, 
there has been deeper erosion than about Mount St. Elias. The glaciers 
in this region occupy deep valleys radiating from the higher peaks; 
but whether these are really valleys of erosion is not definitely 
known. In some instances, changes of dip on opposite sides of the 
valleys indicate that they may in part be due to faulting; but, owing 
principally to the fact that every basin has its glacier, it has not 
been practicable, up to the present time, to determine how they were 
formed.

The crests of the mountains are always sharp and angular, by reason of 
the rapid weathering of their exposed summits, but while 
disintegration is rapid, no evidences of pronounced decay are 
noticeable. The peaks on the summits of the St. Elias range are either 
pyramids or roof-like crests with triangular gables. These forms have 
resulted from the weathering of schist in which the planes of bedding 
are crossed by lines of jointing.


{176}


PART IV.

GLACIERS OF THE ST. ELIAS REGION.


NATURAL DIVISIONS OF GLACIERS.

The glaciers of the St. Elias region form two groups. The ice-streams 
from the mountain are of the type found in Switzerland, and hence 
termed _Alpine glaciers_. The great plateau of ice along the ocean 
formed by the union and expansion of Alpine glaciers from the 
mountains belongs to a class not previously described, but which in 
this paper have been called _Piedmont glaciers_. The representative of 
the latter type between Yakutat bay and Icy bay is the Malaspina 
glacier. Both types are to be distinguished from _Continental 
glaciers_.


ALPINE GLACIERS.

The glaciers in the mountains are all of one type, but present great 
diversity in their secondary features, and might be separated into 
three or four subordinate divisions. The great trunk glaciers have 
many tributaries, and drain the snows from the mountains through broad 
channels, which are of low grade throughout all the lower portions of 
their courses. Besides the trunk glaciers and the secondary glaciers 
which flow into them, there are many smaller glaciers which do not 
join the main streams, but terminate in the gorges or on the exposed 
mountain sides in which they originate. These have nearly all the 
features of the larger streams, but are not of sufficient volume to 
become rivers of ice.

A minor division of Alpine glaciers for which it is convenient to have 
a special name includes those that end in the sea and, breaking off, 
form icebergs. These may be designated as "tide-water glaciers." 
Typical examples of this class are furnished by the Dalton and Hubbard 
glaciers, but other ice-streams having the same characteristics occur 
in Glacier bay, in Taku inlet, and at the heads of several of the deep 
fjords along the coast of southeastern Alaska.

{177} A noticeable feature of the Alpine glaciers of Alaska is that 
they expand on passing beyond the valleys through which they flow and 
form delta-like accumulations of ice on the plains below. This 
expansion takes place irrespective of the direction in which the 
glaciers flow, and, so far as may be judged from the many examples 
examined, is independent of the débris that covers them. It should be 
remembered, however, that none of the Alaskan glaciers thus far 
studied show marked inequalities in the distribution of the moraines 
upon their surfaces. Should one side of a glacier, on leaving a cañon, 
be heavily loaded with marginal moraines, while the opposite border 
was unprotected, it is to be presumed that a deflection of the ice 
would take place similar to the change in direction recorded by the 
moraines about Mono lake, California.[34] The normal tendency of ice, 
when not confined, to expand in all directions and form a plateau is 
illustrated on a grand scale by the Malaspina glacier.

[Footnote 34: Eighth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Surv., 1889, part I, pp. 
360-366.]

The most important ice-streams about Mount St. Elias and Mount Cook 
are indicated on the map forming plate 8. The Tindall, Guyot, and 
Libbey glaciers and the lower part of the Agassiz glacier there 
represented are taken from a map published by H. W. Topham.[35] All of 
the other glaciers indicated on the map were hastily surveyed during 
the present expedition and are described to some extent in the 
accompanying narrative. By far the most important of these is the one 
named the Seward Glacier.

[Footnote 35: Alpine Journal, London, vol. XIV, 1887, pl. op. p. 359.]

       *       *       *       *       *

The Seward Glacier is of the Alpine type, and is the largest tributary 
of the Malaspina glacier. Its length is approximately 40 miles, and 
its width in the narrowest part, opposite Camp fourteen, is about 3 
miles. The main amphitheatre from which its drainage is derived is 
north of Mount Owen and between Mount Irving and Mount Logan. The 
general surface of the broad level floor of this névé field has an 
elevation of approximately 5,000 feet. The snow from the northern and 
western sides of Mount Irving, from the northern slope of Mount Owen, 
and from numerous valleys and cañons in the vast semicircle of 
towering peaks joining these two mountains, unite to form the great 
glacier. There is another amphitheatre between Mount Owen and the 
Pinnacle pass cliffs supplied principally by snows {178} from the 
northwestern slope of Mount Cook, which sends a vast flood of ice and 
snow into the main drainage channel. Other tributary glaciers descend 
the steep slopes of Mount Augusta and Mount Malaspina, and a lesser 
tributary flows eastward from Dome pass. All of these ice-drainage 
lines converge toward the narrow outlet of Camp 14 (plate 8) and 
discharge southward down a moderately steep descent several miles in 
length. Below Camp 14 there are other névé fields bordering the 
glacier, which contribute no insignificant amount of ice and snow to 
its mass. Between the extremity of the Hitchcock range and the Samovar 
hills the path of the glacier is again contracted and greatly broken 
as it descends to the plateau below.

The Seward glacier, like all ice rivers of its class, has its névé 
region above, and its ice region below. The limit between the two is 
the lower margin of the summer snow, and occurs just above the 
ice-fall between the southern extremity of the Hitchcock range and the 
Samovar hills. All the névé region is pure white and without moraines, 
except at the immediate bases of the most precipitous cliffs. At the 
bases of the Corwin cliffs, which rise fully 2,000 feet above its 
border, no débris can be distinguished even in midsummer. An absence 
of moraines along the base of Pinnacle pass cliffs was also noticed 
during our first visit, but when we returned over the same route in 
September the melting of the snow had revealed many large patches of 
dirt and disintegrated rock. In several places near the bases of steep 
cliffs, strata of dirty ice, containing many stones, were observed in 
deep crevasses. It was evident that vast quantities of débris were 
sealed up in the ice along the borders of the glacier, only to appear 
at the surface far down the stream where summer melting exceeds the 
winter accumulation.

The surface of the glacier below the lower fall is composed of solid 
ice with blue and white bands, and has broad moraines along its 
borders. The course of the glacier, after entering the great plateau 
of ice to which it is tributary, may be traced for many miles by the 
bands of débris along its sides. These moraines belong to the 
Malaspina glacier, and have already been referred to.

At the outlet of the upper amphitheatre, about 6 miles above Mount 
Owen, there is an ice-fall which extends completely across the 
glacier. Below the pinnacles and crevasses formed by this fall the ice 
is recemented and flows on with a broad, gently {179} descending 
surface, gashed, however, by thousands of crevasses, as shown in plate 
20, to the end of the Pinnacle pass cliffs. It there finds a more 
rapid descent, and becomes crevassed in an interesting way. The slope 
is not sufficient to be termed a fall, but causes a rapid in the 
ice-stream.

The change of grade in the bed of the glacier is first felt about a 
mile above Camp 14. A series of crevasses there begins, which extends 
four or five miles down-stream. At first the cracks are narrow, and 
trend upstream in the manner usual with marginal crevasses. Soon the 
cracks from the opposite sides meet in the center and form a single 
crevasse, bending upstream in the middle. A little lower down, the 
crevasse becomes straight, showing that the ice in the center of the 
current flows more rapidly than at the sides. The more rapid movement 
of the center is indicated by the form of the crevasses all the way 
down the rapid. After becoming straight they bow in the center and 
form semi-lunar gashes, widest in the center and curving up-stream at 
each extremity. Still farther down they become more and more bent in 
the center and at the same time greatly increased in breadth. Still 
lower the curve becomes an angle and the crevasses are V-shaped, the 
arrow-like point directed down-stream. These parallel V-shaped gashes 
set in order, one in front of the other, are what gives the glacier 
the appearance of "watered" ribbon when seen from a distance.

With the change in direction and curvature of the crevasses, there is 
an accompanying change in color. The cracks in the upper part of the 
rapid are in a white surface and run down into ice that looks dark and 
blue by contrast. Lower down, as the cracks increase in width, broad 
white tables are left between them. Cross-fractures are formed, and 
the sides of the table begin to crumble in and fill up the gaps 
between. As the surface melts the tables lose their pure whiteness and 
become dust-covered and yellow; but the blocks falling into the 
crevasses expose fresh surfaces, and fill the gulfs with pure white 
ice. In this way the color of the sides of the crevasses changes from 
deep blue to white, while the general surface loses its purity and 
becomes dust-covered. Far down the rapid where the V-shaped crevasses 
are most pointed, the tables have crumbled away and filled up the 
gulfs between, so that the watered-ribbon pattern is distinguished by 
color alone. The scars of the crevasses formed above are shown by 
white bands on a dark dust-covered {180} surface. Before the lower 
fall is reached nearly all traces of the thousands of fissures formed 
in the rapids above have disappeared.

On looking down on the rapids from any commanding point, the definite 
arrangement of the crevasses along the center of the ice-stream at 
once attracts attention, and their order suggests a rapid central 
current in the stream.

Below Camp 14, for at least two or three miles, as well as at many 
places above that point, the Seward glacier flows between banks of 
snow. Along its border there are marginal crevasses trending 
up-stream, and in the adjacent banks there are similar breaks trending 
down-stream. Where the two systems meet there is a line of irregular 
crevasses, exceedingly difficult to cross, which mark the actual 
border of the flowing ice. A similar arrangement of marginal crevasses 
and of shore crevasses has been referred to in connection with the 
Marvine glacier, and was observed in many other instances.

While occupying Camp 14 we could hear the murmur of waters far down in 
the glacier below our tent, but there were no surface streams visible. 
Crashing and rumbling noises made by the slowly moving ice frequently 
attracted our attention, and sometimes at night we would be awakened 
by a dull thud, accompanied by a trembling of the rocks beneath us, as 
if a slight earthquake had occurred. Occasionally a pinnacle of ice 
would fall and be engulfed in the crevasses at its base. These 
evidences of change indicated that movements in the Seward glacier 
were constantly in progress. A short base-line was measured and sights 
taken to well-marked points in the Seward glacier for the purpose of 
measuring its motion. The angles between the base-line and lines of 
sight to the chosen points were read on several successive days, but 
when these observations were compared they gave discrepant results. 
The measurements which seemed most reliable indicate that the central 
part of the ice-stream has a movement of about twenty feet a day. This 
is to be taken only as an approximation, which needs to be verified 
before much weight can be attached to it.


CHARACTERISTICS OF ALPINE GLACIERS ABOVE THE SNOW-LINE.

The surface of the névé is white, except near its lower limit in late 
summer, where it frequently becomes covered with dust {181} blown from 
neighboring cliffs. It is almost entirely free from moraines, but at 
the bases of steep slopes small areas of débris sometimes appear at 
the surface when the yearly melting has reached its maximum. The 
absence of moraines is accompanied by an absence of glacial tables, 
sand-cones and other details of glacial surfaces due to differential 
melting. Streams seldom appear at the surface, for the reason that 
usually the water produced by surface melting is quickly absorbed by 
the porous strata beneath; yet the crevasses are frequently filled 
with water, and sometimes shallow lakes of deep blue occur at the 
bottoms of the amphitheatres and form a marked contrast to the even 
white of the general surface. Crevasses are present or absent 
according to the slope of the surface on which the névé rests. In the 
crevasses the edges of horizontal layers of granular ice are 
exhibited, showing that the névé down to a depth of at least one or 
two hundred feet is horizontally stratified. In the St. Elias region 
the strata are most frequently from ten to fifteen feet thick, but in 
a few instances layers without partings over fifty feet thick were 
seen. The surface is always of white, granular ice, but in the 
crevasses the layers near the bottom appear more compact and bluer in 
color than those near the surface.

Some of the most striking features of the névé are due to the 
crevasses that break their surfaces. The orderly arrangement of 
marginal crevasses and of the interior crevasses at the rapids in the 
Seward glacier have already been referred to; but there are still 
other crevasses, especially in the broad, gently sloping portions of 
the snow-fields where the motion is slight, which, although less 
regular in their arrangement, are fully as interesting. The crevasses 
on such slopes generally run at right angles to the direction in which 
the snow is moving. On looking down on such a surface, the breaks look 
like long clear-cut gashes which have stretched open in the center, 
but taper to a sharp point at each end. The ability of the névé ice to 
stretch to a limited extent is thus clearly shown. The initiation of 
the crevasses seems to be due to the movement of the névé ice over a 
surface in which there are inequalities of such magnitude that the ice 
cannot stretch sufficiently to allow it to accommodate itself to them, 
so that strains are produced which result in fractures at right angles 
to the line of general movement. Crevasses found where the grade is 
gentle vary from a fraction of an inch to 10 or 15 feet in width, and 
are sometimes two or three {182} thousand feet long. Broader gulfs are 
seldom formed unless the slope has an inclination of 15° or 20°.

The grandest crevasses are in the higher portions of the névé, and 
occur especially on the borders of the great amphitheatres. In such 
situations the crevasses are usually fewer in number but are of 
greater size than in equal areas lower down. A length of three or four 
thousand feet and a breadth of fifty feet or more is not uncommon. The 
finest and most characteristic glacial scenery is found among these 
great cañon-like breaks. Standing on the border of one of the gulfs, 
as near the brink as one cares to venture, their full depth cannot 
usually be seen. In some instances they are partially filled with 
water of the deepest blue, in which the ice-walls are reflected with 
such wonderful distinctness that it is impossible to tell where the 
ice ends and its counterfeit begins. The walls of the crevasses are 
most frequently sheer cliffs of stratified ice, with occasional 
ornamentations, formed of ice-crystals or a pendent icicle. After a 
storm they are frequently decorated in the most beautiful manner with 
fretwork and cornice of snow. The bridges spanning the crevasses are 
usually diagonal slivers of ice left where the clefts overlap; but at 
times, especially in the case of the larger crevasses, there are true 
arches resembling the Natural Bridge of Virginia, but on a larger 
scale, spanning the blue cañons and adding greatly to their strange, 
fairy-like beauty. The most striking feature of these cracks is their 
wonderful color. All tints, from the pure white of their crystal lips 
down to the deepest blue of their innermost recesses, are revealed in 
each gash and rent in the hardened snow.

Above the snow-line all of the mountain tops that are not precipitous 
are heavily loaded with snow. Where the snow breaks off at the verge 
of a precipice and descends in avalanches a depth of more than a 
hundred feet is frequently revealed, but in the valleys and 
amphitheatres the snow has far greater thickness. Pinnacles and crests 
of rock, rising through the icy covering, indicate that the thickness 
of the névé must be many hundreds of feet.

There are no evidences of former glaciation on the mountain crests 
which project above the névé fields. There are no polished and 
striated rock surfaces or glaciated domes to indicate that the 
mountains were ever covered by a general capping of ice, as has been 
postulated for similar mountains elsewhere. When the {183} glaciers 
had their greatest expansion the higher mountains were in about their 
present condition. The increase in the volume of the glaciers was felt 
almost entirely in their lower courses.


CHARACTERISTICS OF ALPINE GLACIERS BELOW THE SNOW-LINE.

The first feature that attracts attention on descending from the névé 
region to the more icy portion of the glaciers is the rapid melting 
everywhere taking place. Every day during the summer the murmur and 
roar of rills, brooks and rivers are to be heard in all of the 
ice-fields. The surface streams are usually short, on account of the 
crevasses which intercept them. They plunge into the gulfs, which are 
many times widened out by the flowing waters so as to form wells, or 
_moulins_, and join the general drainage beneath. The streams then 
flow either through caverns in the glaciers or in tunnels at the 
bottoms. While traversing the glacier one may frequently hear the 
subdued roar of rivers coursing along in the dark chambers beneath 
when no other indication of their existence appears at the surface. 
When these subglacial streams emerge, usually near the margin of the 
ice, they issue from archways forming the ends of tunnels, and perhaps 
flow for a mile or two in the sunlight before plunging into another 
tunnel to continue their way as before.

The best example of a glacial river seen during our exploration was 
near the western border of the Lucia glacier. It is shown in the 
illustration forming plate 12, which is reproduced mechanically from a 
photograph. This Styx of the ice-world has been described on an 
earlier page. The lakes formed at the southern end of nearly every 
mountain spur projecting into the Malaspina glacier discharge through 
tunnels in the ice, which are similar in every way to those formed by 
the stream already mentioned.

In the beds of the glacial streams there are deposits of sand and 
gravel, and when the streams expand into lakes these deposits are 
spread over their bottoms in more or less regular sheets. When streams 
from the mountains empty into the lakes, deltas are formed. While 
these deltas have the same characteristics as those built in more 
stable water bodies, many changes in detail occur, owing to the 
fluctuation of the water level.

{184} One of the tunnels leading to a dry lake-bed at the end of the 
Hitchcock range was explored for several rods and found to be a high, 
arching cavern following a tortuous course, and large enough to allow 
one to drive a coach and four through it without danger of collision. 
Its floor was formed of gravel and bowlders, and its arching roof was 
clear ice. Here and there the courses of crevasses could be traced by 
the stones and finer débris that had fallen in from above, giving the 
appearance of veins in a mine. The deposit on the floor of the tunnel 
rested upon ice, and would certainly be greatly disturbed and broken 
up before reaching a final resting place in case the glacier should 
melt. In the lake basins, also, the sand and gravel forming their 
bottoms frequently rested upon substrata of ice, and are greatly 
disturbed when the ice melts.

At the ends of the glaciers the subglacial and intraglacial drainage 
issues from tunnels and forms muddy streams. These usually flow out 
from the foot of a precipice of ice, down which rills are continually 
trickling. The streams flowing away from the glaciers are usually 
rapid, owing to the high grade of their built-up channels, and sweep 
away large quantities of débris which is deposited along their 
courses. The streams widen and bifurcate as they flow seaward, and 
spread vast quantities of bowlders, sand, and gravel over the country 
to the right and left, not infrequently invading the forests and 
burying the still upright trees. The deposits formed by the streams 
are of the nature of alluvial fans, over which the waters meander in a 
thousand channels. Where this action has taken place long enough the 
alluvial fans end in deltas; but should there be a current in the sea, 
the débris is carried away and formed into beaches and bars along 
adjacent shores. Should these glaciers disappear, it is evident that 
these great bowlder washes would form peculiar topographic features, 
unsupported at the apexes, and it might be perplexing to determine 
from whence came the waters that deposited them. I am not aware that 
similar washes have been recognized along the southern border of the 
Laurentide glaciers, but they should certainly be expected to occur 
there.

Another very striking difference in the appearance of the glaciers 
above and below the snow-line is due to the prevalence of débris on 
the lower portion. The melting that takes place {185} below the 
snow-line removes the ice and leaves the rocks. In this manner the 
stones previously concealed in the névé are concentrated at the 
surface, and finally form sheets of débris many miles in extent. So 
far as my observations go, there is nothing to indicate that stones 
are brought to the surface by any other means than the one here 
suggested. Upward currents in the ice that would bring stones to the 
surface have been postulated by certain writers, but nothing 
sustaining such an hypothesis has been found in Alaska.

The moraines on the lower extremities of the Alpine glaciers may 
frequently be separated into individual ridges, which in many 
instances would furnish instructive studies; but in no case has the 
history of these accumulations been worked out in detail.

With the appearance of moraines at the surface come a great variety of 
phenomena due to unequal melting. Ridges of ice sheathed with débris, 
glacial tables, sand cones, etc., everywhere attract the attention; 
but these features are very similar on all glaciers where the summer's 
waste exceeds the winter's increase, and have been many times 
described.

The general distribution of the moraines of the lower portion of the 
Alpine glaciers of the St. Elias region merits attention. The moraines 
themselves exhibit features not yet observed in other regions. From 
Disenchantment bay westward to the Seward glacier the lower portions 
of the ice-streams are covered and concealed by sheets of débris. 
About their margins the débris fields support luxuriant vegetation, 
and not infrequently are so densely clothed with flowers that a tint 
is given to their rugged surfaces. On the extreme outer margins of the 
moraines there are sometimes thickets and forests so dense as to be 
almost impenetrable. The best example of forest-covered moraines 
resting on living glaciers, however, is found along the borders of the 
Malaspina ice-field.


PIEDMONT GLACIERS.

This type is represented in the region explored by the Malaspina 
glacier. This is a plateau of ice having an area of between 500 and 
600 square miles, and a surface elevation in the central part of 
between 1,500 and 1,600 feet. It is fed by the Agassiz, Seward, 
Marvine, and Hayden glaciers, and is of such volume that {186} it has 
apparently displaced the sea and holds it back by a wall of débris 
deposited about its margin. All of its central portion is of clear 
white ice, and around all its margins, excepting where the Agassiz and 
Seward glaciers come in, it is bounded by a fringe of débris and by 
moraines resting on the ice. Along the seaward border the belt of 
fringing moraines is about five miles broad. The inner margin of the 
moraine belt is composed of rocks and dirt, without vegetation, and 
separated more or less completely into belts by strips of clear ice. 
On going from the clear ice toward the margin of the glacier one finds 
shrubs and flowers scattered here and there over the surface. Farther 
seaward the vegetation becomes more dense and the flowers cover the 
whole surface, giving it the appearance of a luxuriant meadow. Still 
farther toward the margin dense clumps of alder, with scattered spruce 
trees, become conspicuous, while on the outer margin spruce trees of 
larger size form a veritable forest. That this vegetation actually 
grows on the moraines above a living glacier is proved beyond all 
question by holes and crevasses which reveal the ice beneath. The 
curious lakes scattered abundantly over the moraine-covered areas, and 
occupying hour-glass-shaped depressions in the ice, have already been 
described.

From the southern end of the Samovar hills, where the Seward and 
Agassiz glaciers unite, there is a compound moraine stretching 
southward, which divides at its distal extremity and forms great 
curves and swirl-like figures indicating currents in the glacier.

All the central part of the plateau is, as already stated, of clear 
white ice, free from moraines; at a distance it has the appearance of 
a broad snow surface. This is due to the fact that the ice is melted 
and honey-combed during the warm summer and the surface becomes 
vesicular and loses its banded structure. A rough, coral-like crust, 
due to the freezing of the portions melted during the day, frequently 
covers large areas and resembles a thick hoar-frost. Crevasses are 
numerous, but seldom more than a few feet deep. They appear to be the 
lower portions of deep crevasses in the tributary streams which have 
partially closed, or else not completely removed by the melting and 
evaporation of the surface.

Many of the crevasses are filled with water, but there are no surface 
streams and no lakes. Melting is rapid during the warm {187} summer 
days, but the water finds its way down into the glacier and joins the 
general subglacial drainage. It is evident that the streams beneath 
the surface must be of large size, as they furnish the only means of 
escape for the waters flowing beneath the Agassiz, Seward and Marvine 
glaciers, as well as for the waters formed by the melting of the great 
Malaspina glacier.

The outer borders of the Malaspina glacier are practically stationary, 
but there are currents in its central part. Like the expanded ends of 
some of the Alpine glaciers, as the Galiano and Lucia glaciers, for 
example, this glacier is of the nature of a delta of ice, analogous in 
many of its features to river deltas. As a stream in meandering over 
its delta builds up one portion after another, so the currents in an 
expanded ice-foot may now follow one direction and deposit loads of 
débris, and then slowly change so as to occupy other positions. This 
action tends to destroy the individuality of morainal belts and to 
form general sheets of débris. The presence of such currents as here 
suggested has not been proved by measurements, but the great swirls in 
the Malaspina glacier and the tongues of clear ice in the upper 
portions of the débris fields on the smaller glaciers strongly suggest 
their existence.

The Malaspina glacier is evidently not eroding its bed; any records 
that it is making must be by deposition. Should the glacier melt away 
completely, it is evident that a surface formed of glacial débris, and 
very similar to that now existing in the forested plateau east of 
Yakutat bay, would be revealed.

The former extent of the Malaspina glacier cannot be determined, but 
it is probable that during its greatest expansion it extended seaward 
until deep water was reached, and broke off in bergs in the same 
manner as do the Greenland glaciers at the present day. Soundings in 
the adjacent waters might possibly determine approximately the former 
position of the ice-front, and it is possible that submarine moraines 
might be discovered in this way. The Pimpluna reefs, reported by 
Russian navigators and indicated on many maps, may possibly be a 
remnant of the moraine left by the Piedmont glacier from the adjacent 
coast.

The glaciers west of Icy bay were seen from the top of Pinnacle pass 
cliffs, and are evidently of the same character as the Malaspina 
glacier and fully as extensive. A study of these {188} Piedmont 
glaciers will certainly throw much light on the interpretations of the 
glacial records over northeastern North America. Their value in this 
connection is enhanced by the fact that they are now retreating and 
making deposits rather than removing previous geological records.

       *       *       *       *       *

The expedition of last summer was a hasty reconnoissance, during which 
but little detail work could be undertaken. The actual study of the 
ice-fields of the St. Elias region remains for those who come later.


{189}


PART V.

HEIGHT AND POSITION OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS.


The height and position of Mount St. Elias have been measured several 
times during the past century with varying results. The measurements 
made prior to the expedition of 1890 have been summarized and 
discussed by W. H. Dall, of the United States Coast and Geodetic 
Survey, and little more can be done at present than give an abstract 
of his report.

The various determinations are shown in the table below. The data from 
which these results were obtained have not been published, with the 
exception of the surveys made by the United States Coast Survey in 
1874, printed in report of the superintendent for 1875.

  _Height and Position of Mount St. Elias_.

  -----+--------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------
  Date.|     Authority.     |   Height.   |  Latitude.  | Longitude W.
  -----+--------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------
  1786 | La Pérouse         | 12,672 feet | 60° 15' 00" | 140° 10' 00"
  1791 | Malaspina          | 17,851  "   | 60  17  35  | 140  52  17
  1794 | Vancouver          | ----------- | 60  22  30  | 140  39  00
  1847 | Russian Hydrogra-  |             |             |
       |   phic Chart 1378  | 17,854  "   | 60  21  00  | 141  00  00
  1847 | Tebenkof (Notes)   | 16,938  "   | 60  22  36  | 140  54  00
  1849 | Tebenkof           |             |             |
       |   (Chart VII)      | 16,938  "   | 60  21  30  | 140  54  00
       | Buch. Can. Inseln  | 16,758  "   | 60  17  30  | 140  51  00
  1872 | English Admiralty  |
       |   Chart 2172       | 14,970  "   | 60  21  00  | 141  00  00
  1874 | U. S. Coast Survey | 19,500 ±400 | 60  20  45  | 141  00  12 
  -----+--------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------

All of the figures given in the table have been copied from Dall's 
report, with the exception of the position determined by Malaspina; 
this is from a report of astronomical observations made during 
Malaspina's voyage, which places the mountain in latitude 60° 17' 35" 
and longitude 134° 33' 10" west of Cadiz.[36] Taking the longitude of 
Cadiz as 6° 19' 07" west of Greenwich, the figures tabulated above are 
obtained.

[Footnote 36: Ante, p. 65.]

{190} It was intended that Mr. Kerr's report, forming Appendix B, 
should contain a detailed record of the triangulation executed last 
summer, but a careful revision of his work by a committee of the 
National Geographic Society led to the conclusion that the results 
were not of sufficient accuracy to set at rest the questions raised by 
the discrepancies in earlier measurements of the height of Mount St. 
Elias; and as the work will probably be revised and extended during 
the summer of 1891, only the map forming plate 8 will be published at 
this time. Some preliminary publications of elevations have been made, 
but these must be taken as approximations merely.[37]

[Footnote 37: The shore-line of the map, plate 8, and the positions of 
the initial points or base-line of the triangulation are from the work 
of the United States Coast Survey. The extreme western portion is from 
maps published by the New York _Times_ and Topham expeditions. All the 
topographic data are by Mr. Kerr, and all credit for the work and all 
responsibility for its accuracy rest with him. The nomenclature is 
principally my own, and has been approved by a committee of the 
National Geographic Society.]

By consulting the map forming plate 8 it will be seen that Mounts 
Cook, Vancouver, Irving, Owen, etc., are not in the St. Elias range. 
Neither do they form a distinct range either topographically or 
geologically. Each of these mountains is an independent uplift, 
although they may have some structural connection, and are of about 
the same geological age. Mount Cook and the peaks most intimately 
associated with it are composed mainly of sandstone and shale 
belonging to the Yakutat system. Mounts Vancouver and Irving are 
probably of the same character, but definite proof that this is the 
case has not been obtained.

The St. Elias uplift is distinct and well marked, both geologically 
and topographically, and deserves to be considered as a mountain 
range. The limits of the range have not been determined, but, so far 
as known, its maximum elevation is at Mount St. Elias. The range 
stretches away from this culminating point both northeastward and 
northwestward, and has a well-marked V-shape. The angle formed by the 
two branches of the range where they unite at Mount St. Elias is, by 
estimate, about 140°. Each arm of the V is determined by a fault, or 
perhaps more accurately by a series of faults having the same general 
course, along which the orographic blocks forming the range have been 
upheaved. The structure of the range is monoclinal, and {191} 
resembles the type of mountain structure characteristic of the great 
basin. The dip of the tilted blocks is northward.

The crest of the St. Elias range, as already stated, is composed of 
schists which rest on sandstone, supposed to belong to the Yakutat 
system. The geological age of the uplift is, therefore, very recent. 
The secondary topographic forms on the crest of the range have 
resulted from the weathering of the upturned edges of orographic 
blocks in which the bedding planes are crossed by joints. The 
resulting forms are mainly pyramids and roof-like ridges with 
triangular gables. Extreme ruggedness and angularity characterize the 
range throughout. There are no rounded domes or smoothed and polished 
surfaces to suggest that the higher summits have ever been subjected 
to general glacial action; neither is there any evidence of marked 
rock decay. Disintegration of all the higher peaks and crests is 
rapid, owing principally to great changes of temperature and the 
freezing of water in the interstices of the rock; but the débris 
resulting from this action is rapidly carried away by avalanches and 
glaciers, so that the crests as well as the subordinate features in 
the sculpture of the cliffs and pyramids are all angular. The subdued 
and rounded contour, due to the accumulation of the products of 
disintegration and decay, the indications of the advancing age of 
mountains, are nowhere to be seen. The St. Elias range is young; 
probably the very youngest of the important mountain ranges on this 
continent. No evidences of erosion previous to the formation of the 
ice-sheets that now clothe it have been observed. Glaciers apparently 
took immediate possession of the lines of depression as the mountain 
range grew in height, and furnish a living example from which to 
determine the part that ice streams play in mountain sculpture.


{192}


APPENDIX A.

OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS GOVERNING THE EXPEDITION.


In order to make the records of the St. Elias expedition complete, 
copies of the instructions under which the work was carried out are 
appended:


  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
  UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, GEOLOGIC BRANCH,
  _Washington, D. C., May 28, 1890_.

Mr. I. C. RUSSELL, _Geologist_.

SIR: You are hereby detailed to visit the St. Elias range of Alaska 
for work of exploration, under the joint auspices of the National 
Geographic Society and the United States Geological Survey. The 
Geological Survey furnishes instruments and contributes the sum of 
$1,000 towards the expenses of the expedition. The money devoted to 
this purpose is taken from the appropriation for the fiscal year 
ending June 30, 1890, and the manner of its expenditure must conform 
to that fact.

The Survey expects that you will give special attention to glaciers, 
to their distribution, to the associated topographic types, to 
indications of the former extent of glaciation, and to types of 
subaërial sculpture under special conditions of erosion, and that you 
will also bring back information with reference to the age of the 
formations seen and the type of structure of the range.

With the aid of Mr. Kerr, it is expected that you will secure definite 
geographic information as to the belt of country traversed by you.

  Very respectfully,
    G. K. GILBERT,
    _Chief Geologist_.

  _Approved_,
    J. W. POWELL, _Director_.

       *       *       *       *       *

  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
  UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, GEOLOGIC BRANCH,
  _Washington, D. C., May 28, 1890_.

Mr. I. C. RUSSELL, _Geologist_.

SIR: You will proceed at the earliest practicable date to Tacoma, 
Washington Territory, and thence by water to Sitka, Alaska, at which 
point you will make special arrangements to visit the St. Elias range 
of mountains and make geological examinations as per instructions 
otherwise communicated. Mr. Mark B. Kerr, Disbursing Agent, will 
report to you at Victoria, B. C., and accompany you on the expedition, 
assisting you in the capacities of Disbursing Agent and Topographer. 
On the completion of {193} your work you will return to Washington, 
the route being left to your discretion, to be determined by 
considerations which cannot now be foreseen.

  Very respectfully,
    G. K. GILBERT,
    _Chief Geologist_.

  _Approved_,
    J. W. POWELL, _Director_.

       *       *       *       *       *

  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
  UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, GEOLOGIC BRANCH,
  _Washington, D. C., May 28, 1890_.

Mr. MARK B. KERR, _Disbursing Agent_.

SIR: You are hereby detailed to assist Mr. I. C. Russell, Geologist, 
who starts at once on an expedition to Alaska, under the joint 
auspices of the National Geographic Society and the United States 
Geological Survey. It is expected that you will immediately aid him in 
disbursement, and that you will act during the exploratory part of the 
expedition as topographer. Your duties will, however, not be limited 
to these special functions, but you will be expected to perform any 
other duties he may assign to you, and to labor in every way for the 
success of the expedition.

It is expected that you will be reappointed to the grade of 
topographer on the United States Geological Survey on the 1st of July, 
1890, and you will please take the required oath of office before your 
departure.

The money remaining in your possession as Disbursing Agent includes
that needed to meet Mr. Russell's salary and your own, and also the 
sum of $1,000, allotted from the funds of the Geographic Branch for 
expenses of the expedition prior to June 30. This amount you will 
expend as directed by Mr. Russell, and his authority and certificate 
will need to accompany your vouchers in rendering account of the same.

  Very respectfully,
    G. K. GILBERT,
    _Chief Geologist_.

  _Approved_,
    J. W. POWELL, _Director_.

       *       *       *       *       *

  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
  UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, GEOLOGIC BRANCH,
  _Washington, D. C., May 28, 1890_.

Mr. MARK B. KERR, _Disbursing Agent_.

SIR: You will proceed at once to San Francisco, California, and thence 
by steamer or by rail and steamer to Sitka, Alaska. It is expected 
that you will join Mr. I. C. Russell, Geologist, at Victoria, B. C., 
or at Sitka; and you will report to him for further orders.

  Very respectfully,
    G. K. GILBERT,
    _Chief Geologist_.

  _Approved_,
    J. W. POWELL, _Director_.

       *       *       *       *       *
{194} 

  _Washington, D. C., May 29, 1890_.

Mr. MARK B. KERR, _Topographer_.

SIR: You are hereby assigned to field-work in the vicinity of Mount 
St. Elias, Alaska, in the party under charge of Mr. I. C. Russell. 
Upon the receipt of these instructions you will please proceed without 
delay to the field, and map upon a scale of four miles to an inch such 
territory in the vicinity of Mount St. Elias, including that mountain, 
as the field season will permit. The work should, if practicable, be 
controlled by triangulation. Special attention in the course of your 
work should be given to measuring the altitude of Mount St. Elias, and 
it should be determined by triangulation and also, if practicable, by 
barometer in such manner as to be conclusive.

The topographic work should be controlled by triangulation. As many 
positions on this coast are approximately known, including a number of 
the prominent peaks, astronomical determinations of position will not 
be necessary unless needed to supplement the triangulation.

The details of your outfitting and the management of the work will be 
left to your own judgment.

  Very respectfully,
    HENRY GANNETT,
    _Chief Topographer_.

       *       *       *       *       *

_NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY_.

_Memorandum of Instructions to the Party sent out under the Direction 
of Mr. I. C. Russell, assisted by Mr. Mark B. Kerr, to explore the 
Mount St. Elias Region, Alaska, 1890_.


The general object of the expedition is to make a geographic 
reconnoissance of as large an area as practicable in the St. Elias 
range, Alaska, including a study of its glacial phenomena, the 
preparation of a map of the region explored, and the measurement of 
the height of Mount St. Elias and other neighboring mountains. 
Observations should also be made and information collected on other 
subjects of general scientific interest as far as practicable.

The purpose of these instructions is mainly to suggest the lines of 
investigation that give promise of valuable results, but it is not 
intended that they shall limit the director of the expedition in the 
exercise of his own discretion.

  GARDINER G. HUBBARD, _Chairman_,
  MARCUS BAKER,
  WILLARD D. JOHNSON,
    _Committee_.

  _Washington, D. C., May 29, 1890_.


{195}


APPENDIX B.

REPORT ON TOPOGRAPHIC WORK.

BY MARK B. KERR.


In addition to the ascent of Mount St. Elias, it was part of the 
original plan of the expedition to make an accurate topographic map of 
the region explored. It was not, however, for this purpose proposed to 
divide the party or to deviate much from the most direct route to 
Mount St. Elias from Yakutat bay. Triangulation of fair precision was 
provided for. Details were to be filled in by approximate methods.

Field-work began June 20 by the careful measurement of a base-line, 
3,850 feet in length, near the point of landing, on the northern shore 
of Yakutat bay. Expansion was readily carried to the foot-hills, and 
several horizontal angles were taken to an astronomical station of the 
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey at Port Mulgrave. In the 
region of these initial triangles, work was done from a central camp; 
and topographic details were fixed with considerable precision by 
intersection and vertical angles.

After the departure of the expedition from the Base Line camp, an 
accident to the transit made resort to an inferior instrument 
necessary, and, furthermore, as the region traversed proved to be 
ill-adapted to, and the line of travel too direct for, the proper 
development of a narrow belt of triangles, the anticipation of a 
degree of precision in the triangulation which would give high value 
to the determinations of position and altitude of the several peaks 
was not realized; but topographic map work, showing the general 
features, altitudes and location of the mountain ranges, valleys and 
glaciers, was extended over about 600 square miles.

Within the approximate geometric control, stations were interpolated 
by the three-point method, and minor locations were multiplied by 
intersection and connected by sketch. The best meander possible under 
the circumstances was carried forward on the line of travel by compass 
directions and estimates of distance from time intervals. The work 
ceased August 22 with the abandonment of the instruments in a 
snow-storm of four days' duration on the eastern slope of Mount St. 
Elias.

The accompanying map (a reduction of which forms plate 8, page 75) 
shows the ice-streams and peculiar mountain topography of a region 
heretofore unvisited, and constitutes a considerable addition to the 
geography of Alaska.


{196}


APPENDIX C.

REPORT ON AURIFEROUS SANDS FROM YAKUTAT BAY.

BY J. STANLEY-BROWN.


Among the specimens obtained by Mr. I. C. Russell during the course of 
his explorations on and about Mount St. Elias is a bottle of sand 
procured from the beach on the extreme southern end of Khantaak 
island, Yakutat bay, and characteristic of the shore material over a 
large area. This sand was turned over to me for examination, and 
additional interest was given to its study by the fact that it is from 
a comparatively uninvestigated region and possesses, perhaps, economic 
value; for the sample is gold-bearing, and it is said that a "color" 
can readily be obtained by "panning" at many points on the bay shore.

Macroscopically, the sand has the appearance of ordinary finely 
comminuted beach material; but it differs in the uniformity of the 
size of its particles from beach sand from Fort Monroe and Sullivan 
island, South Carolina, with which it was compared. Its mineralogic 
constituents greatly surpass in variety those of the sands referred 
to, but are markedly similar to those of gold-bearing sand from New 
Zealand. At least twelve minerals are present, with an unusual 
predominance of one, as will be noted later. Through the mixture of 
white, green, and black grains, a dull greenish-black color is given 
to the mass. The roundness of fragments is such as usually results 
from water action, but it is less than that which results from 
transportation by wind.

When put into a heavy liquid (Thoulet solution of a density of 3.1) in 
order to determine the specific gravity of the constituents, it was 
found that the sand is made up largely of the heavier materials, for 
the amount that floated was trifling compared with that which quickly 
sank. Even the abundant quartz was largely carried down by the 
weightier ingredients bound up within it, and only a few water-clear 
fragments were left behind. This would seem to suggest that the 
lighter minerals are lacking in the neighboring rocks, or else have 
been carried to greater distances by the sorting power of the water.

Among the minerals recognized, gold is the most important, though 
relatively not abundant. It occurs in flakes or flattened grains from 
a quarter to a half of a millimeter in size. The particles are 
sufficiently numerous to be readily selected from their associates by 
the aid of "panning" and a hand lens of good magnifying power, and if 
distributed throughout the beach as plentifully as in the sample 
would, under favorable conditions, pay for working. The flakes in 
their rounded character show the effect of the agency which separated 
them from their matrix; a separation so complete that no rock is found 
adhering to the grains.

{197} Magnetite is present in great abundance and in a finely divided 
state, the largest grains not exceeding a millimeter in length. It 
forms by weight alone 15 or 20 per cent. of the entire mass, and when 
the latter is sifted through a sieve of a hundred meshes to the inch 
it constitutes 44 per cent. of this fine material. Crystallographic 
faces are rare, and though often marred, still octahedrons (111, 1) of 
considerable perfection are found.

Garnet occurs in such profusion that a pink tint is given to a mass of 
selected grains of uniform size, and its predominance may be 
considered the chief physical characteristic of the sand.

Two species were noted: one is a brilliant wine-red variety, which, 
though not nearly so numerous as its duller relative, occurs more 
frequently in crystals--the trapezohedral faces (211, 2-2) 
predominating. The other garnet is readily distinguished by its 
lighter amethystine tint and its greater abundance. Crystallographic 
faces are somewhat rare and invariably dodecahedral (110, i). In the 
absence of chemical analyses, any statements as to the exact species 
to which these garnets should be referred would be largely 
conjectural. Attention is quickly drawn to the perfection of these 
minute garnets in their crystallographic faces and outlines, and to 
their association with rounded fragments of their own kind as well as 
of other minerals. Have these crystals survived by reason of their 
hardness or by favoring conditions, or does their preservation suggest 
the impotency of wave-action in the destruction of minute bodies?

Among the black, heavy grains occur individuals which, except in shape 
and non-magnetic character, resemble magnetite. On crushing between 
glass slides, thin slivers are obtained which in transmitted light are 
green, and which, from their cleavage, pleochroism, high index of 
refraction, small extinction angle, and insolubility in acid, are 
readily recognized as hornblende.

Two groups of grains were noted which are distinguishable by slight 
variation in color. Both are clear-yellowish green, but one is 
somewhat darker than the other. The optical properties of both 
indicate pyroxene and possibly olivine. Fortunately a fragment was 
obtained in the orthodiagonal zone nearly normal to an optic axis 
which gave an axial figure of sufficient definiteness to indicate its 
optically positive character. A number of grains were selected from 
minerals of both colors and subjected to prolonged heating in 
hydrochloric acid without decomposition, indicating that both minerals 
are pyroxene.

A few zircons, a fraction of a millimeter in size but perfect in form, 
were found associated with others rounded on their solid angles and 
edges. The crystals are of the common short form and bear the usual 
faces in a greater or less degree of development. Pyramids of the 
first and second order alternate in magnitude; pinacoid encroaches 
upon prism, and _vice versa_.

Quartz constitutes by far the largest proportion of the minerals, both 
in bulk and in weight. It is always fragmental; sometimes water-clear, 
but chiefly occurs in opaque grains of different colors. It is seldom 
free from material of a higher specific gravity, and is often so 
tinted as to be almost indistinguishable from magnetite, but readily 
bleaches in acid.

{198} Feldspar is sparingly present, and includes both monoclinic and 
triclinic forms, whose crystallographic boundaries are invariably 
lacking.

Treatment of the sand with dilute acid produces effervescence, which 
is not due to incrustations of sodium carbonate. By persistent search 
among particles separated in a heavy solution, a few grains were 
discovered which, from their complete solubility with effervescence in 
very dilute acid, as well as their optical properties, left no doubt 
as to their being calcite.

The mica group has only one representative, biotite, and this occurs 
most sparingly. Though much of the sand was examined, but few 
fragments were found. Its foliated character renders it easily 
transported by water and explains its absence from among the heavy 
minerals.

Shaly, slaty and schistose material forms the major part of the 
coarser grains. Thin sections from the largest pieces plainly 
indicated hornblende schist.

A region of glaciers would seem to be favorable not only to the 
collection of meteoric material, but also to the destruction of the 
country rocks, the setting free of their mineralogic constituents in a 
comparatively fresh state, and their transportation to the sea. It was 
hoped that this sand would yield some of the rarer varieties of 
minerals, but tests for native iron, platinum, chromite, gneiss, and 
the titaniferous minerals proved ineffectual. Titanium is present, but 
in such small quantities that it could only be detected by means of 
hydrogen peroxide. The use of acid supersulphate and the borotungstate 
of calcium test of Lasaulx failed to reveal the presence of native 
iron.

It will be seen from the foregoing enumeration that the sand is made 
up of grains of gold, magnetite, garnet, hornblende, pyroxene, zircon, 
quartz, feldspar, calcite and mica, associated with fragments of a 
shaly, slaty and schistose character. While the information at hand is 
hardly sufficient to warrant much speculation concerning the rock 
masses of the interior, still there is no doubt that the sand is 
derived from the destruction of metamorphic rocks.


{199}


APPENDIX D.

REPORT ON FOSSIL PLANTS.

BY LESTER F. WARD.


  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
  UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,
  _Washington, D. C., March 12, 1891_.

Mr. I. C. RUSSELL, _United States Geological Survey_.

MY DEAR SIR: The following report upon the small collection of fossil 
plants made by you at Pinnacle pass, near Mount St. Elias, Alaska, and 
sent to this division for identification has been prepared by 
Professor F. H. Knowlton, who gave the collection a careful study 
during my absence in Florida. Previous to going away I had somewhat 
hastily examined the specimens and seen that they consisted chiefly of 
the genus _Salix_, some of them reminding me strongly of living 
species. I have no doubt that Professor Knowlton's more thorough 
comparisons can be relied upon with as much confidence as the nature 
of the collection will permit, and I also agree with his conclusions.

"The collection consists of seven small hand specimens, upon which are 
impressed no less than seventeen more or less completely preserved 
dicotyledonous leaves.

"These specimens at first sight seem to represent six or eight 
species, but after a careful study I think I am safe in reducing the 
number to four, as several of the impressions have been nearly 
obliterated by prolonged exposure and cannot be studied with much 
satisfaction.

"The four determinable species belong, without much doubt, to the 
genus _Salix_. Number 1, of which there is but a single specimen, I 
have identified with _Salix californica_, Lesquereux, from the 
auriferous gravel deposits of the Sierra Nevada in California.[38] The 
finer nervation of the specimens from the auriferous gravels is not 
clearly shown in Lesquereux's figures, nor is it well preserved in the 
Mount St. Elias specimens; but the size, outline, and primary 
nervation are identical.

"Number 2, of which there are six or eight specimens, may be compared 
with _Salix raeana_, Heer,[39] a species that was first described from 
Greenland and was later detected by Lesquereux in a collection from 
Cooks inlet, Alaska.[40] The Mount St. Elias specimens are not very 
much like the original figures of Heer, but are very similar, in 
outline at least, to this species as figured by Lesquereux.[41] They 
are also very similar to {200} some forms of the living _S. rostrata_, 
Richardson, with entire leaves. It is clearly a willow, but closer 
identification must remain for more complete material.

"Number 3, represented by four or five specimens, is broadly 
elliptical in outline, and is also clearly a _Salix_. It is unlike any 
fossil form with which I am familiar, but is very similar to the 
living _S. nigricans_, For., var. _rotundifolia_, and to certain forms 
of _S. silesiaca_, Willd. The nervation is very distinctly preserved, 
and has all the characters of a willow leaf.

"Number 4, represented by three or four very fine specimens, is a very 
large leaf, measuring 13 cm. in length and 3½ cm. in width at the 
broadest point. It may be compared with _Salix macrophylla_, Heer,[42] 
but it cannot be this species. It is also like some of the living 
forms of _S. nigra_, Marsh., from which it differs in having perfectly 
entire margins.

"While it is manifestly impossible, on the basis of the above 
identifications, to speak with confidence as to the age or formation 
containing these leaves, it can hardly be older than the Miocene, and 
from its strong resemblance to the present existing flora of Alaska it 
is likely to be much younger." [F. H. Knowlton.]

  Very sincerely yours,
    LESTER F. WARD.

[Footnote 38: Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. VI, no. 2, 1878, p. 10, pl. 
i, figs. 18-21.]

[Footnote 39: Flor. foss. Arct., vol. I, 1868, p. 102, pl. iv, figs. 
11-13; pl. xlvii, fig. 11.]

[Footnote 40: Proc. Nat. Mus., vol. V, 1882, p. 447.]

[Footnote 41: loc. cit., pl. viii, fig. 6.]

[Footnote 42: Tert. Fl. Helv., vol. II, 1856, p. 29, pl. lxvii, fig. 
4.]


{201}


INDEX.


Admiralty bay, 56

Agassiz glacier, Ascent of, 147
-- -- named, 73

Age of St. Elias range, 175

Alpenstocks, Necessity for, 165

Alpine glaciers, 176, 180

Alton, Edmund, Contributions to exploration fund by, 75

_Archangelica_, Mention of, 89, 114

_Atrevida_ (The), Mention of, 63

Arevida glacier, 92, 105

Auriferous sands, 196, 197, 198

Avalanches, 145, 155


Baie de Monti, 56
-- named by La Pérouse, 60

Baker, Marcus, Explorations by, 70, 72
-- reference to bibliography by, 58

Base Line, Measurement of, 86

Bear, Meeting with, 94, 109

Belcher, Sir Edward, Explorations by, 68, 69

Bell, A. Graham, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Bell, Charles J., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Bering bay, Mention of, 56

Bering, Vitus, Explorations by, 58

Bien, Morris, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Birnie, Jr., Rogers, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Black glacier, Brief account of, 101, 104

Blossom island, Description of, 113, 122

Boursin, Henry, Mention of, 79

Broka, George, Explorations by, 73, 74


Camp hands, 166

Carpenter, Z. T., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Carroll, Captain James, 78

Cascade glacier named, 144

Chaix hills named, 73

Chariot, The, Mention of, 140

Chatham, Mention of, 66

Cherikof, Alexei, Explorations of, 58

Christie, J. H., Member of expedition, 76
-- Work of, 82, 83, 84, 96, 103, 112, 113, 123, 162

Clover, Richardson, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Cook, Captain James, Explorations of, 58

_Corwin_ (The) in Disenchantment bay, 100
-- Return of, 163

Crevasses, 181, 182
-- at Pinnacle pass, 130

Cross sound, visited by Vancouver's expedition, 67

Crumback, J. H., Member of expedition, 76
-- Work of, 96, 103, 122, 125, 129, 131, 135, 137


Dagelet, M., Mention of, 60

Dall, W. H., Explorations by, 70, 72
-- reference to bibliography by, 58

Dalton, John, glacier named for, 98
-- mention of, 73

Definition of formations in St. Elias region, 167

Desengaño bay, named by Malaspina, 63

Digges' sound, named by Vancouver, 68

Diller, J. S., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Dip at Pinnacle pass, 140

_Discovery_ (The), Mention of, 66

Disenchantment bay, Canoe trip in, 96, 103
-- -- last view of, 163
-- -- mention of, 56
-- -- visited by Malaspina, 63, 64

Dixon, Captain George, Explorations of, 60, 62

De Monti bay, Arrival at, 79

_Descubierta_ (The), Mention of, 63

Devil's club (_Panax horridum_), Mention of, 95, 115

Dobbins, J. W., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Dome pass, named, 146

Doney, L. S., Member of expedition, 76
-- Work of, 85, 158, 159, 160, 162

Douglass, Captain, Explorations of, 62

Dry bay, Mention of, 55


Farenholt, Lieutenant Commander O. F., Commander of U. S. S. _Pinta_,
      79

Faulted pebble from Pinnacle pass, 171

Faults, 83, 136
-- Thrust, in Hitchcock range, 118

Floral hills, brief account of, 105, 108
-- pass, brief account of, 105, 108, 110

Formations of the St. Elias region, 167

Fossils at Pinnacle pass, 140
-- description of Yakutat system, 172

Fossil plants, Report on, by Lester F. Ward, 199, 200


Gabbro on the Marvine glacier, 123

Galiano, Don Dionisio Alcala, Mention of, 63

Galiano glacier, Visit to, 89, 90

Gannett, Henry, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
-- Instructions from, 194

Geology of the St. Elias region, 167, 190, 191, 174

Geological Survey, Instructions from, 192, 193, 194

Gilbert, G. K., Instructions from, 192, 193

Glacial currents, 187
-- river, best example of, 183
-- streams, 183, 184

Glacier bay, mention of, 67

Glaciers in Disenchantment bay in 1792, 64, 65, 97
-- -- -- -- observed by Malaspina, 64, 65
-- -- -- -- -- -- Puget, 67, 68
-- of the St. Elias region, 176
-- west of Icy bay, 187

Greely, A. W., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Guides, use of in ascending St. Elias, 166

Guyot glacier named, 73


Haenke, D. Tadeo, Haenke island named for, 65
-- island, Condition of, when seen by Malaspina, 63, 64, 65, 97
-- -- visit to, 96, 103

Hayden, Dr. F. V., glacier named for, 108

Hayden, Everett, Contributions to exploration fund by, 75

Hayden glacier, Brief account of, 108, 110, 111

Hays, J. W., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Height and position of St. Elias, 189, 190

Hendriksen, Reverend Carl J., mention of, 80, 83

Hitchcock, Professor Edward, range named for, 112
-- range, brief account of, 112
-- -- from Pinnacle pass, 133
-- -- structure of, 118

Hooper, Captain C. L., Navigation of Disenchantment bay, 56, 100

Hosmer, E. S., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
-- return of, 83
--, volunteer assistant, 76

Hubbard, Gardiner G., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
--, glacier named for, 99

Hubbard glacier, brief description of, 99


Icebergs, Formation of, 98, 99, 101, 102
-- in Yakutat bay, description of, 87

Ice tunnels, 184

Instructions from Geological Survey, 192, 193, 194
-- -- National Geographic Society, 194

Irving, Professor R. D., Mountain named for, 144


Johnson, Willard D., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
-- exploration planned by, 75

Judd, J. G., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Jungen, Ensign C. W., Mention of, 81


Kerr, Mark B., assigned as an assistant, 75
-- report on topographic work, 193

Khantaak island, village on, 79, 80

King, Harry, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Knapp, Hon. Lyman E., Mention of, 79

Knight island, scenery near, 83
 -- -- named by Puget, 68

Knowlton, F. H., Report on fossil plants, 199, 200


_L'Astrolabe_, Mention of, 58

_La Boussole_, Mention of, 58

Lake Castani, Named, 73

Lakelets on the glaciers, 119, 120

Lakes, Abandoned beds of, near Blossom island, 116

La Pérouse, J. F. S., Explorations of, 58, 60

Leach, Boynton, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Libbey, Professor William, explorations by, 72, 73

Lindsley, W. L., Member of expedition, 76
-- Work of, 122, 131, 134, 135, 139, 144, 149, 150, 153, 157, 158, 164

Lituya bay, mention of, 55

Logan, Sir W. E., Mountain named for, 141

Lucia glacier, brief account of, 192
-- -- crossing of, 105, 106, 108, 109

Lynn canal, mention of, 78


Malaspina, Alejandro, Explorations of, 62, 66

Malaspina glacier, character of, 187
-- --, described and named, 71, 72
-- --, excursion on, 120, 121, 162
-- --, from Blossom island, 118, 119
-- --, mention of, 56

Maldonado, reference to, 62, 63

Marvine, A. R., Glacier named for, 112

Marvine glacier, Account of, 112, 122, 124

McCarteney, C. M., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Mirage in Yakutat bay, 87

Moraines, 195
-- medial, on the Marvine glacier, 123
-- on the Malaspina glacier, 134
-- near Yakutat bay, 191

Mount Augusta, avalanches on the sides of, 145
-- elevation of, 117

Mount Bering, Height and condition of, 65

Mount Cook, Appearance of, 92
-- named, 72
-- rocks composing, 92

Mount Fairweather, height of, 69

Mount Logan, named, 141

Mount Malaspina, Elevation of, 117
-- named, 72

Mount Newton, named, 146

Mount St. Elias (see St. Elias, Mount)

Mount Vancouver, named, 72

Muir glacier, Visit to, 78, 79

Mulgrave, Lord, Port Mulgrave named for, 60


National Geographic Society, Instructions from, 194

Névé fields, 180, 181, 182

Newton glacier, Ascent of, 150

Newton, Henry, Mountain named for, 146

New York _Times_, Expedition of, 72, 73

Nordhoff, Charles, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Norris glacier, Mention of, 78

Nunatak in the Lucia glacier, 106


Oil stoves, Use of, 164

_Orel_, Mention of the, 70

_Otkrytie_, Mention of the, 69

Outfit necessary for Alaskan expeditions, 165


_Panax horridum_, 95, 115

Partridge, William, Member of expedition, 76
-- Work of, 158, 159, 162

Piedmont glaciers, characteristics of, 122, 176, 185, 186
-- -- example of, 120, 121
-- type of glaciers, mention of, 57

Pimpluna rocks, mention of, 70, 187

Pinnacle pass cliffs, account of, 132, 137
-- -- --, height of, 137
-- -- --, view from, 132
-- --, description of, 130, 132
-- -- named, 130
-- system, description of rocks of, 167, 170
-- -- named, 131

_Pinta_, mention of the, 79, 81

Phipps, C. J., Port Mulgrave named for, 60

Plants on Blossom island, 114

Point Esperanza, Camp at, 82, 84, 85
-- Glorious, named, 137
-- Riou, Mention of, 69

Port Mulgrave, 56
-- -- named by Dixon, 60

Powell, J. W., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Powell, William B., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Puerto del Desengaño, Mention of, 56

Puget, Peter, Explorations of, 66, 68

Pyramid harbor, Mention of, 78


_Queen Charlotte_, Mention of the, 60
--, voyage on the, 78, 79


Rations, 164

Report on sands from Yakutat bay by J. Stanley-Brown, 196, 197, 198

Rivers, Glacial, 183

Rope cliff, named, 149

Route (new), suggested, 163, 164

Russell, Israel C., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75


Salmon (and trout) fishing, 162

Sands, Auriferous from Yakutat bay, 196, 197, 198

Schwatka, Lieutenant Frederick, explorations by, 72, 73

Serpentine on the Marvine glacier, 123

Seton-Karr, H. W., explorations of, 72, 73

Seward glacier, crevasses on, 133, 179, 180
-- -- crossing of, 142
-- -- description of, 177, 178, 179

Seward, Hon. W. H., Glacier named for, 129

Sitka, arrival at, 79

Snow crests, figures of, 143
-- line, description of Alpine glaciers above, 180
-- -- -- -- -- -- below, 183

Snow line, elevation of, 92, 111
-- on mountain crests, 182

Soundings in Disenchantment bay, 56

Stamy, Thomas, Member of expedition, 76
-- Work of, 137, 139, 144, 150, 153, 157, 158, 160

Stanley-Brown, J., Report on sands from Yakutat bay, 196, 197, 198

St. Elias described by La Pérouse, 59, 60
--, discovery of, by Bering, 58
--, first full view of, 135
--, view of, 91, 92
--, height and position of, 189, 190
-- -- -- -- --, by Tebenkof, 69
-- -- -- of, determined by La Pérouse, 60
-- -- -- -- -- Malaspina, 64, 65, 66
-- range, age of, 175
-- --, character of peaks of, 175
-- region, glaciers of, 176
-- schist, description of rocks of, 167, 173
--, suggested new route to, 163, 164
-- uplift, 190

Stein, Robert, translations by, 59, 64, 65, 66

Strait of Annan, 56

Structure, 174

Swiss guides in Alaskan exploration, 166

_Sulphur_, Mention of the, 69


Taku glacier, Mention of, 78
-- inlet, Visit to, 78

Tebenkof, Captain, Notes on Alaska by, 69, 70

Terrace on northern shore of Yakutat bay, 82, 85
-- point, Brief account of, 106

Thompson, Gilbert, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Tide-water glaciers defined, 101

Topographic work, Report on, 195

Topham, Edwin, Explorations by, 73, 74

Topham, W. H., explorations by, 73, 74
-- reference to map by, 177

Triangulation, Commencement of, 86

Tunnels in the ice, 184

Tyndall glacier, Named, 73

Tyndall, J., cited on marginal crevasses, 127


United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, explorations of, 70, 72


Vancouver, Captain George, Explorations by, 66, 68

_Veratrum viride_, Mention of, 114


Ward, Lester F., Report on fossil plants, 199, 200

White, Thomas, Member of expedition, 76
--, Work of, 158, 160

Willis, Baily, contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Williams, C. A., contribution to exploration fund by, 75

Williams, William, explorations by, 73, 74


Yakutat bay, Arrival at, 79
-- --, Base camp on Western shore of, 86, 89
-- --, Shores of described, 57
-- --, Synonomy of, 56
-- Indians, described by Dixon, 61
-- system, Description of rocks of, 167
-- -- named, 131




VOL. III, PP. 205-261, I-XXXV, PL. 21, FEBRUARY 19, 1892

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE




[Illustration: National Geographic Society seal]




WASHINGTON

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY.

Price, 75 cents.




CONTENTS.

                                                                 Page.
The Cartography and Observations of Bering's First Voyage; by
  A. W. GREELY  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  205

Height and Position of Mount St. Elias; by ISRAEL C. RUSSELL  . .  231

The Heart of Africa; by E. C. HORE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  238

Report of Committee on Exploration in Alaska  . . . . . . . . . .  248

Notes--La Carte de France, dite de l'Etat Major, par M. J. COLLET  250

       Polar Regions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  252

       The Crossing of Tibet  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  253

       Statistics of Railways in United States  . . . . . . . . .  255

Index to volume III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  257

    Title-page and Imprimatur of Board of Managers  . . . . . . .    i

    Contents and Illustrations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  iii

    Publications of the National Geographic Society . . . . . . .    v

    Proceedings of the National Geographic Society  . . . . . . .  vii

    Officers of the Society for 1892  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  xiv

    Members of the Society  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   xv


{205}


VOL. III, PP. 205-230, PL. 21, JANUARY 28, 1892

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE




THE CARTOGRAPHY AND OBSERVATIONS OF BERING'S FIRST VOYAGE.

BY GENERAL A. W. GREELY.

(_Presented before the Society March 20, 1891._)


It was with no ordinary pleasure that the members of the National 
Geographic Society listened to the critical review and admirable essay 
on Bering's first expedition, 1725-1730, read before this Society, 
together with a translation of Bering's report on the expedition in 
question, by one of our learned and distinguished members, Professor 
William H. Dall. The subject then under consideration is one of great 
interest, and this Society owes a debt of gratitude to Professor Dall 
for his assiduous labor in collating and translating the available 
data on this voyage, and must indorse the general conclusions reached 
in a critical essay which is the result of careful, conscientious 
research conjoined to much erudition. It is especially fortunate, in 
view of the vagueness of Bering's report, that it should have been 
translated and reviewed by a traveler and investigator so thoroughly 
familiar with the topography of Bering strait and the adjacent region.

{206} It may appear somewhat presumptuous for the present writer to 
further dwell on some points of subordinate importance, even with the 
view of supplementing the investigations of Professor Dall; but he is 
encouraged to the effort by the admirable spirit in which that 
gentleman works, which is so clearly indicated in his own words: "I am 
well aware this paper cannot be regarded as a finality, but as a 
contribution to the geographical history of North America it will not 
be without its value." This spirit encourages every one to contribute 
his mite to elucidate the history of this interesting and ill-known 
period.

The supplementary remarks now presented mainly relate to two points: 
first, the cartographic reproduction of Bering's discoveries; second, 
the alleged observations of lunar eclipses in Kamshatka by Bering and 
his lieutenants in 1728-'29.

In attempting to add to Professor Dall's essay or to elucidate some 
points, it is but natural to felicitate one's self that chance has put 
in one's way rare data in the shape of text and map. Nevertheless, 
much difficulty has been experienced in efforts to consult 
publications and charts bearing on this subject, as supplementary to 
the data in the writer's own library. Fortunately, among his personal 
books and maps are the following, which have escaped the critical, if 
not casual, observation of Professor Dall:

1. The original Hague[1] edition of Père du Halde, which Dall was 
unable to consult; it is entitled "Description Géographique, 
Historique, Chronologique, Politique, et Physique de l'Empire et de la 
Tartarie Chinoise," etc. 4 vols., 4°: à la Haye, 1736.

[Footnote 1: The first edition, in French, was published at Paris, 4 
vols., folio, 1735.]

2. De l'Isle's scattered essays, entitled "Mémoires pour servir à 
l'histoire et au progres de l'Astronomie, de la Géographie, et de la 
Physique, etc., etc.: à St. Petersbourg, de l'imprimeris de l'Académie 
des Sciences. MDCCXXXVIII [1738]."

3. "Atlas Russien: contenant une Carte Générale et dix-neuf Cartes 
particulieres de tout l'Empire de Russie et des Pays limitrophes 
construites conformément aux règles de la Geographie et aux dernières 
Observations. Par l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. 
Petersbourg. St. Petersbourg, 1745."

This was the first atlas published in Russia in the map department 
established by order of Peter the Great in the Academy of Sciences of 
St. Petersburg. It includes a general map of the Russian Empire and 
nineteen maps of provinces.

{207} 4. "Carte de la Sibérie et des Pays voisins. Pour servir a 
Histoire générale des Voyages par le S. Bellin, Ing. de la Marine," 
two parts, undated, but to which E. Dufosse, of Paris, assigns the 
date of 1749. The atlas for this work was originally published by Abbe 
Prevost at Paris, 1747, et seq., the charts being engraved by Bellin.

This chart appears on casual inspection to be more accurate than 
either that of d'Anville or of de l'Isle, or of the Russian atlas.

5. The very interesting and valuable map of J. N. de l'Isle, Paris, 
1752 (without, however, the accompanying memoir).

I do not think the original map has ever fallen under the notice of 
Professor Dall, although a garbled reproduction of it is mentioned in 
his review as follows:

"A chart which deserves notice, though almost wholly fictitious, being 
chiefly devoted to the spurious discoveries of the alleged Admiral de 
Fonte, was issued by J. N. de l'Isle with the concurrence of M. P. 
Bauche or at his suggestion. It appeared at Paris in 1752, and was 
copied for Jeffery's second edition of voyages from Asia to America in 
1764. I do not know if this copy appeared in the first edition, but 
presume it did."

As the original of de l'Isle's chart (1752) is here exhibited 
to-night, it is evident that Jeffery was careless, and that the map, 
which I infer Dall has never seen, is really more valuable than is set 
forth in his address; otherwise so critical an observer as Dall would 
not have said: "I suspect this (referring to d'Anville's map of 1753, 
with Bering island thereon) is the first publication of a cartographic 
kind on which Bering island is laid down, as the map of the Imperial 
Academy of Sciences, embodying the geographical results of Bering's 
voyage to the coast of America, was not engraved until a year later, 
while de l'Isle's of 1752 does not contain them." You will see that 
this is an error, for the "I(sle) de Beering" is plainly inscribed on 
the map. (This map has been reproduced by photolithography and forms 
the accompanying plate 21.)

[Illustration: PLATE 21. CARTE GÉNÉRALE DES DÉCOUVERTES de l'Amiral de 
Fonte.]

Dall further describes the copy of this map in the following terms:

"Connected with America and north of the Chukchi peninsula is land 
with an island off it corresponding not badly to Wrangell and Herald 
islands and marked 'Discovered in 1722.' It is possible that this land 
is a hypothetical compound of the land reported by the Chukchis east 
of the strait with that which they knew to be visible in clear weather 
from Cape Yakan, more or less confused accounts of which had long been 
current among persons interested in these regions."

{208} The legend on the original chart indicates that Dall's surmise 
is correct, for the copy is not only abbreviated, but is in error as 
to date. On the original it runs: "Grande Terre découverte en 1723 au 
s'enfeuit les Tzutzy l'orsqu'ils sont poursuivis par les Russes que ne 
les ont pas encore soumis."

There is another important legend on a very large imaginary island 
about five degrees of longitude to the east of Bering island. On the 
northern side of this land the text runs thus: "Terres dont le 
Capitaine Beering's à en des indices dans son premier voyages en 
1728." On the southern edge is the legend: "Cotes vues par Mrs. 
Tchirikow et de l'Isle en Septembre 1741." Immediately south of the 
land are two route tracks, with these legends: "Route du Kamtschatka a 
l'Amerique par le Capitaine Tchirikow et Mr. de l'Isle de la Croyere 
en Juin et Juillet, 1741," "Retour de l'Amerique au Kamtschatka en 
Aout et Septembre 1741." The latter route track touches an indentation 
in the southwestern coast, as though the vessel had entered the bay, 
which has five mountains in the background.

The legend--"Terres vues par les Russes en 1741 ou le Capitaine 
Tchirikow perdit sa Chaloupe armée de 10 hommes"--is likewise of 
interest, as controverting the statement that "De l'Isle's (chart) of 
1752 does not contain ... the geographical results of Bering's voyage 
to the coast of America." It embodies a large part, but not all, of 
the discoveries.

6. Buache's memoir and maps entitled: "Considerations geographiques et 
physiques sur les Nouvelles Decouvertes au Nord de la Grande Mer, 
appellee vulgairement la Mer du Sud; avec des Cartes qui y sont 
relatives. Par Philippe Buache, Premier Geographe," etc. A Paris 
M.DCC.LIII [1753], 4°, 158 pp. With my copy there is a separate 
pamphlet, consisting of 13 maps, folio, with a preface and index, 
quarto. The preface (4°, two leaves unpaged) is entitled: "Exposé des 
Découvertes au Nord de la Grande Mer, etc., etc. Presenté au Roy le 2. 
Septembre 1753, par Philippe Buache, etc." The index (4°, 4 pp.) runs: 
"Liste des Cartes concernant les Nouvelles Découvertes au Nord de la 
Grande Mer, &c. Par Philippe Buache, &c. Janvier, 1755."

These thirteen maps are very interesting. The first and second charts 
bear particularly on the subject of this paper. The first is entitled: 
"Carte des Nouvelles Découvertes entre la partie Orient'le de l'Asie 
et l'Occid'le de l'Amerique avec des Vues sur la Gr'de Terre reconnue 
par les Russes en 1741 &c., &c. Dressée {209} par Philippe Buache. 
Presentée a l'Acad. des Sciences le 9. Aout 1752 et approuvée dans son 
Assemblée du 6. Septembre suivant."

This map, somewhat fuller in details than that of de l'Isle, shows: 
"Découvertes des Russes depuis 20 ans." There are route tracks of the 
first expedition marked: "Route des Russes au N.E. et au N. en 1728 et 
1731," and "Retour en 1731." Two route tracks of the later voyage have 
the legends: "Route de Kamtchatka a l'Amerique en 1741. Retour des 
Russes au Kamtchatka." Other legends are as follows: "Isle Beering;" 
"Detroit du Nord" (Bering strait); "Terre déc. en 1723 par les Russes, 
ou Isle dont le P. Avril a parle" (large land near Wrangell island); 
"Terres reconnues par les Russes" (American coast in latitude 56 N.); 
"Côtes vues par les Russes en 1741; Port ou les Russes ont aborde" 
(fictitious and extensive land east of Bering island, on which are 
also the following: "Puchochotskes selon Strahlenberg," and "Terre 
habitée, ou Presqu' Isle, que je suppose joindre les découvertes des 
Russes avec celles de l'Am'l de Fonte").

The second map, "Carte des Découv'tes de l'Am'al de Fonte avec les 
Terres vuës et reconnues par les Russes, par Philippe Buache," has 
other pertinent and interesting legends. In Bering strait appears: 
"Beering a trouvé au N. et a l'E. de ce parage que la Mer y etoit 
libre," and immediately eastward on the American coast below the 
parallel of the arctic circle: "Terre découv. en 1731, et ou les 
Russes ont rencontré un home qui s'est dit habitant d'un gr'd 
Continent." On the American coast from 55° to 57° north latitude: 
"Terres déc. en Juill., 1741, et où les Russes ont laisse 10 homes qu' 
ils n' ont pu rejoindre." Over "Terre habitée," a large land just east 
of Bering island: "Le Capitaine Beering a trouvé dans ce parage de 50 
à 60 deg. les Indices d'une Côte et une gr. Riv. ou il a envoye 
quelqu's homes qui ne sont revenus."

It is evident that these maps must have been actually published as 
early as September 2, 1753, the date on which was presented the 
"Exposé des Découvertes, etc., au Roy," but the charts give no further 
indication than the legend: "Publiée sous le privilege de l'Acad. 
R'le. des Sc. du 6 Sept'bre, 1752: à Paris." The actual date of issue 
may or may not have been earlier than the map of de l'Isle of 
September 9, 1752.

7. (Possibly most important of all) a letter of an officer of the 
Russian Navy. This appeared first in Russian, presumably {210} printed 
at St. Petersburg in 1752 or 1753; the original Russian I have not 
seen. It was translated, however, into French and printed at Berlin 
(not dated) in 1753, under the following title: "Lettre d'un officier 
de la Marine Russienne. A un Seigneur de la Cour concernant la carte 
des nouvelles découvertes au nord de la mer du Sud et le mémoire qui y 
sert d'explication. Publiée par M. de l'Isle, à Paris en 1752. Traduit 
de l'Original Russe, à Berlin, chez Haude et Sperer, Libraires de la 
Cour et de l'Academie Royale (1753)."

This edition forms part of my library, and is the only copy which I 
know of in the United States. It is not to be found in the Library of 
Congress, the Astor Library, the Boston Athenæum, or the Boston Public 
Library. It is not even in the Royal Library at St. Petersburg, but, 
as might be anticipated, is in the British Museum. I find it nowhere 
catalogued in any bibliography of arctic or subarctic works. The 
French edition was inserted, with some changes, it is believed, in the 
eighteenth volume of the Nouvelle Bibliotheque Germanique.

8. "A letter from a Russian Sea-Officer to a Person of Distinction at 
the Court of St. Petersburg, containing Remarks on Mr. de l'Isle's 
Chart and Memoir relative to the New Discoveries North and East from 
Kamtschatka, together with some Observations on that Letter by Arthur 
Dobbs, Governor of East Carolina, to which is added Mr. de l'Isle's 
Explanatory Memoir on his Chart." 8vo, 85 pp., London, 1754.

The "Arthur Dobbs" who published this edition, and who possibly was 
the translator thereof, is well known as the energetic promoter of the 
discovery of the "northwest passage," and was personally interested in 
discovery voyages to Hudson bay. The explanatory memoir of de l'Isle's 
chart is a translation of the memoir previously mentioned as belonging 
to the map of 1752, which memoir I have not been able to consult in 
the original French. It may be added that Dobbs' reproduction of the 
"Letter from a Russian naval officer" is not accurate, the translation 
in places being so carelessly or indifferently made that the text 
cannot be relied on for critical purposes.

This English translation is to be found neither in the Library of 
Congress, the Boston Public Library, the Boston Athenæum, nor in the 
Library of the American Geographic Society. It is, however, in the 
Astor Library, and a second copy at one time belonged to the library 
of Mr. J. C. Brevoort.

{211} 9. "Mappe Monde. Carte Universelle de la Terre. Par J. B. Nolin, 
Geographe." 1755, 20¼ x 27 inches. On this appear the legends: "I. de 
Beering; Detroit de Nord; Terres découvertes par les Ruses [sic] en 
1741; Terres veues en 1741."

It is quite possible that this is the first map of the world on which 
Bering island was charted.

10. John Christopher Adelung's very interesting history of sea voyages 
for the discovery of a "northeast passage," which was published in 
quarto form under the following title: "Geschichte der Schiffahrten 
und Versuche welche zur Entdeckung des Nordöstlichen Weges nach Japan 
und China von verschiedenen Nationen unternommen worden. Zum Behufe 
der Erdbeschreibung und Naturgeschichte dieser Gegenden entworfen von 
Johann Christoph Adelung, Herzoglich Sachsichen Rath Halle bey Johann 
Justinus Gebauer, 1768."

11. Notice des Ouvrages de M. d'Anville. 8°, Paris, An. X [1802], 120 
pp. By Barbic du Bocage.

In addition to these and other works from my own collection, I have 
consulted at the library of the United States Naval Observatory, in 
this city, "Histoire de l'Academie Royale des Sciences, Année 1750," 
Paris, 1754, and the same, "Année 1754," Paris, 1757, which contain 
articles on de l'Isle's manuscript maps of 1731 and 1752, the latter 
being substantially identical with the published map of 1752.

       *       *       *       *       *

From Dall's review we learn that Lauridsen is responsible for the 
statement that the discoveries of Bering in his first voyage were 
shown on a chart made at Moscow in 1731, but no authority is given as 
to the cartographer. Later I shall adduce evidence to confirm Dall's 
opinion that the Moscow map was merely a copy, such as were 
distributed to personages of importance or to those connected with the 
expedition. It is further susceptible of, as I think, tolerably 
satisfactory proof that the outlines of Kamshatka, with fairly correct 
meridians of longitude, were made public in a chart by de l'Isle not 
in 1731, but the year following, 1732, and it is likely that the lost 
map of that year was substantially reproduced in the chart of 1752, 
which I have the pleasure of now presenting for your examination.

De l'Isle presented this map to the Academy of Sciences of Paris on 
April 8, 1750. The circumstances connected with the {212} presentation 
have been drawn from the official records of the Royal Academy of 
Sciences, and are as follows:[2]

Cette année (1750) M. de l'Isle lut à l'assemblee publique de 
l'Acadèmie, un Mémoire sur les Nouvelles Découvertes au nord de la mer 
du Sud; et presenta en meme temps une Carte que M. Buache avoit 
dressée sur ses Mémoires, et qui representoit ces Découvertes avec 
toute la partie du Globe terrestre, à laquelle elles appartiennent. 
Ces Ouvrages, alors manuscrit, furent depuis publiés en 1752, M. 
Buache presenta dans cette meme année la première partie de ses 
Considérations géographiques sur le meme sujet, avec les Cartes qui y 
étoient relatives.[3]

"Muni de ces premières connoissances [referring to the discoveries of 
1729-1739] M. de l'Isle traça une carte qui representoit l'extremite 
orientale de l'Asie, avec la partie opposée de l'Amerique 
septentrionale qui y répond, afin de faire voir aisément ce qui 
restoit à découvrir, et il dressa un Mémoire dans lequel il exposoit 
la manière qu'il jugeoit la plus avantageuse pour faire ces 
découvertes."[4]

"Mais les vaisseaux Russes qui avoient été envoyés pour les 
découvertes dont nous venous de parler (1731-1741), n'étant pas encore 
revenus lorsqu'elle lui fut envoyé il extremit l'examen après son 
retour en France, qui étoit assez prochain. A son arrivée, il 
communiqua ses vues et cette relation a M. Buache; celui-ci, qui par 
la," etc., etc.[5]

"Cette Mémoire [de l'Isle, 1750] étoit accompagnée d'une carte qui 
étoit comme l'esquisse du système géographique de M. de l'Isle sur 
cette partie."[6]

[Footnote 2: Extracts from Histoire de l'Acadèmie Royale des Sciences, 
Année MDCCL (1750), 4°, Paris, 1754; and the same, Année 1753, 4°, 
Paris, 1757.]

[Footnote 3:_ Loc. cit._, "Année MDCCL," p. 142.]

[Footnote 4: _Ibid._, p. 151.]

[Footnote 5: _Ibid._, p. 145.]

[Footnote 6: _Loc. cit._, "Année 1753," p. 263.]

It has been pointed out by several authorities that some of M. de 
l'Isle's statements in his memoir of 1752 are to be received with 
caution, especially his elaborate endeavors to impress the Paris 
Academy with the belief that the discoveries of Bering subsequent to 
the first voyage were the result of his (de l'Isle's) own carefully 
considered instructions. In this connection Adelung says:

"De l'Isle, in his Explication de la carte des nouvelles découvertes 
au Nord [1752], traces out his proposed route quite differently 
[referring to de l'Isle's previous statements in his report to the St. 
Petersburg Academy in 1732], somewhat as if it had been outlined in 
view of accomplished facts."

{213} It behooves us, then, to inquire carefully into the authenticity 
of the alleged map of de l'Isle of 1731, since if he antedated his 
opinions as to the route he might also have antedated his map. 
Fortunately we do not have to depend only on de l'Isle's own 
statement, either in 1750 before the Academy of Sciences at Paris, or 
as published in 1738 at St. Petersburg and printed at the printing 
office of the Royal Academy; for we also have extraneous and 
convincing evidence, even from sources critically hostile to the 
French astronomer.

M. de l'Isle, in his Mémoires sur les Nouvelles découvertes au Nord de 
la mer du Sud, Paris, 1752, says:

"After I had, near twenty years ago, got these first informations of 
the longitude of Kamschatka by means of Captain Bering's map and 
journal, I made use of them in constructing the map, representing the 
eastern extremity of Asia, with the opposite coast of North America, 
in order to show at once what still remains for discovery between two 
large parts of the world.

"This map I had the honor of presenting to the Empress Anne and the 
Senate, in order to animate the Russians to undertake these 
discoveries, and it took effect, this princess ordering a second 
voyage to be made according to the plan which I had drawn up for it."

"Two maps," he adds, were presented to the Academy in Paris, "one 
being a copy of the map which I had drawn at St. Petersburg, 1731, on 
Captain Bering's first voyage, and had the honor of presenting to the 
Empress Anne and the Senate, with a manuscript memoir explaining its 
use and construction." The other map (from which the lithograph before 
you was lately reproduced) was, according to de l'Isle, only changed 
by adding the later discoveries of Bering and his lieutenants.

De l'Isle further says of this chart:

"The second manuscript map which I laid before the Academy at Paris 
was in all respects like the former, only with the advantages of the 
new discoveries made since 1731."

Ph. Buache, the French geographer, made for de l'Isle a reduced copy 
of the second chart, and it is supposed that the map before you is a 
substantial reproduction of that copy.

In the preface to de l'Isle's scattered essays, 1738, St. Petersburg, 
page 2, we find:

"Aiant comparé la situation du Kamschatka et des pais voisins, avec 
celle de la Chine, du roiaume de Corée, du Japon, et de la terre 
d'Yeco, qui m'étoit connue d'ailleurs, je me suis fait un sistème, & 
j'ai dressé l'an {214} 1731, une carte de cette extremité orientale de 
l'Asie. J'ai marque aussi sur cette carte les dernières terres connues 
de l'Amerique, les plus voisines de cette partie septentrionale de 
l'Asie, afin de faire voir ce qui restoit encore d'inconnu entre-deux. 
On trouvera dans ce recueil une reduction de cette carte, avec le 
Mémoire que j'ai dressé dans ce temsla, & lu a l'Academie, dans lequel 
je rends raison de la construction de cette carte."

Only one volume of de l'Isle's essays appeared, so that the map and 
memoir promised in the introduction were never, so far as can be 
learned, published in their original form. The statements made by de 
l'Isle, however, unless definitely refuted, should be given full 
credit, seeing that the work was published by the Academy of Sciences 
at St. Petersburg, to which the map and memoir were presented, as is 
claimed, only seven years earlier. A doubt does, however, exist as to 
the date of the map made by de l'Isle. On this point Adelung, in his 
"History of Northeastern Voyages," Halle, 1768, page 569, evidently 
quoting from Müller, says:

"On the 17th of April, 1732, the order was, therefore, sent from the 
privy Cabinet to the Senate, which thereupon inquired of the Academy 
of Sciences of St. Petersburg what and how much had as yet been found 
out about Kamschatka, the surrounding countries and waters. The 
Academy confided the making of the report to Mr. Delisle, who prepared 
a chart upon which Kamschatka, Jeso, according to the description of 
the crew upon the Castricom, the Staten island, Company island, and 
the coast of Gama were designated. This chart was supplemented by a 
memoir in which he described the discoveries already made and 
suggested various routes for making new ones. He expressed himself in 
regard to those routes in the following manner: 'If one have attained 
the northern boundary of Asia, and at the same time the eastern 
limits, as far as Captain Bering went on his first voyage, one cannot 
fail to arrive in America, and might even choose the route, either 
northeast or southeast, whichever he prefers, as he would have, at 
most, only 600 miles to pass over. 2. Or, without venturing so far, it 
would perhaps be better and more comfortable to sail from the east 
coast of Kamschatka, go directly east, to look for the neighboring 
country which Bering found traces of in his first voyage. 3. Finally, 
he thought that if they should sail southeast from Kamschatka they 
would perhaps more speedily and more certainly discover the country 
seen by Juan de Gama.'"

Can the inconsistency between the dates, as given by Müller and 
Adelung on the one hand, and by de l'Isle on the other, be reconciled, 
or is it apparent rather than real? As Bering, according to the 
Russian marine officer (Waxel?) returned to St. Petersburg on March 1, 
1730, it is reasonable to suppose that de l'Isle, {215} whose duties 
were those of a cartographer, had finished within the next year and a 
half his reproduction of Bering's working chart. The fact that the 
order of inquiry about the results of the voyage did not leave the 
privy council until April 17, 1732, does not necessarily indicate that 
the map at least, if not the memoir, was not already prepared, even if 
not in possession of the Academy of Sciences. It appears probable that 
the map may have been drawn by de l'Isle in 1731, but it is quite 
certain that it was not made public until 1732.

Lauridsen speaks of a map in Moscow in 1731, and, as it is evident 
from "Lettre d'un" that there was no difficulty in persons of 
influence procuring copies from the Senate, it is likely that the 
Moscow chart was a copy of the map of de l'Isle, and that the date of 
1731 is correct; but this theory must rest on Lauridsen producing 
evidence that such a map existed in Moscow in 1731.

The Russian officer speaks with authority as to the map of 1732. 
Commenting on de l'Isle's account of the circumstances under which he 
compiled the map of 1732, he continues as follows:

"The Empress Anne having directed her Senate to give instructions to 
M. Bering for the second voyage, that body believed that it could not 
act with success unless it obtained from the Academy the fullest 
information relative to the situation of the lands and seas to be 
traversed. Therefore the Academy was so ordered by the Senate, which 
enjoined on M. de l'Isle the construction of the map of which I speak, 
and, for a clearer understanding, an explanatory memoir; which being 
done, both map and memoir were presented to the Academy by the Senate. 
Consequently, there is no reason to doubt that, far from exciting the 
Russians to new discoveries, far from being the cause of Bering's 
second voyage, M. de l'Isle only worked under specific orders. It is 
quite another question whether or not the memoir contributed to the 
success of the expedition, which I will discuss later. However that 
may be, the Senate gave a copy of it, as well as of the map, to M. 
Bering. I took a second copy of the memoir, which enabled me to 
compare it with what M. de l'Isle has now said to us of it in his 
later memoir of Paris."

These and other statements confirm those of de l'Isle as to the date 
of the map, in which year d'Anville engraved it (1732, or 1731 at the 
earliest), and likewise indicate that copies of both map and memoir 
were obtainable without great difficulty.

An interesting note as to the authenticity and origin of the {216} 
chart of d'Anville, 1737, appears in the narrative of Adelung, who 
speaks with a certain air of authority. He says:

"These Beering maps were, after the captain's return, sent from Russia 
to the King of Poland, who presented them to Mr. du Halde or, rather, 
to Mr. d'Anville, who made the charts for his work. Du Halde is 
therefore very correctly informed when he, in the Mémoires de Trevoux 
(737 pages, 2,389 f.) considers these charts questionable and imagines 
that they were merely made by d'Anville from Beering's journal."

But further evidence from an unquestionable source is available as to 
date. The charts in du Halde's "China" were engraved between the years 
1729 and 1734, and all but the general maps were completed prior to 
1733. The date 1732 is assigned by d'Anville's colleague to the map of 
Bering's journey. Of these maps it is further said:

"They form what is commonly known as d'Anville's Atlas of China. 
Nevertheless this geographer did not participate equally in the 
production of all. The detailed maps (of which the Bering map is one) 
were furnished by the Jesuits and he only supervised the engraving, 
but the general charts were entirely the work of d'Anville, who 
reconstructed and amplified them from all possible sources. They were 
reproduced at Hague under the title 'New Atlas of China,' etc., by M. 
d'Anville."

These statements of d'Anville's colleague, M. Barbic du Bocage, are 
thus verified by du Halde, page lxix:

"Pour les Cartes Générales, nous y avons peu touché & celle du Voyage 
du Capitaine Beerings paroit sans le moindre changement."

In the Russian atlas, 1745, the explanatory text regarding map 19, 
whereon appears the extreme northeastern coast of Siberia and the 
greater part of Kamshatka, runs as follows:

"We have determined the location of these provinces in part by 
astronomical observations which have been made there, and in part upon 
certain geographical and hydrographic maps which have been transmitted 
to us."

So far as Kamshatka and the Bering strait regions go, it is reasonable 
to believe that this chart, since it was published by the Royal 
Academy of Sciences, is substantially a reproduction of the map 
transmitted to the Academy by de l'Isle in 1732, especially as this 
geographer was employed for about thirteen years in amassing data for 
the atlas in question.

{217} The writer has very carefully compared the chart of Kamshatka 
and adjoining regions as published in d'Anville's atlas of 1736, in 
the Russian atlas of 1745, and in the de l'Isle chart of 1752. From 
comparisons he is led to believe that these maps have substantially 
the same basis--that is, the chart prepared by de l'Isle in 1732 for 
the Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg. In this connection the 
criticism of the Russian officer is significant. He says: "I will now 
finish with a general observation about the part of Siberia that we 
see on M. de l'Isle's chart (1752). It is simply a copy of the Russian 
atlas (1745), without even corrections of the errors of drawing and 
writing which have crept into that work." Elsewhere he adds: "We can 
correct the error of M. de l'Isle, who places Bering island at 54 
degrees, only a short distance from Avatscha, whereas it is on the 
56th parallel, 60 miles off Avatscha and 40 Dutch miles from the mouth 
of the Kamschatka river."

It is worthy of note that on Bellin's map of 1749(?) Bering island is 
crossed by the 56th parallel of latitude, and that along the southern 
edge of the Arctic ocean is a route track, marked "Voyage fait par Mer 
en 1648 par 3 vaisseaux Russiens dont un est parvenu a la 
Kamtschatka." On de l'Isle's chart of 1752 also appears the route of 
1648, but Bering island is in latitude 54°. As to the position of 
Bering isle, the truth, as the Wise Man tells us is oft the case, 
abides between the two, as the 55th parallel intersects the land in 
question. At Cape Shelagskoi, d'Anville, 1737, the Russian atlas of 
1745 and the de l'Isle of 1752 agree in charting four islands 
northeast of the cape instead of two islands to the west. This 
indicates a common origin to the charts, and where else can it be 
ascribed than to the de l'Isle map of 1732? The Russian officer, 
however, gives a clue as to the date when work on the map was 
commenced. He says:

"At that time I visited M. de l'Isle. I was a witness of his 
geographical labors as far as they had new discoveries for their 
object. I acted as interpreter to M. Bering in the conversations which 
he had with him; and I can assert positively that when M. de l'Isle 
began that chart the second expedition was already ordered, and 
Captain Bering, knowing what was still wanting to his discoveries, 
offered to continue them and his lieutenants with him, and they 
received promotion in consequence."

Lauridsen says:

"On January 5, 1732, the Senate gave him leave of absence to go to St. 
Petersburg.... Almost simultaneously he was promoted, in regular {218} 
succession, to the position of captain-commander in the Russian fleet, 
the next position below that of rear-admiral."

This indicates that the expedition was decided on at least as early as 
January 5, 1732; possibly earlier. Fortunately we are not left to 
inference, for elsewhere the Russian officer says:

"Mr. de l'Isle 'throws discredit on our discoveries by leaving on his 
chart the fictitious land of Gama, which, in order to avoid 
conflicting with our accounts, he places (in 1752) a little more to 
the west and south than he did on his chart of 1732.'"

This definitely fixes the year in which de l'Isle presented the map to 
the Senate.

We learn, however, from Lauridsen that "as early as April 17 (1732) 
the Empress ordered that Bering's proposition should be executed, and 
charged the Senate to take the necessary steps for that purpose.... On 
May 2 it [_i.e._, the Senate] promulgated two ukases, in which it 
declared the objects of the expedition and sought to indicate the 
necessary means." It is very improbable that, in the case of so 
dilatory a man as de l'Isle, this chart could have been elaborated and 
drawn, the memoir written, a report made by the Academy to the Senate, 
and action be taken in the fifteen days which elapsed between the 
order for the chart and Bering's instructions. It is possible that the 
chart was drawn at the end of 1731, and that de l'Isle, for obvious 
reasons, gave it the earliest possible date.

In giving an account of Bering's provisions, as Dall says, every 
historian has followed a mutilated, if not garbled, paragraph from 
Bering's original report. The excerpts from Brooke's translation of du 
Halde, which was followed in Campbell's edition of Harris' Voyages, 
are as follows:

"The provisions consisted of carrots for want of corn [= grain or 
wheat], the fat of fish, uncured, served instead of butter, and salt 
fish supplied the place of all other meats."

"Fish oil was his butter and dried fish his beef and pork. Salt he was 
obliged to get from the sea; ... he distilled spirits from 'sweet 
straw.'"

It appears from Bering's own journal, as well as from du Halde's 
account, that in 1727 Bering ordered one of his officers to endeavor 
to "deliver to the command at Kamschatka some part of the provisions, 
iron, and tar." Bering himself said that he was obliged to use tar 
made from the native spruce, "since {219} the tar which we should have 
brought with us had not arrived." This is confirmed by the additional 
note in du Halde, which says that the provisions, iron, pitch, and tar 
did not arrive till 1728, conveying the inference that it came too 
late to be of service. Bering appears to have had, on July 3, 1727, 
2,300 poods of flour, equal to about 8,300 pounds, which would be less 
than a year's supply for his entire party. I cannot agree with Dall 
that Bering had plenty of flour or meal and meat.

I have said "From Bering's own report," because it seems incredible 
that du Halde did not have a transcript of Bering's report, since his 
narrative (du Halde's) follows almost word for word Dall's 
translation. It is not surprising that different transcripts should 
differ slightly on unimportant matters.

However this may be, it is evident that Brooke's translation of du 
Halde is careless. For instance, in Brooke's translation (edition 
London, 1736) of du Halde, on page 430, the number of Bering's party 
should be 33 instead of 30, and on page 440, where the voyage from 
Ochotsk to Takutski is given as from July 23 to October 2, the 
first-named date should be July 29.

Dall doubts that "carrots" were of Bering's provisions. Brooke omits 
the italicized words of du Halde's narrative (p. 567, la Haye, 1736): 
"Les provisions consistoient en carottes _et en racines_." As 
indicated by context, the roots were radishes and turnips. The word 
"carottes" is explained by a passage in Grieve's Kamshatka as follows: 
"The morkovai poushki, or _carrot_ bunches, are so called because they 
are like carrots in their leaf as well as in taste. They likewise eat 
this green in the spring, but they oftener sour it like sour crout or 
make a liquor with it." Doubtless Bering took these "carrot bunches" 
with him.

Another question which has engaged my attention is that concerning the 
lunar eclipses which Bering or his party is said to have observed in 
the winter 1728-'9. Dall says: "In none of the published reports of 
the expedition is any mention made by Bering or his officers of the 
occurrence or observation of an eclipse.... However, Middendorf states 
(Sib. Reise, iv. I, p. 56) that Bering and his lieutenants in the 
years 1728 and 1729 observed in Kamtschatka two eclipses of the moon, 
by which they corrected the longitude. He gives," says Dall, "no 
authority for this statement, and it is probable that an eclipse 
observed at Ilimsk, in middle Siberia, by Chirikoff is thus 
erroneously referred {220} to." Mr. Marcus Baker, in a paper appended 
to Dall's account, makes it evident that such eclipses, if any, were 
those of February 25 (local calendar), 1728, or February 24, 1729.

My own investigations confirm the statements of Middendorf, and in 
support of this I refer to de l'Isle and to the author of the 
"Letter." In this connection, however, we have the clear and definite 
statements of de l'Isle, both in his essays of 1738 at St. Petersburg 
and his memoir of 1752 at Paris. These statements are fully confirmed 
by the evidence of the Russian marine officer, who certainly served 
with Bering in his later expeditions if not in the first, and whose 
familiarity with all the records and papers should have enabled him 
definitely to contradict de l'Isle on the main question instead of 
correcting him in details. In his St. Petersburg memoirs of 1738 (page 
10) de l'Isle writes:

"On verra a cette occasion la situation du Kamtchatka de terminée par 
deux eclipses de Lune, que M. le Capitaine Bering & ses gens y sont 
observées dans leur premier voyage [the expedition 1725-'30], & dont 
j'ai rendu compte a l'Academie aussi-tot que ces observations m'ont 
ete communiquées."

In the paper of Paris, 1752 ("Nouvelles découvertes au Nord de la Mer 
du Sud") de l'Isle says on this point:

"Captain Beering and his lieutenant likewise took observations at 
Kamschatka of two eclipses of the moon in the years 1728 and 1729, 
which helped me to chart the longitude of that eastern extremity of 
Asia with all the precision which the nature of these observations, 
made by seamen and with their own instruments, would admit of; but 
these first determinations have been since confirmed by observations 
on Jupiter's satellites, taken in that place with the utmost accuracy 
by my brother and some Russians conversant in this kind of 
observations and who were provided with the best of instruments."

It appeared to me possible that the report on the eclipses of the moon 
made by de l'Isle to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences might be 
traced up among the archives of that society. In searching for 
information on this point it was learned from Mr. O. Fassig, librarian 
of the Signal Office, that among the unpublished manuscripts in the 
Pulkova library, St. Petersburg, were a number by de l'Isle. A list of 
the manuscripts of M. de l'Isle was compiled and published in 1844 by 
the distinguished astronometer O. Struve, and among the number is one 
entitled: "Observations pour la longitude du Kamchat, d'ou se conclut 
aussi de Tobolsk.  1729, MSS."

{221} It was reasonable, in view of de l'Isle's statements in 1738, to 
suppose that this is the report made to the Academy by him as soon as 
the observations were furnished him. I had hoped to present with this 
sketch definite information on this point, since a kinsman of the 
collator of the manuscripts (I refer to the very distinguished 
representative of Russia to the United States, M. de Struve) most 
courteously offered his valuable mediation in the matter. 
Unfortunately, I have as yet no further information, but I expect a 
communication as to the contents of the MSS. at an early day.

Criticising the memoir of de l'Isle of 1752, the Russian officer 
ridicules the author for speaking of Kamshatka as a town, but he 
adds:[7]

"It is certain likewise that M. Bering and his lieutenant, M. 
Tschirikow [quoting from de l'Isle's Memoir of 1752], had, in the 
years 1728 and 1729, observed at Kamschatka two eclipses of the moon; 
but that by these observations M. de l'Isle was enabled to determine 
the longitude of this most eastern part of Asia, with such precision 
that the same had been confirmed in the second expedition, by precise 
observations of the satellites of Jupiter is what I cannot well 
conceive. Mr. de l'Isle himself intimates that Messieurs Bering and 
Tschirikow were not provided with astronomical instruments. They 
observed both these eclipses by the help, not of pendulums, but of 
their watches, without being able to know whether they went right or 
wrong; which makes it almost incredible that a determination based on 
these two eclipses should exactly agree with that deduced from the 
observations of Jupiter's satellites."

[Footnote 7: "Une Lettre," Berlin, p. 19.]

The officer, from his own account, served with Bering. In the 
introduction to "Une Lettre" he says:

"The orders of your Excellency [to whom the letter was addressed as 
written by his orders] will be complied with by me with more than one 
inspiring motive, and I shall not dwell on my unfitness, although I 
could find excellent pretexts for such an excuse, inasmuch as many of 
greater experience and equal application participated with me in the 
discoveries which resulted from the two voyages, called by us the 
Kamtschatkan expeditions. The only grounds on which preference could 
be shown me over them arise from my being charged, after my return 
from America, with the comparison of the journals of the various 
vessels together and with whatever was elsewhere to be found relative 
to lands situated in the South Sea, in order to therefrom construct a 
map which should accurately represent them all."

{222} This officer, then, should be the very best authority on this 
question, especially as he gives details, is always exact in his 
dates, and sets no value on the observations. Whether or not such 
observations of lunar eclipses took place, these extracts tend to 
confirm Dall's opinion that they served no purpose in determining the 
longitude of Kamshatka.

The letter and its author are worth some attention at our hands. As 
has been said, it was published anonymously, and I do not know that 
its authorship has ever been traced. It appears from the letter that 
the writer was an officer of the Russian navy; that he was a Russian; 
that he was on familiar terms with both Bering and de l'Isle; that he 
acted as interpreter between them in 1730-1731; that he was with 
Bering in his last voyage to America, and was one of the ship-wrecked 
mariners on Bering island, and that on his return to St. Petersburg he 
was charged with the compilations from the various ship journals. As 
the naval officer states he was with Bering on Bering island, it is 
evident that it must have been either Swen Waxel, Sophron Chitrow, or 
Steller, the well-known scientific professor serving with Bering's 
expedition. It could not have been Steller, since the professor was a 
German, and moreover he died in November, 1746, prior to the date of 
the letter. It is improbable that it was Chitrow, who was originally 
in a subordinate position as a master-of-fleet, but while serving in 
Kamshatka and prior to Bering's second voyage was made a lieutenant. 
It is not likely that a subordinate of Chitrow's position should have 
been so situated in St. Petersburg as to have served as an interpreter 
between Bering and de l'Isle. It is therefore more than probable that 
Lieutenant Swen Waxel was the author of the letter. In further 
confirmation, this officer says that he is charged with the 
preparation of a chart out of the material furnished by the maps and 
journals of the separate vessels. As we know from other sources, Waxel 
later made a chart of the Kamschatka region.

Waxel displayed great energy and excellent judgment in conducting 
affairs on Bering island, both before and after Bering's death, and it 
is gratifying to note his intellectual discrimination in dealing with 
de l'Isle's fictitious account of a journey in America said to have 
been made by one Admiral de Fonte. Waxel skilfully dissects this 
geographical invention, clearly proving its inconsistencies, while 
geographical writers in England were engaged years later in 
endeavoring to prove its truthfulness.

{223} It is significant that although Waxel omits any reference to it, 
the following paragraph, which is evidently intended to be exculpatory 
of Bering's turning back at the most northerly point of his first 
voyage, forms part of Bering's report as translated by Dall: "Neither 
from the Chukchi coast nor to the eastward could any extension of the 
land be observed." This very important sentence does not appear in 
du Halde's account, and evidently was not in the copy which was 
furnished him. Possibly the person who furnished the copy to du Halde 
omitted it. Elsewhere Waxel adds:

"I say nothing here which I have not repeatedly heard M. Bering say. I 
also saw his instructions."

This gives value to his statements in reference to Bering's efforts to 
find land east of Avatscha bay, whereof Waxel quotes de l'Isle as 
saying:

"On his return to Kamtschatka (in 1729) M. Bering learned that there 
was a land to the east, which could be seen in clear, fine weather. He 
attempted to go thither, after having repaired the damage his vessel 
had suffered in a storm. The second attempt was fruitless, for after 
sailing about forty leagues to the east without seeing land, he was 
assailed by a violent tempest and a contrary wind, which quickly drove 
him back to the port whence he had emerged."

In criticism Waxel adds:

"Would not this narrative lead one to believe that the second attempt 
of M. Bering had been made immediately after the first voyage [in 
1729]? However, it was entirely otherwise: Before making this journey 
M. Bering wintered at Kamtschatka, set sail only on June 5, 1729, and, 
_without intending to return to the port which he was quitting_, 
doubled the southern point of Kamtschatka and went straight to the 
mouth of the river Bolschaia-Reka and thence to Ochozk."

He further says:

"Perhaps it may appear strange that M. Bering during this voyage did 
not fall in with the island (Bering island) whereon he was shipwrecked 
during his second expedition; but the isle might have been hidden by 
fogs, which are very common in that sea."

Waxel's account of the second voyage is worth translating, being the 
plain tale of a participant, who is as modest as he is truthful, for 
Waxel nowhere mentions his own name nor the {224} efficient service he 
rendered first to his chief and later to his shipwrecked comrades. He 
writes in "Une Lettre" as follows:

"Let us now come to the details of the second expedition, which M. de 
l'Isle pretends owes its origin to a map of _his_ and was undertaken 
according to a memoir made by himself. 'I had the honor,' he says, 'in 
1731 to present this chart to the Empress Anne and to the Senate, in 
order to stimulate the Russians to explorations of what still remained 
to be discovered, and it had its effect.' Was it time or age which 
caused M. de l'Isle to commit this error? Could he have forgotten the 
orders which led him to make the chart in question? Had he remembered 
it, perhaps he would not have said that he presented the chart to the 
Empress, and still less that he made it in order to excite the 
Russians to new discoveries. At that time I visited M. de l'Isle; I 
was a witness of his geographical labors, as far as they had new 
discoveries for their object; I acted as interpreter to M. Bering in 
the conversations which he had with him; and I can assert positively 
that when M. de l'Isle began that chart the second expedition was 
already ordered, and Captain Bering, knowing what was still wanting to 
his discoveries, offered to continue them and his lieutenants with 
him; and they each received promotion in consequence.

"It is therefore true that M. de l'Isle's work must be attributed to 
the orders of his superiors; and I remember that the Empress Anne 
having commissioned her secretary to give the necessary instructions 
to M. Bering for his new voyage, the latter did not think he could 
carry it on successfully without getting from the Academy all the 
information possible concerning the countries and waters where he was 
to navigate. The Academy was therefore called upon by the Senate, and 
it ordered M. de l'Isle to compile the chart of which I speak, and in 
order that it might be better understood, to explain it in a memoir; 
which having been done, the chart and the memoir were presented to the 
Senate by the Academy; so that there can be no possible doubt that, so 
far from having stimulated the Russians to new discoveries, so far 
from having occasioned the new voyage of M. Bering, M. de l'Isle only 
worked according to the orders he had received. There arises another 
question, as to whether the memoir caused the success of the 
expedition, which I will treat later on. However that may be, the 
Senate gave a copy of it to M. Bering as well as of the chart. I took 
a second copy, which enables me to compare it with what M. de l'Isle 
tells us about it in his last memoir from Paris.

"He pretends to have proposed three different routes to be followed in 
order to discover what was still unknown. The first, to sail straight 
to Japan, pass Yeco, or rather the straits which separate it from the 
island of the States and the land of the Company, to discover what is 
to the north of Yeco and search for the passage between that country 
and the coast of eastern Tartary. This is what is called giving advice 
after the event. In the original memoir there is not a word said about 
any such researches. M. de l'Isle contents himself with proposing 
three different routes for finding the countries lying near to 
Kamshatka on the east. {225} The first two, we must admit, agree well 
enough with the second and third routes mentioned in the Paris memoir. 
They are expressed in these terms:

"1. 'If one advances to the most northern extremity of Asia, and at 
the same time the most eastern point reached by Captain Bering (wrong 
supposition, as I have already remarked), one cannot fail to reach 
America, no matter what route one takes between the northeast and 
southeast, at a distance of not more than 600 leagues (great error in 
estimating the distance of the opposite lands of Asia and America, 
since they are only separated in the north by a narrow strait which 
widens as it goes south).'

"2. 'Without going so far, it would perhaps be easier to start from 
the eastern coast of Kamshatka, sail directly east and reconnoitre the 
neighboring land, of which M. Bering discovered indications on his 
first voyage.'

"In regard to the third route, M. de l'Isle conjectures as follows:

"3. 'Perhaps the countries seen by Don Juan de Gama might be found 
more speedily and with more certitude by seeking them to the southeast 
of Kamshatka;' the outcome of which project showed him his mistake, 
which is apparently the reason that induced him to change it to that 
of the route by Japan and Yeco.

"Nothing is so imperfect in detail, and withal so dry, as the recital 
of M. Bering's voyage with which M. de l'Isle regales us. He makes him 
start in 1741 to look to the east of Kamshatka for the land which he 
had seen indications of in his first voyage. 'He did not go very far,' 
he says, 'for, being assailed by a violent storm during thick weather, 
he could not remain at sea, and brought up on a desert island in 
latitude 54°, only a short distance from the Port of Avatcha from 
whence he had sailed.'

"M. Bering, then, did nothing but fail, and he did so soon after 
leaving port. I must therefore supplement the meagreness of M. de 
l'Isle's relation by giving an account of the voyage of M. Bering and 
the other officers, chiefs of these expeditions, which will be so much 
the more easy as I took part in them and as I can, besides, refer to 
the charts and journals of each vessel as proofs of my correctness.

"The Captain Commanding Bering and Captains Spangenberg and 
Tschirikow, with several other naval officers, left St. Petersburg in 
the spring of 1733. They waited at Yakouzk and Ochozk until the 
vessels being built at this latter place for their expedition were 
completed, and when all was ready for the departure of M. de 
Spangenberg he was dispatched first, according to the orders of the 
Senate. He started, then, from Ochozk in the month of June, 1738, 
having three vessels under his command, to which he added a large 
covered row-boat of 24 oars, which he caused to be constructed at 
Bolscherezkoi Ostrog in Kamshatka, where he wintered. This boat was to 
be used to go into the narrow straits between the islands that they 
might find and where the ships could not go. In the summer of 1739 he 
went to Japan, the long chain of islands situated between Japan and 
Kamshatka serving to guide him. He landed at two different places in 
Japan and was received with great civility by the people of the 
country; but he never went to Matsmai, the principal place {226} on 
the island of Yeco, as M. de l'Isle erroneously states. He thought he 
had sufficiently complied with his instructions without doing so, and 
returning to Ochozk, passed the winter at Yakouzk. As soon as a 
detailed account of this voyage was seen in St. Petersburg they 
concluded by the route which M. Spangenberg had followed that he must 
have passed near the coast of Corea, and he was therefore ordered to 
make a second voyage in order to confirm the first. He started in 1741 
and 1742, but his ship, built hastily and of unseasoned wood, leaked 
and obliged him to return.

"MM. Bering and Tschirikow left Ochozk the 4th of September, 1740. 
They both had the same destination; the second was to follow the track 
of the first. They only took different vessels so as to be able to 
assist each other more efficaciously in case of any accident. Without 
entering the Bolschaia-Reka river, as is customary in coming from 
Ochozk, they immediately rounded the southern point of Kamshatka and 
anchored at Avatscha, or port of St. Peter and St. Paul, as they 
called it. While wintering in these places, they made all their 
preparations for commencing in spring their principal voyage, which 
was to have America as its object. Owing, however, to the uncertainty 
as to the route which they were to follow, M. Bering assembled a naval 
council on the 4th of May, 1741, and it was resolved to endeavor first 
to discover the land of Don Juan de Gama, a fatal resolution which was 
the cause of all of our disasters. The 4th June we put to sea. 
M. Bering had on his vessel, sent by the Academy, an adjutant, 
M. Steller, physician by profession, but above all well versed in all 
that pertained to natural history. M. de la Croyere was with 
M. Tschirikow. Although M. Bering and M. Tschirikow were not to 
separate, according to their instructions, they could not avoid it, 
for eight days after sailing they were separated by storms and fogs. 
The search for the pretended land of Gama caused them to direct their 
course southeast; they continued to sail in that direction as far as 
the 46th degree without, however, finding the slightest vestige of it. 
They then changed their course to the northeast and both reached the 
coast of America, but in different places and without knowing of the 
whereabouts of the other. M. Bering and we who accompanied him saw 
land for the first time after being six weeks at sea. We then 
calculated that we were about five hundred Dutch leagues from 
Avatscha. We provided ourselves with fresh water. We saw indications 
of inhabitants, but could perceive no one. After being at anchor three 
days, M. Bering consulted with his officers, and it was resolved to 
return. The 21st July we weighed anchor before sunrise. There was 
nothing to do but to follow the coast, which stretched westward; but 
navigation was seriously embarrassed by frequent islands, and when we 
tried to put to sea we were met by storms and contrary winds, which 
caused us new delays every day. In order to procure fresh water, we 
returned towards the coast, from which we had kept as far as possible. 
Soon it was in sight, seeming about ten miles distant. We anchored 
between the islands, and the one where we landed was 
Schoumagin-Ostrow. The water was good, but although taken from a lake, 
there was, nevertheless, some sea water in it brought by the tide, 
which sometimes inundated the island. Afterwards {227} we felt 
disastrous effects from its use, in sickness and the loss of several 
of our men, who died. We tried in vain during three or four days to 
discover some natives of the country, whose fires we could see at 
night on the coast. The 4th of September these savages finally came, 
of themselves, in little canoes, and, having announced their arrival 
to us by a loud cry, they presented us with their calumets, in sign of 
peace. These calumets were sticks with the wings of falcons attached 
to the end. We understood from their gestures that they were inviting 
us to come on land in order to furnish us with provisions and fresh 
water. We wished to profit by the opportunity, and some of us ventured 
to follow them; but soon, however, misunderstandings arose and all 
communication was broken off.

"The 6th of September, after having at first had a tolerably good wind 
for the voyage, we began to find that as we advanced the obstacles 
were increasing, nothing but coasts and islands on every side. 
M. Bering wished to get away from them by sailing more southwards, 
and, in truth, for several days the sea appeared much more free. Our 
joy, however, was of short duration. The 24th of September, in 
latitude 54 degrees, we came upon coasts bordered with a number of 
islands, and at the same time a violent tempest arose, which lasted 
seventeen days and sent us back a distance of eighty miles. An old 
pilot acknowledged that during the fifty years that he had followed 
the sea he had never seen such a storm. We should then stop calling 
this ocean 'Pacific.' This name may, perhaps, be suitable to it in the 
tropics, but certainly is wrongly given to it here. The weather became 
calm again, but our provisions were by this time considerably 
diminished and there was only about a third of our crew who remained 
well and serviceable after all the hardships to which they had been 
exposed. There was still more than half of our way to make, counting 
from the extreme point of our voyage in the East to Avatscha. In view 
of these facts, many of us were of opinion that it would be better to 
winter somewhere in America, rather than run the risk of encountering 
new dangers worse, perhaps, than those we had just escaped; and these 
counsels came near prevailing over those who were of opinion that we 
should make a supreme effort to reach Avatscha, and that it would be 
time to think of seeking another refuge when we had lost all hope of 
succeeding in so doing. The month of October, however, was passed as 
fruitlessly as the preceding ones. The 30th of that month we came upon 
two islands, which seemed to us to bear some resemblance to the first 
two of those islands which stretch from the southern extremity of 
Kamshatka to Japan. Thereupon we directed our course northwards, and 
the 4th November, having observed the latitude, we found that we were 
under the 56th parallel. The 5th, however, finished our voyage. 
Wishing to sail to the west, we struck upon a desert island, where we 
had a good prospect of finishing our lives. Our vessel went to pieces 
upon one of those banks with which the island is surrounded, and we 
were not long in seeking land, which we fortunately reached with 
everything which we thought we should need. By a special dispensation 
of Providence, the winds and waves threw the remains of our vessel on 
shore; we gathered them {228} together to try, with the aid of God, to 
put ourselves in a position to leave this sorry dwelling. The island 
where we now found ourselves was destitute of trees. We were, 
therefore, obliged to depend upon the wood that the sea brought us to 
build our cabins and warm ourselves. We gave to this desert place the 
name of Bering island, in honor of the chief of our expedition, and it 
was there that he died, on the 8th of December, of grief and sorrow at 
having to give up all hope of returning to Kamshatka. He refused to 
eat or drink, and disdained the shelter of our cabins; his advanced 
age could not rally under such a disaster. We young men kept our 
courage up, resisted with firmness all discouragement, made it a duty 
to still enjoy life and to make as much as we could out of our prison 
home. Before our arrival, Bering island was the refuge only of the 
inhabitants of the sea, who came there to breathe the air and deposit 
their young. We were, therefore, able at first to observe these 
creatures very closely without their taking fright. It was only after 
having seen several of their number fall before our guns that they 
fled at our approach. We killed a great number of them, as much to 
furnish us with food as for their skins. It was by these valuable 
spoils, splendid castor skins, that we were repaid in some measure for 
our sufferings.

"At the approach of spring the following year we built of the remains 
of our vessel, as we had intended, a large covered boat, furnished 
with anchors and sails and able to live at sea if not exposed to 
storms. In this boat we confided ourselves to the sea, trusting in 
Providence, the 17th of August, 1742, and after nine days at sea, with 
beautiful calm weather, we arrived safely at Avatscha on the 26th, 
giving thanks to the Almighty, who had delivered us from such great 
dangers, and imbued us with gratitude such as time can never efface.

"From this account we can correct the error of M. de l'Isle, who 
places Bering island at the 54th degree, only a short distance from 
Avatscha, whereas it is on the 56th parallel, sixty miles from 
Avatscha and forty Dutch miles from the mouth of the Kamshatka river.

"The voyage of M. Tschirikow, although attended with less fatigue and 
danger, was not less painful to him. His tender heart, which his 
profession of mariner had not rendered indifferent to the sufferings 
of others, was indeed sorely tried. After parting from M. Bering, 
sailing northwest, he came on the 15th of July to a country the shores 
of which were lined with rugged rocks, at the foot of which rolled a 
deep sea. He prudently refrained from approaching too near the shore, 
but at the end of three days sent the pilot, Abraham Dementiew, with a 
crew of ten men, to reconnoiter the country. Neither Dementiew nor any 
of those who accompanied him ever returned; and most sincerely was he 
mourned, and deservedly so, for he was young, good-looking, of an 
honorable family, steady and clever in his profession, and zealous in 
the service of his country. After waiting six days, M. Tschirikow sent 
the boatman, Sidor Sawelef, with three men, but they did not return 
any more than the others. While waiting for their return we constantly 
saw smoke on the shores, and the day after the departure of the 
boatman two men, in different boats, came from the spot where 
Dementiew and Sawelew had {229} landed. When they had approached near 
enough to be heard they began to call out, 'Agai, agai,' and then went 
back. M. Tschirikow did not know what to think of their conduct, and 
now, despairing of the return of his men and having no more boats to 
send on shore, he determined, on the 27th of July, to leave the place, 
follow the coast as much as possible, and then return to Kamshatka. 
M. de l'Isle, then, makes an addition of his own when he says that 
'M. Tschirikow made many excursions into the country, during the month 
of August, while waiting for the return of his men.' To return to the 
truth, M. Tschirikow, in a distance of one hundred miles, never lost 
sight of land; he battled often with contrary winds, had much anxiety 
on account of the heavy fogs, and lost an anchor which he had put out, 
not far from the coast, in a moment of great danger. He was visited by 
twenty-one canoes, of tanned skins, each one containing a man; but 
this was all--for he was unable to converse with them. The scarcity of 
water and the scurvy carried off many of his men. Among the officers 
he lost two lieutenants--Lichatschew and Plautin, fine men and 
excellent mariners--who might have rendered good service had they 
lived. M. Tschirikow himself began to have the symptoms of disease, 
but good food and the air on land restored him to health. M. de la 
Croyere was not so fortunate; he appeared to have held his own until 
he was just at the point of death. His companions marveled at the good 
effects of the large quantities of brandy which he drank every day; 
but they soon saw that the only good it did him was to make him forget 
his sufferings. He died on the 10th of October, as they were entering 
the port of Avatscha, having dressed himself to go on shore and having 
celebrated his arrival by new excesses. We cannot ignore the important 
service rendered by M. de la Croyere to the expedition, when he 
recognized the Americans who came to M. Tschirikow as bearing great 
resemblance to the inhabitants of Canada, whom he had met while 
serving in that country seventeen years before coming to Russia, with 
the King of France's troops."

       *       *       *       *       *

NOTE.--A pamphlet which has just come into my possession, entitled 
"Lettre de Monsieur d'Anville au R. P. Castel, Jesuit. Au sujet des 
Pays de Kamtchatka," etc. (24mo, Paris, 1737), throws some light on 
the map of du Halde (1732), and definitely fixes the date and locality 
of the observation of the eclipse of the moon referred to by de l'Isle 
and the Russian officer, as well as later geographers.

D'Anville says:

"The map of Bering's voyage is attributed to me.... The only part I 
had therein was to reduce it from the much larger original map, of 
which I had made a tracing by means of oiled paper.... I first learned 
of Bering's voyage by letters from de l'Isle, then in Russia; and 
finally an account of this voyage having been sent to R. P. du Halde 
by His Majesty Stanislas, King of Poland, it was placed in my hands.

{230} "Likewise, both by a sheet of _astronomical observations made by 
Bering which came to me_ later, and by the same letters of M. de 
l'Isle, I knew that the mouth of the river of Kamtchatka was found by 
astronomical determination to be in latitude 56° and some minutes.

"Bering in his navigation doubled the southern point of this continent 
[Kamshatka] in latitude 51° 10", as is expressly noted in the sheet of 
_observations_ which is now before me.

"But though the solution of the difficulty in the case of the Land of 
Jeco may be very simple and natural, yet it was not obvious to me, it 
may be said, for Bering's voyage and observations caused me to recur 
to this subject, and I can no longer doubt that the eastern coast of 
Tartary should be moved to the east as far as the maps of the Jesuits 
first indicated; for although M. de Strahlenberg in his excellent map 
of Siberia shows only 65° of longitude between Tobolsk and Okhotsk, 
and there are even less in de l'Isle's map of Tartary, yet Bering's 
map indicates that there are 74°.

"It was found that it (Ohkotz) is 25° off of the meridian of Peking, 
which the observations of P. Gaubil placed in 113° fifty-odd minutes 
from Paris, so that it closely approximates the 139° which we have 
found it to be from Bering's observations. This determination does not 
differ much from the result of some astronomical observations, which, 
as I learn from China, M. de l'Isle, now in Russia, contemplated using 
in order to ascertain approximately the longitude of Kamtchat. The 
observation upon which I place the most dependence, and which likewise 
gives the greatest difference, is of an eclipse of the moon of 
February 25, 1728, of which the end was observed on the west coast of 
Kamtshat in latitude 52° 46' N., Sirius having an altitude of 19° 18' 
to the west, wherefrom M. de l'Isle calculated that the true time 
answered to 6h. 52m. p.m.

"This eclipse, the end especially, fell throughout Europe in the 
daytime, but having been observed at Carthagena, West Indies, by 
D. Jean Herrera, where it ended at 3h. 34m. a.m., a difference of 
8h. 42m. is deduced between the meridians of Carthagena and the coast 
of Kamtshat."

It is thus evident that Bering observed an eclipse of the moon in 
Kamshatka, and that the observations came into the hands of 
M. d'Anville.

A. W. G.

JANUARY 21, 1892.


{231}


HEIGHT AND POSITION OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS.

BY

ISRAEL C. RUSSELL.

(_Laid before the Board of Managers December 11, 1891_.)


The height and position of Mount St. Elias have been measured several 
times during the past century with varying results. The measurements 
made prior to 1891 have been summarized and discussed by W. H. Dall, 
of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.[1] The various results 
obtained are shown in the following table. With the exception of the 
position determined by Malaspina and the measurements of 1891, they 
are copied from Dall's report.

[Footnote 1: Rep. of the Superintendent of the U. S. Coast Survey for 
1875, pp. 157-188.]

              _Height and Position of Mount St. Elias_.

  -----+--------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------
  Date.|     Authority.     |   Height.   |  Latitude.  |  Longitude.
  -----+--------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------
  1786 | La Pérouse         | 12,672 feet | 60° 15' 00" | 140° 10' 00"
  1791 | Malaspina          | 17,851  "   | 60  17  35  | 140  52  17
  1794 | Vancouver          | ----------- | 60  22  30  | 140  39  00
  1847 | Russian Hydrogra-  |             |             |
       |   phic Chart, 1378 | 17,850  "   | 60  21  00  | 141  00  00
  1847 | Tebenkof (Notes)   | 16,938  "   | 60  22  36  | 140  54  00
  1849 | Tebenkof           |             |             |
       |   (Chart VII)      | 16,938  "   | 60  21  30  | 140  54  00
       | Bach. Can. Inseln  | 16,758  "   | 60  17  30  | 140  51  00
  1872 | English Admiralty  |
       |   Chart 2172       | 14,970  "   | 60  21  00  | 141  00  00
  1874 | U. S. Coast Survey | 19,500±400 "| 60  20  45  | 141  00  12
  1891 | Nat. Geog. Soc. Ex.| 18,100±100 "| 60  17  51  | 140  55  30
  -----+--------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------

The position given by Malaspina is from a report on astronomical 
observations made during his voyage,[2] which places the mountain in 
longitude 134° 33' 10" west of Cadiz. Taking {232} the longitude of 
Cadiz as 6° 19' 07" west of Greenwich, the figures given in the table 
are obtained.

[Footnote 2: Memorias sobre las obversaciones astronomicas hechas por 
les navegantes Españoles en distintos lugares del globe; Por Don Josef 
Espinosa y Tello. Madrid, en la Imprente real, Ano de 1809: 2 vols., 
large 8°; vol. 1, pp. 57-60. My attention was directed to this work by 
Dr. Dall, who owns the only copy I have seen.]

The data from which the various determinations made previous to 1874 
were obtained have not been published. The observations made by 
Messrs. Dall and Baker, of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, are 
published in full in the annual report of that Survey for 1875, 
already referred to. The observations made by myself last summer as a 
part of the work of an expedition sent to Mount St. Elias by the 
National Geographic Society and the U. S. Geological Survey, from 
which the height and position of the mountain have been computed, are 
as follows:

A base line 16,876 feet long was measured on the beach at Icy bay. The 
line, with the exception of section _C_ to _D_, as shown below, was 
measured three times in sections of about 3,000 feet each. The 
distances given below in columns 1 and 2 were obtained with a 100-foot 
steel tape, and those given in column 3 with a 300-foot iron wire. 
These are rough measurements, made without the use of a plumb-bob and 
without taking account of temperature. The ground was quite smooth, 
with a rise of about five feet in the center; but section _C_ to _D_ 
was crossed by a stream channel about 300 feet broad and twenty feet 
deep. Throughout much of the distance the ground was covered with 
grass, which was only partially cleared away. The stations at the ends 
of the line were ten feet above high tide. The bearing of the line 
from the western base was S. 89° E., magnetic.

                   _Measurements of Base Line_.

  ---------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
                       |     1.    |     2.    |     3.    |   Mean.
  ---------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
                       | _Ft. in._ | _Ft. in._ | _Ft. in._ | _Ft. in._
  Western base to      |           |           |           |
    station _A_        | 3,179 10  | 3,178  7  | 3,178  9  |  3,179  1
  Station _A_ to       |           |           |           |
    station _B_        | 2,355  2  | 2,354  1  | 2,354  2  |  2,354  6
  Station _B_ to       |           |           |           |
    station _C_        | 3,589  0  | 3,587  9  | 3,586  0  |  3,587  7
  Station _C_ to       |           |           |           |
    station _D_        | Rejected. | 2,609  2  | 2,609  5  |  2,609  3
  Station _D_ to       |           |           |    Not    |
    eastern base       | 5,145  5  | 5,144 10  | measured. |  5,145  1
                       |           |           |           | ---------
  Length of base line  |           |           |           | 16,875  6
  ---------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------

The measurements of angles were made with a gradienter reading by 
vernier to minutes. The error of the vertical arc was -3', and 
remained constant during the observations.

{233}       _Measurements of Angles at Western Base_.

  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
              |  Right   |   Left   | Vertical|
              | vernier. | vernier. |  angle. |         Date.
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 218° 35' |  38° 35' | +5° 40' | 1891, Aug. 14, 10 a.m.
  1. Eastern  | 317   6  | 137   7  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 218  34  |  38  37  | +5  40  |  "      "         "
  2. Eastern  | 317   6  | 137   7  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 218  37  |  38  39  | +5  40  |  "      "         "
  3. Eastern  | 317   6  | 137   8  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 261  41  |  81  43  | +5  40  |  "      "         "
  4. Eastern  |   0  10  | 180  11  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 261  41  |  81  43  | +5  40  |  "      "         "
  5. Eastern  |   0  10  | 180  10  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias |  50  15  | 230  15  | +5  40  |  "      "       6 p.m.
  6. Eastern  | 148  45  | 328  45  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias |  50  15  | -------- | ------- |  "      "         "
  7. Eastern  | 148  45  | -------- | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 181   5  |   1   5  | +5  40  |  "      "         "
  8. Eastern  | 279  30  |  99  32  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------


            _Measurements of Angles at Eastern Base_.

  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
              |  Right   |   Left   | Vertical|
              | vernier. | vernier. |  angle. |         Date.
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 252° 26' |  72° 27' | +5° 34' | 1891, Aug. 17, 11.30
  1. Western  | 176  19  | 356  19  | ------- |  "      "        a.m.
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 252  26  |  72  26  | +5  34  |  "      "         "
  2. Western  | 176  19  | 356  19  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 252  25  |  72  26  | +5  34  |  "      "         "
  3. Western  | 176  19  | 356  19  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 252  26  |  72  27  | +5  34  |  "      "         "
  4. Western  | 176  19  | 356  19  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 252  26  |  72  26  | +5  34  |  "      "         "
  5. Western  | 176  19  | -------- | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 252  27  |  72  28  | +5  34  |  "      "       2 p.m.
  6. Western  | 176  20  | 356  20  | ------- |  "      "         "
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------
    St. Elias | 252  28  | -------- | ------- |  "      "       4.30
  7. Western  | 176  21  | -------- | ------- |  "      "        p.m.
       base   |          |          |         |
  ------------+----------+----------+---------+-----------------------

{234} From these observations the following angles between the base 
line and the line of sight to the summit of Mount St. Elias are 
obtained. The correction for error of vertical circle has been applied 
to the angles of elevation.

             _Resulting Angles_.
  --------------------------------------+
    |           WESTERN BASE.           |
  --+-----------+-----------+-----------+
    |           |           | Corrected |
    |  Right    |   Left    | Vertical  |
    | vernier.  | vernier.  |  angle.   |
  --+-----------+-----------+-----------+
  1 | 98° 31'   | 98° 32'   |  +5° 43'  |
  2 | 98  32    | 98  30    |  +5  43   |
  3 | 98  29    | 98  29    |  +5  43   |
  4 | 98  29    | 98  28    |  +5  43   |
  5 | 98  29    | 98  27    |  +5  43   |
  6 | 98  30    | 98  30    |  +5  43   |
  7 | 98  30    | --------- |  +5  43   |
  8 | 98  25    | 98  27    |  +5  43   |
  --+-----------+-----------+-----------+
    | 98  29 22 | 98  29 00 |           |
  --+-----------+-----------+-----------+
  Mean  98° 29' 12"            +5° 43'  |
  --------------------------------------+
    |           EASTERN BASE.           |
  --+-----------+-----------+-----------+
    |           |           | Corrected |
    |  Right    |   Left    | Vertical  |
    | vernier.  | vernier.  |  angle.   |
  --+-----------+-----------+-----------+
  1 | 76°  7'   | 76°  8'   |  +5° 37'  |
  2 | 76   7    | 76   7    |  +5  37   |
  3 | 76   6    | 76   7    |  +5  37   |
  4 | 76   7    | 76   8    |  +5  37   |
  5 | 76   7    | --------- |  +5  37   |
  6 | 76   7    | 76   8    |  +5  37   |
  7 | 76   7    |           |           |
  --+-----------+-----------+-----------+
    | 76   6 51 | 76   7 36 |           |
  --+-----------+-----------+-----------+
  Mean  76°  7' 10"            +5° 37'  |
  --------------------------------------+

The known elements of the triangle from which the distance of St. 
Elias from the ends of the base line may be determined are:

[Illustration: Distance triangle.]

These data were sent from the field to the Secretary of the National 
Geographic Society, and, in connection with other measurements made at 
the same time, have been computed by {235} Mr. S. S. Gannett, of the 
United States Geological Survey. The results of the computation, so 
far as they relate to Mount St. Elias, are given below:

        _Computation of the Height of Mount St. Elias_.
  -------------------------------------------------------------------
    _Station_.    _Angle_.               16,876 _ft. log._
                                Dist. E. base--W. base = 4.227270
  St. Elias      5° 23' 38"     A. C. log. sine =        1.026862
  Western base  98  29  12            log. sine =        9.995218
  Eastern base  76  07  10            log. sine =        9.987129
                ----------                               --------
                                St. Elias--W. base =     5.241261
                                St. Elias--E. base =     5.249350
  -------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   _log. feet_. _log. miles_. _miles_.
  Log. distance: St. Elias--W. base  = 5.241261   1.518627     33.01
  Log. tan angle of elevation 5° 43' = 9.000465
                                       --------
                            17447 ft.  4.241726
  Curvature and refraction = +623
  Western base above sea =    +10      Correction for curvature and
                            -----      refraction in feet = 4/7 sq.
  St. Elias above sea =     18080 ft.  of dist. in miles.

                                       log. distance miles = 1.51863
                                                             1.51863
                                             log. 4 =        0.60206
                                       A. C. log. 7 =        9.15490
                                                             -------
                                       log. 623 ft. =        2.79422
  -------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   _log. feet_. _log. miles_. _miles_.
  Log. distance: St. Elias--E. base = 5.249350   1.526716     33.63
  Log. tan 5° 37'                     8.992750   1.526716
                                      --------   0.602060
                            17462   = 4.242100   9.154902
  Curvature and refraction = +646                --------
  E. base above sea =         +10 log. 646 ft. = 2.810394
                            -----
  St. Elias above sea =     18118 ft.
  -------------------------------------------------------------------
  Mean elevation above sea level = 18099 ft.;
    or in round numbers 18,100 ft.

Mr. A. Lindenkohl, of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, and Mr. 
S. S. Gannett have each computed the geographic position of Mount St. 
Elias, using the azimuth and angle of elevation of the mountain 
obtained by the U. S. Coast Survey at Port Mulgrave in 1874,[3] and 
the elevation given above. From {236} these data the approximate 
position of Mount St. Elias was found to be:

  Lat.,   60° 17' 51" N.
  Long., 140° 55' 30" W.

[Footnote 3: Report of the Superintendent of the U. S. Coast Survey 
for 1875, Appendix 10, pp. 157-188.]

The computation by which these results were obtained is given below:

      _Computation of Geographic Position of Mount St. Elias_.
  -------------------------------------------------------------------
  Azimuth: Port Mulgrave to Mount St. Elias =  142°  17' 17"
  Diff. azimuth                                     -59  55
         + 180°                               +180°
                                               -------------
  Azimuth: Mount St. Elias to Port Mulgrave =  321°  17' 22"

  -----------------------------------------------------------------

  _Latitude_.                    _Longitude_.
  59° 33' 42" = Port Mulgrave    139° 46' 16"
     +44  09  = Diff. lat.        +1  09  14   = Diff. long.
  ----------                    -----------
  60° 17' 51" = Mount St. Elias  140° 55' 30"

  --------------------------------------------------------------------

                                         1st Term.            2d Term.
                                       _Log. meters_.
  Log. K = (Dist., Mulgrave-St. Elias) = 5.0183184   K^2      = 0.0366
  Log. cosine azimuth, Z, 142° 17' 17" = 9.8982292   Sine^2 Z = 9.5731
  Log. B                               = 8.5093902   Log. C   = 1.6335
                                         ---------              ------
                          Log. 2666".5 = 3.4259378 Log. 17".6 = 1.2432
       1st term = + 2666".5
       2nd term = -   17 .6
                    -------
  Difference lat. = 2648".9

  --------------------------------------------------------------------

  Log. K                              = 5.0183184
  Log. sine azimuth                   = 9.7865328
  Log. A[4]                           = 8.5086148
  Arithmetical complement 60° 17' 51" = 0.3049593
                                        ---------
  Log. diff. in longitude 4153".6     = 3.6184253

  --------------------------------------------------------------------

  Log. diff. long.                    = 3.61843
  Log. sine mean latitude 59° 55' 46" = 9.93722
                                        -------
  Log. diff. azimuth--3595"           = 3.55565

--------------------------------------------------------------------

[Footnote 4: _A_, _B_ and _C_ are terms depending on the size and 
figure of the earth and the latitude of the place.]

{237} The geographic position of Mount St. Elias is of popular 
interest in connection with the boundaries of Alaska.

In the convention between Great Britain and Russia,[5] wherein the 
boundaries of Alaska are supposed to be defined, it is stated that the 
boundary, beginning at the south, after leaving Portland channel, 
shall follow the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the 
coast as far as the 141st meridian, and from there northward the said 
meridian shall be the boundary to the Arctic ocean. Whenever the 
summit of the mountains between Portland channel and the 141st 
meridian "shall prove to be at the distance of more than ten marine 
leagues from the ocean, the limit between the British possessions and 
the line of coast which is to belong to Russia, above mentioned, shall 
be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the coast and which 
shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues therefrom."

[Footnote 5: Message from the President of the United States, 
transmitting Report on the boundary line between Alaska and British 
Columbia. 50th Congress, 2d session, Ex. Doc. No. 146, Senate, 1889.]

As Mount St. Elias is approximately in longitude 140° 55' 30" west 
from Greenwich, as already shown, it is therefore only 4' and 30" of 
longitude or 2½ statute miles east of the boundary of the main portion 
of Alaska. Its distance from the nearest point on the coast is 33 
statute miles. There is no coast range in southeastern Alaska parallel 
with the coast within the limits specified by the treaty, and the 
boundary must therefore be considered as a line parallel with the 
coast and ten marine leagues, or 34½ statute miles, inland. The 
mountain is thus one and one-half miles south of the boundary and 
within the territory of the United States. Its position is so near the 
junction of the boundary separating southeastern Alaska from the 
Northwest Territory with the 141st meridian that it is practically a 
corner monument of our national domain.


{238}


THE HEART OF AFRICA.

BY E. C. HORE.

(_Abstracts of two Lectures presented before the Society March 6 and 
March 13, 1891_.)


I.

The subject of Africa and its people has recently become a most 
interesting and popular one. We are but now beginning to realize the 
size and importance of Africa, as we are reminded that it contains 
nearly one-fourth part of the land area of the world; that it has 
mountains at least 1,000 feet higher than the most lofty American 
peaks; that the known extent of the Nile and the Congo now make them 
the rivals of the Yang-tse-Kiang and the Mississippi as the longest 
rivers in the world; that its central regions, instead of the great 
desert blank so long shown on our maps, is a rich and beautiful 
elevated region, having upon its heights a splendid collection of 
fresh-water lakes or inland seas, fertilizing by their outflowing 
streams the whole continent; and that it is known to contain over 
250,000,000 people, or about one-seventh part of the world's 
population. It is called the "dark continent:" rather should it be 
called the "new world," in which our interest and 
responsibility--political, commercial and social--is rapidly growing.

For purposes of general description, there are three great divisions 
of the African continent and its peoples and affairs:

_The northern division_, stamped and characterized--men, manners and 
things--by the orientalism of its conquering settlers, so intimately 
blended by blood, religion and character with the natives as to have 
become essentially African, its original peoples so thoroughly 
influenced by the incoming foreigners as to be now essentially 
oriental;

_The southern division_, overrun in more modern times by foreigners of 
other races, and having its own peculiar civilization and 
characteristics due to that influx; and

{239} _Central Africa_, including all that portion of the continent 
lying between, say, the Albert Nyanza and the river Zambesi, and 
Zanzibar and the Congo mouth, and which, although no part now remains 
of it that is not nominally the territory either of the Congo Free 
state or some European power, is still almost entirely in the 
possession and occupation of its lawful owners, the native uncivilized 
tribes.

As well as this transverse political division of Africa, we may make 
what may be called a concentric analysis. Commencing with the outer 
_skin_, the 16,000 miles of African coast, we find upon it certain 
excrescences, which, if our examination went but skin-deep, might well 
lead us to regard Africa not as a "new," but as an "old, old" world. 
On the north and east the remains of ancient civilizations, Morocco, 
Tangier, Egypt, remind us of Africa's bygone grandeur--remind us how 
very much of forms of beauty and secrets of science and art came to us 
in the birth of civilized Europe from or through Africa. On the south 
and west again, memorials of Phoenician, of Portuguese, of Dutch, 
English and American conquering visitors and adventurers remind us of 
the constant preying of the nations on the dark continent--remind us, 
through certain prison castles still to be seen on the western coast, 
of the great world's crime, the slave trade. But on the outer surface 
of Africa other signs are to be read: North, south, east and west 
there are ports and roadsteads forested with the masts of the world's 
shipping conveying to Africa's every shore those products of the 
civilized world which, according to their nature for good or harm, are 
to influence and civilize the Africans; carrying away from her shore 
the land's products--a constant stream, increasing perhaps just now, 
but which has always been flowing--of wool, cotton, oil, rich spices, 
dyes and medicinal and ornamental woods, india-rubber, gum-copal, 
ivory, precious stones, gold. Are these the products of a desert land 
inhabited only by a lazy and savage people?

Following our concentric analysis, the first layer behind the outer 
skin of Africa may be said to consist of a verdant slope, broad and 
luxuriant in the tropics, where nature herself has been lavish, 
narrower, but still ever widening, in the drier north and south, as 
the oriental and the European respectively advance their groves of 
fruit and fields of corn, maintained in luxuriance alike by the vapors 
of the sea and the down drainage from the higher lands, and from the 
same causes also malarious and {240} unhealthy. In another sense, too, 
this outer belt is both rich and unhappy. Into it come those men and 
things representing "civilization" from afar. To it, from the 
interior, gravitate those of the natives who are influenced by contact 
with those men and things, deprived to a great extent of the old 
uncivilized condition and its innocencies and partially imbued with 
what of civilization has come to them. Mankind, too, in this outer 
belt is often only too rank and unhealthy in his character. It is 
truly "darkest Africa;" for, first, the slave trade and then the rum 
bottle have in many parts been the preponderating representatives to 
them of outer civilization.

The next layer is a step or terrace of flat sandy semi-arid country, 
narrow in the tropics, widening toward each extreme, until it bulges 
out in the north into the Sahara desert, in the south into the 
Kalahari, some parts always bare and sandy or covered with a sparkling 
saline or alkaline deposit, some parts forming broad savannas or 
prairies, bearing rich grasses in the rains, burnt bare in the dry 
season; others covered with thickets of thorns or stunted and crippled 
trees under the same variations of seasons. This is the land of the 
ostrich and the pelican, the scene of vast prairie fires or whirling 
dust spouts; it is the land also of the nomad man. Across the Sahara 
the wandering Arab leads his camels from oasis to oasis; amid the 
wastes of the Kalahari the homeless Bushman finds a congenial hunting 
territory; in the narrow, tropical parts such semi-nomads as the 
Somali, the Wamasai, and the Wagogo lead their cattle from place to 
place, as the grass and water serve them with the seasons.

This terrace or flat sandy belt being crossed, we come to the true 
central region of Africa, a long irregular oval-shaped elevation of 
mountain masses, spreading out in many places as vast plateaus and 
forming altogether that mysterious elevated region reported from time 
to time by old investigators as well as compilers of native reports as 
the Mountains of the Moon. In the crevices of this central mass, in 
rocky basins, in fathomless chasms, in vast depressions of the 
plateaus, lie those great natural rainwater tanks known as the central 
African lakes. On and around it are the richest and most beautiful and 
healthful countries. Spreading over it and around its beautiful waters 
are the most intelligent and industrious of the native African tribes, 
their native industry and enterprise yet almost undisturbed by the 
{241} busy excitement of civilization. Hence there may fairly be drawn 
something like a sample of the real African native character and 
condition. They live in families; among them the family tie and the 
rights of property are regarded; conscience pronounces criminal and 
offensive the same irregularities as are so regarded among civilized 
peoples; in stature and physical condition they come up to the best 
standards. I argue that the life and condition which presents this 
state of things after isolation for thousands of years from all we 
call civilized can scarcely be called evil or degraded.

Among these people, both pastoral and agricultural, are to be found in 
progress the germs at least of all the useful arts--the procuring and 
working of both iron and copper, pottery-making, the spinning and 
weaving of cotton cloth, the very beautiful development of plaiting of 
all kinds of vegetal fibers into string, rope, mats, baskets and 
cloth; and where valuable materials and products are naturally 
confined to particular localities, as is the case sometimes with oil, 
salt, etc., it is manufactured and distributed. Too often are people 
described as lacking in industry who are not the same as ourselves; 
but it seems to me ridiculous that a man should be called lazy because 
he has ample leisure between his busy times, who has made with his own 
hands, from nature's absolutely raw material, his house, his axe and 
hoe and spear, his clothing and ornaments, his furniture, his corn 
mill, all things that he has, and who, though liable often in a 
lifetime to have to repeat that whole process over again, has the 
energy and enterprise to commence afresh. Too often have the same 
people been called savage and bloodthirsty who, through all experience 
and by all their traditions getting naturally to regard unintroduced 
armed strangers as enemies, have the same desperate energy to defend 
themselves and their own which, as displayed by our own ancestral 
relatives, we love to term patriotism and courage.

In a fairly central position on this great central elevation is the 
elongated basin surrounded by a mountain rim in the bottom of which, 
in a long chasm, lies Lake Tanganyika, in a position alike so central 
and so unique that I have termed it the Heart of Africa. Inside the 
mountain basin rim, the rainfall all converges into Tanganyika; 
outside, it all flows to the outer shores of the continent by the 
Nile, the Congo or the Zambesi. Fifteen years ago the waters of Lake 
Tanganyika, having very slowly {242} gained upon the evaporation (the 
then only means of carrying off its surplus) attained to the height of 
the lowest gap in its rim and commenced to flow out, and thence its 
surplus water ever since has found an exit and now forms part of the 
Congo system. Tanganyika is 400 miles long and from 15 to 50 miles in 
width, and is 2,700 feet above the sea.

To leave, however, this very rough general description of Africa at 
this point would convey a wrong idea. We have described the verdant 
slope from the coast, the terrace of flatter country, the central 
elevation and its heart; now we may imagine a series of great ridges 
and furrows and other radial features diverging from the heart of 
Africa to its very shores, besides certain isolated ridges and peaks, 
some of them snow-clad, and certain isolated depressions forming lakes 
or swamps; first the three great furrows of the Nile, Zambesi and 
Congo and the three great ridges formed by their dividing water-sheds, 
and so on through fan-like expansions of rim or ridges and furrows 
until the previously described concentric formation, although still 
there, is considerably cut up.

The great central mountain mass, buttressed by its far-stretching 
ridges, forms _the backbone_, from which, outward and downward, in 
intricate articulations, extends the complicated _bony skeleton_ of 
Africa.

Set like sparkling jewels in its crevices and depressions, the great 
lakes send forth the streams which, flowing through gaps in their 
surrounding mountain barriers, rushing through narrow channels, oozing 
slowly through elevated flats or bounding in beautiful cascades over 
steep steps, and carrying the vitalizing fluid in every direction 
through the length and breadth of Africa, form _its system of 
circulation_.

Bordering the great lakes and clustering on the slopes, forests of 
gigantic trees form the _flesh and muscle_ of this great creation; 
preserved in perpetual verdure wherever water constantly remains and 
in long extending lines and network fringing the ever-winding banks of 
the streams, and finally joining with the verdant belt of the 
sea-coast to form the brilliant _epidermis_ of the whole, and forming 
background and filling to the network of these prominent features, in 
broad concentric curves and in belts and patches, the more stunted 
thorny growth, long grass, broad savanna and sandy plain, ever 
changing in color and aspect.

The great new and beautiful world of Africa lies open before {243} us; 
250,000,000 intelligent and courageous people have become exposed to 
the influence, for good or evil, of the civilized races. What shall we 
do with it and them? Quite possible is it fairly and honestly so to 
explore and deal with both country and people as to develop its 
resources and benefit them, while adding to the world's treasury of 
comfort-bringing products and human brotherhood the riches and the 
friendship of a new continent; but it must be by peaceful and just 
measures and by honest trade with wholesome wares.


II.

As a practical way of leading you in imagination to the heart of 
Africa, and as indicating the circumstances and experience upon which 
my observations on Africa are based, I shall describe one of my many 
journeys.

In the year 1882 I had the honor to be leader of the largest European 
expedition that has yet entered Africa, having in it, for instance, 
200 more men than the Emin Pasha relief expedition. There were ten 
Europeans, all told, who represented survey and navigation, medicine, 
carpentry, blacksmithing, and other specially selected talent for the 
purpose of exploration and civilization, as well as those specially 
devoted to the teaching of Christianity, which was the ultimate aim of 
all. We entered Africa from the village of Saadani, on the eastern 
coast, opposite Zanzibar, our destination being the shores of Lake 
Tanganyika at Ujiji.

To make not only our progress sure, but work and residence at our 
destination safe and possible in such a land, we had stores of 
groceries, medicines, tools and clothing, and a large quantity of 
calico and other cloth, which forms the currency of the country, for 
the purchase of supplies and payment of wages to porters, servants and 
workmen.

The special locality to be worked being the countries surrounding Lake 
Tanganyika, to which that extensive and beautiful inland sea gives 
access, we carried with us also, for its navigation, a sailing boat 
built of steel, of the form of a sea-going life-boat, and constructed 
in small sections and pieces for transport. This boat I designed 
myself. Six of the sections were to travel on {244} specially 
constructed light carts, drawn by African natives, and the rest, in 
small pieces, were to be carried by the porters in the ordinary way.

The mode of travel was walking, except when now and then an invalid 
was carried in a hammock. The method of transport was by means of 
native porters, hundreds of whom devote themselves to this work. They 
are paid $5 per month as wages, payable at Zanzibar on their return to 
the coast, less such advance in kind as they may draw from their 
leader along the road. In addition, they get a regular allowance of 
two yards of white calico per seven days, each man, as barter with 
which to obtain food.

The organization and start of such a party took some time, and parties 
of from 100 to 300 were dispatched along the road as things were 
ready, until, when I started with the final rear guard, we had on the 
road over 900 of these porters, with their headmen and petty officers, 
all under complete organization.

The first start of the boat-section carts was the scene of apparent 
disaster. The men, wild with excitement and uniting their shouts with 
those of onlookers, were beyond all restraint for the moment, and as 
they rounded a sharp turn to get out of the village of Saadani, over 
went the carts, one after the other, on their sides; and it was some 
time before I could train the men to steer more carefully or to move 
gently down a declivity. In time, however, the whole thing worked 
well. The fore compartment of the boat, going stem first, often forced 
its own way through masses of brush and creeper, helping to clear the 
way for the narrower sections, whose carts insinuated themselves 
through surprisingly small gaps. The men themselves were most zealous 
in the service, and as we emerged from lengthy stretches of jungle, 
ascended steep river banks, or jolted whole days over rugged stony 
places unharmed, we made up our minds that, these carts would "go 
anywhere." In twenty days we reached Upwapwa, 200 miles from the 
coast, and joined an advance party awaiting us; and after a few days 
rest and reorganization, we started once more westward.

The first village beyond, in the country of Ugogo, was thirty miles 
off. The first day was a comparatively easy march to a watering place, 
but the next two days gave us tough work. The thick, tangled, thorny 
scrub became quite dense, and for those two days we had to cut our way 
through it foot by foot. Hour {245} after hour the twang of the 
sword-bayonets and the thud of the axes were almost the only sounds to 
be heard till the train of carts moved slowly on as the way was 
opened. Toward evening of the second day we followed a narrow pass 
along the side of a rocky river bed, stout, inflexible trunks and 
branches here projecting into our path. On some of these ebony bars 
the axes resounded as on an anvil, and they yielded only to the more 
patient saw. As the sun descended we began to flag, but help was at 
hand; for a party coming back to us from the camp ahead with food and 
water, we picked up strength and spirit and reached camp late in the 
evening.

The level plains of Ugogo, which here represent the flat, open step or 
terrace to which I have referred in the general description of Africa, 
enabled us to make a week or so of splendid and comfortable marches. 
Ugogo passed, there lay before us the much-dreaded wilderness, 
so-called, of the Magunda-Mkali, separated from Ugogo by a steep, 
rocky ascent, which we could only tackle one cart at a time, and we 
soon came to a point so rugged with broken rocks that we could proceed 
no further; but the sections were unlashed, the carts taken to pieces, 
and all handed or dragged across the difficult place and put together 
again beyond. Over the scrubby, rugged hill and dale of Magunda-Mkali, 
without inhabitants, 20 to 25 miles a day was often made; every man 
knew the necessity of pushing on for food and water, and the danger, 
from wild beasts or wandering highwaymen, of lagging in the rear.

On, on, went the novel train, through weary miles of forest, across 
the scorched plain, rattling over the hard sun-baked footprints of the 
elephant and rhinoceros; on through grassy glades where the nimble 
antelope bounded, scared out of our path, and the zebra and giraffe 
were startled by the rattling of these strange disturbers of their 
solitude; on still, through miles of swamp, with its croaking legions; 
on through scenes of surpassing beauty, bright flowers and gleaming 
birds and butterflies; on past the bleaching bones of other travelers 
waylaid or exhausted, till the sun creeps up high overhead and eager 
glances are cast at green spots where water once had been; on, till 
the pace grows slow with weariness and thirst, and still on, till it 
revives again as the welcome messenger from the front appears in sight 
with water or the camp-fires tell of food and rest.

Completing this difficult section of the journey and mounting {246} to 
the beautiful forests and numerous villages of Unyamwesi, we had 
arrived upon the central heights of the continent, which everything 
around us bespoke its best part; the clearer, more healthy air, the 
rich land, the open forests, the numerous and industrious people, all 
spoke eloquently of a better and brighter state of things in the 
interior of Africa than on its outside.

At Urambo we elicited the pleased surprise of our friend, the famous 
chief Mirambo. Said Mirambo, laying his hand emphatically on one of 
the boat sections, "This boat and these carts are mine, and all 
Unyamwesi is yours." It was his way of expressing sympathy and 
admiration of what he considered to be a very wonderful enterprise, 
and we left him pondering more deeply than ever on the doings of the 
"white men."

The rains were now at hand and the country rich and verdant; we 
hastened on with all speed possible to enable us to cross the 
Malagarasi river before it should be too swollen. Emerging from 
elevated forest land to a view of the valley of the river, it appears 
like a vast level expanse of harmless grass, but the swift river is 
flowing in the bottom. The toll required by the natives being paid, we 
descended to the river through the thick grass. We crossed the river 
in tiny dug-out or bark canoes managed by the natives. One old man, a 
leader among these ferrymen, we had especial cause to notice; we 
called him "the old admiral." He wore a curious skull cap apparently 
made of bladder, and presented a most odd appearance. To him we paid a 
special fee of propitiation for the boatmen. As we proceeded down 
toward the river the first sign of it among the long grass was quiet 
shallow water on the path; this grew deeper and deeper as we walked on 
until we were immersed to the armpits, the grass rising avenue-like 
overhead. We emerged upon a small island or rising ground, and the 
river proper was before us. On this little eminence stood "the old 
admiral" superintending all. The porters and their ordinary loads all 
crossed in the usual way, two or three at a time in the little canoes. 
The two large carts, with the bow and stern compartments of the boats, 
were floated along the watery avenue by the buoyancy of their 
tank-like loads; the others came, sections and carts, separately. The 
fare for each load was one yard of calico, but when the carts appeared 
there was general astonishment among the ferrymen, who showed signs of 
clearing off altogether; "the old admiral" alone was unmoved; his 
stolid countenance showed no sign, but a deep bass growl, {247} "Eight 
yards, eight yards for these!" expressed at once his nonchalance and 
his determination; and eight yards we had to pay. All was safely got 
over in a day. Two of the bark canoes were lashed together with poles 
across, and one section or one cart at a time laid on top, and thus 
all was carried across.

Obstacles which further back would have been regarded as great 
hindrances were now made little of; success seemed assured to all, and 
the men even began to rehearse their triumphal entry into Ujiji. One 
more difficult river, the Lusugi, we had to cross. We reached its 
banks, down a rocky descent, late one night in a heavy fall of rain. 
We waited an hour or two next morning till the river had somewhat 
subsided, and then commenced work. Two or three volunteers swam across 
with a stout rope, which was then hauled tight across the stream. The 
porters, holding this rope in one hand, slowly but surely made their 
way across. Then the carts and sections were attached to a block 
running on the rope, and so, carefully attended by two or three men, 
were floated over in safety.

Ujiji was now only a few marches ahead. The view of the lake was 
caught at last, a narrow strip of its waters gleaming in the sun in 
the distance, and next morning we slowly marched into Ujiji in a 
compact body. The boat was duly launched and has now been for years at 
work on Lake Tanganyika in the cause of civilization and Christianity.

The _completion_ of this journey, however, was but the _commencement_ 
of a still larger enterprise in the region reached. Stations were 
established among the tribes on the lake shores; a larger vessel, with 
steam power, was built and launched on the lake, and a substantial 
mission was established and is still at work at a point which is only 
400 miles from that point on the Congo river accessible to the 
steamers of the missions there.

       *       *       *       *       *

All the work I have described was done at the expense of the London 
Missionary Society.


{248}


REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON EXPLORATION IN ALASKA.

(_Accepted April 3, 1891_.)


_Washington, D. C., April 3, 1891_.

TO THE BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY,
  _Washington, D. C._

_Gentlemen_: Your Committee, instructed "to consider the advisability 
of further Alaskan exploration by the Society this year and if deemed 
advisable, to consider and report upon ways and means for 
accomplishing it," respectfully submit the following report:

The general question of desirability has been decided affirmatively by 
the Board of Managers; it therefore is inferred that the question of 
advisability may be taken as involved in that of ways and means.

In outlining a plan of work, concerning which such inquiry is to be 
made, it has been found necessary, in the lack of formulated opinion 
by the Society, to make assumptions as to what should be its purpose 
and policy in undertaking exploration. It is assumed tentatively that 
in order best to further the object for which the Society is 
organized, namely, "the increase and diffusion of geographic 
knowledge," the aim in exploration should be not so much to promote 
the growth of science as to diffuse a general interest in geographic 
work in its several departments, and, adhering to the principle of 
attractiveness, to increase the sum of knowledge by discovery and by 
the addition of general and elementary facts rather than by detailed 
investigation, for appreciation of which scientific training must be 
presupposed. It is furthermore believed that the policy of the Society 
should be to invite coöperation, offering opportunity at the same time 
for special study in related sciences; to effect the organization and 
devise the plan, and itself to take part directly in field work only 
so far as may be necessary to initiate and promote it.

Your Committee find that apparently it will be practicable, {249} with 
coöperation, for the Society to extend this year the exploration work 
of last year in the vicinity of Mount St. Elias. Specifically it is 
recommended that the plan be to determine directly, from a long base 
line near the coast, the height of the mountain, to ascend it, to 
observe systematically the unique phenomena of physical geography of 
the Malaspina glacier from Icy bay to the initial point of last year's 
exploration, and to explore the Seward glacier to its head if deemed 
advisable after the ascent of the peak.

In view of the fact that it is the purpose of the Coast and Geodetic 
Survey to carry the international boundary survey into this region 
within one or two years, it is considered inexpedient for the Society 
to undertake extended topographic work. It is, however, submitted, as 
a principle which this Society should emphasize in projecting 
exploration, that facts of physical geography have minimum value and 
may lead to false conclusions unless correlated through their space 
relations; and it is recommended that the expedition aim always to 
employ such means as may be practicable for making record of its 
course and of its observations in approximate geometric relation to 
surroundings.

Conditional offers of coöperation have been made by the Revenue Marine 
Service, the Geological Survey, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the 
Century Company of New York. Transportation from Seattle to Alaska and 
return, it is thought, may be secured on the steamer Corwin, and that 
vessel's commander, Captain Hooper, has expressed a desire to extend 
his coast-line exploration of last year by making a survey of 
Disenchantment bay. The Geological Survey offers to detail Mr. Russell 
to conduct the expedition, and to bear the expense of a number of 
field hands and of their equipment. The Coast and Geodetic Survey has 
expressed a desire to aid, if practicable, by beginning boundary work 
in the same field this year, and incidentally to do other surveying 
with special relation to the work of the expedition. The Century 
Company offers to send an artist experienced in Alpine work and to pay 
the greater portion of his expenses. The opportunity for study of the 
fauna and flora of the region it is thought should not be neglected.

The cost to the Society, wholly in items of field expense otherwise 
unprovided for, which may be considered as the cost of enabling the 
combination to work as one organization, is estimated at $500.

{250} The expedition should leave Seattle in the latter part of May, 
aiming to reach Icy bay by the first of June, and field work should 
close by the end of September.

Your committee consider further exploration in Alaska by the Society 
this year as practicable, and recommend that the proposed expedition 
be authorized, and that Mr. Russell be at once invited to organize and 
conduct it, under the auspices of the Society.

Very respectfully,

  G. K. GILBERT,
  EVERETT HAYDEN,
  WILLARD D. JOHNSON,
    _Committee on Exploration_.




NOTES.


_La Carte de France, dite de l'Etat Major, par M. J. Collet. Paris, 
1887. 8vo, pp. 92, with 4 plates._--This pamphlet describes the great 
"Staff Map" of France, recently completed, giving its history, the 
methods employed in the field and office work, the contents of the 
map, and the means of representing the various features therein 
described. The scale of the map is 1:80,000. Relief is represented by 
hachures, for drawing which approximate contour lines have been 
located, but these are not otherwise used. A great variety of cultural 
features are shown, many of which are ephemeral, and which contribute 
to the overloading of the map with details. Moreover, as the time 
which has ordinarily elapsed between the survey and the issuance of 
the work in printed form is ten or twelve years, most of this culture 
has become not only of no value but misleading by the time it is 
published.

The account of the organization and methods by which the map has been 
produced is of special interest. The primary triangulation upon which 
it is based is one of the most elaborate and accurate ever executed in 
any country. No expense has been spared in this direction. Within this 
triangulation is a secondary triangulation, also very elaborate, from 
the stations of which numerous additional points are cut in, or 
located by unclosed triangles. All this work is of the highest order 
of excellence, being infinitely more accurate than the map requires. 
{251} With this, however, the accuracy appears to end. The detail 
consists of the map, or the map proper, little more than a compilation 
of commune cadastral plans. These were fitted to the triangulation 
points and to one another, a process which appears to have been by no 
means easy of satisfactory accomplishment. This adjustment having been 
completed, the culture was brought up to date of survey and a survey 
was made of the relief features by the use of such inferior 
instruments as the clinometer compass and chain.

The principal and obvious criticism upon such work is that it is 
top-heavy. The triangulation is far more elaborate than is required, 
while the provision for making the map itself is by no means 
comparable with it: it is as far below the requirements of the scale 
as the triangulation is above it.

This leads up to a broader proposition, which may be stated thus: That 
the general tendency of surveying organizations is in the direction 
illustrated by that of the "French Staff." Organized originally for 
map-making, they progress little by little in the direction of 
devoting their energies to geodetic work, while at the same time the 
topographic work proper, for which they were created, is belittled and 
neglected. As a consequence the latter depreciates in quality and 
diminishes in quantity; the main purpose of the organization is lost, 
and a mere means becomes the ultimate end of the work. This tendency 
should be recognized in map-making organizations. The weakness of our 
modern maps is seldom in the primary control. It is easy to do 
triangulation of sufficient accuracy for the control of maps upon such 
scales as that above considered, little knowledge or experience being 
required beyond that gained at our engineering schools; while the more 
accurate triangulation, generally known as geodetic work, requires 
merely better instruments, more time, and more experienced observers.

The weak features of maps are generally the details, the part of the 
work that, strange to say, is usually relegated to the lowest grade of 
professional men. This weakness consists in an insufficiency of minor 
locations for the control of the sketch and in unfaithful sketching. 
It is the sketching that requires the most careful attention and the 
best and most experienced men. The instrumental portion of the work is 
the least difficult; the artistic portion, or sketching, is the most 
difficult. It would seem more logical and would doubtless produce 
better results to reverse the {252} usual order of promotion and place 
the topographer above the triangulator. Moreover, the triangulation 
should be regarded as merely a means for the correction of the 
sketching, and it should be required only that it be of sufficiently 
high grade to meet this condition. The minor locations should be 
sufficiently numerous and well distributed to fully control and 
correct the sketching; and finally the sketching should be as faithful 
a representation of the topography as is consistent with the necessary 
generalization of the surface features.

H. G.

       *       *       *       *       *

_Polar Regions_.--The _Societe de Geographie_ of Paris in its 
Proceedings publishes the following communication from M. Ch. Rabot on 
the new Danish expedition engaged in the exploration of the eastern 
coast of Greenland, under the command of Lieutenant Ryder, of the 
royal Danish navy. The expedition has in view the examination of the 
unknown coast between Franz-Josef fiord, in latitude 73°, and the most 
northerly point reached by Commander Holm and Lieutenant Garde, about 
latitude 66°. Lieutenant Ryder left Copenhagen June 7, 1891, in the 
Norwegian whaler _Hekla_, which had been chartered by the Danish 
government. The first ice was met on the 20th, in latitude 68° 12', 
longitude 13° 05' west. Unable to pass through the pack to the 
Greenland shore after several attempts, the ship proceeded northward, 
and in the vicinity of Jan Mayen made soundings and successful 
dredgings. Several attempts to reach the coast of Greenland were made 
from the 75th parallel southward, but without success up to July 2, 
when the _Hekla_ was in latitude 71° 31', longitude 6° 30' west. Since 
that date there has been no direct news, but on July 26, in latitude 
72° 40', longitude 14° 25' west, the English whaler _Active_ saw the 
_Hekla_ a few miles to the northeast, heading to the south-southwest. 
On August 2 the _Active_, in latitude 71° 40', approached within 12 
miles of the coast, and on August 20, in 70° 30', was within 7 miles 
of the mainland. In both instances the intervening sea was free of 
ice. The English captain believes that the _Hekla_ made the eastern 
coast in about 71° 30'. The _Hekla_ is provisioned for the winter, and 
there is a prospect of marked success by the Danish officers in their 
undertaking.

       *       *       *       *       *

{253} _The Crossing of Tibet_.--The explorations of Mr. Rockhill in 
Tibet and his renewed attempt to reach Lassa, the "holy city" of that 
country, creates an unusual interest for Americans in the account of 
the crossing of Tibet by M. G. Bonvalot, Prince Henri d'Orleans, and 
P. Dedeken, published in the last Bulletin of the Paris Geographical 
Society.

Six days' journey from Moscow brought the party through Russia and 
Turkestan to Kouldja (45° N., 41° W.), in extreme western Mongolia. 
Having obtained authority from the Chinese governor of the province to 
proceed, the party, aggregating 15 in number, left that place 
September 12, 1889, with Batang, China, as an objective point. On 
October 5, after a journey of about 450 miles, during which they 
crossed the Thian-chan ("heavenly") mountains by Narat pass, they 
camped at Korla, near Bagratch-koul. Here they were warned that they 
could proceed no farther, and the governor of Ili sent an order to 
arrest them. The mandarin and other local authorities did not, 
however, actively oppose their departure, which took place during the 
night of October 10, the party then consisting of 20 horsemen and 40 
pack-animals. On October 28 they reached Kara-douran, the western end 
of Lob-nor. A side trip by d'Orleans and Dedeken to Lob-nor proved it 
to be no longer a lake but a series of swamps and sandy islands, with 
the water nowhere more than four feet deep. Meantime Bonavolot 
accumulated supplies and replaced from the hardy Mongols the more 
timid among their camp-followers, the party being reduced to seven, 
with a few extra men for a short distance.

Quitting Tcharkalik on November 17, they followed the route taken by 
Carey; but on the advice of the natives they resolved after crossing 
the Altyn-tagh to go directly southward instead of turning eastward, 
and thus to attempt a new route, on which they were beset by the usual 
physical discomforts attendant on travel at great elevations. On these 
mountain ranges they saw only wild sheep, blue hares, wild horses, 
crows and partridges. On December 5, just south of a large salt lake 
(Ouzoun-tchour), they, saw a caravan of Kalmouk pilgrims returning 
from Lassa by an unknown route, which they refused to make known, and 
decided to temporarily abandon their idea of reaching Batang and 
instead to go direct to Lassa by retracing the caravan trail. From 
this point (about 38° 30' N. and 87° 30' W.) they proceeded directly 
southward. The region penetrated was unknown, the winds {254} violent 
the entire day, the desert treeless and without water, the route lined 
with the carcasses of camels and their drivers, the only fuel the dung 
of wandering yaks or caravan camels, and the trail so indistinct that 
at times they marched by compass. The elevation gradually and steadily 
increased to 15,000 and even 16,500 feet; the mountain fever became 
worse, the storms more violent and continuous, and the temperature 
ranged from 7° (-14° C.), with wind, at midday to 30° below zero 
(-33° C.) at night. One by one their horses and camels died, and also 
an old Kirgese who followed them. Extensive glaciers were passed, from 
which flow on the one side the Salouen and Mekong into Indian ocean, 
and on the other the Yang-tse to China sea. On January 8, 1890, they 
skirted a large unfrozen lake named Montcalm, 50 miles long by 12 
miles wide, and on January 14 traversed Duplex pass, 20,000 feet 
elevation. On the 31st they finally ran across a man, a wild Tibetan, 
small, thin, with enormous lips, long knotted hair, clothed in 
sheepskin and armed with a saber and flint-lock gun, whom they called 
"appa" (father); he knew neither Chinese nor Mogul, but spoke Tibetan 
of which the travelers knew scarcely a dozen words. Other Tibetans, 
with flocks of sheep, soon appeared and sold them mutton, a little 
salt, and rancid butter, and then followed on horseback for fifteen 
days without losing sight of the explorers. Often they were counseled 
in Mogul by those in authority to turn back.

In the middle of February they reached lake Nam-tso ("heaven"), or 
Tengri-nor, a large frozen body of water. Out of 40 camels only 15 
remained, and, of 20 horses but one survived; three of the party of 
seven were in desperate state of health, while all were worn out and 
almost without provisions. They were finally obliged to stop in a 
mountain pass of the Nindjin-tangla, which led directly to Lassa, then 
not more than sixty miles distant. On February 17 the Tibetan 
authorities sent a large party to meet them and ask their intentions. 
Mistaken for Russians, it took 13 days to convince the authorities 
that they were French. They received presents from the authorities and 
obtained costumes from Lassa, but found it impossible to visit the 
"holy city." After 49 days of negotiation, on April 5, provided with 
arms, provisions and horses, and also a safe permit from the Talia 
lama to cross Tibet to Batang by an unknown route, they started 
eastward, on a course nearly {255} parallel to and north of Salouen 
river, reaching Sô and once again seeing houses on April 15. They 
arrived at Batang early in June, their route some distance west of it 
having joined the Imperial highway from Pekin to Lassa over which 
l'Abbe Huc travelled. From Tatsien-lou, where the French Tibetan 
mission is located, their route turned southward to Red river, which 
was reached, at Manhoau, on September 21, when their journey 
practically ended, as Hanoai was reached two days later.

An excellent map of the itinerary, by Prince Henri, accompanies the 
article.

A. W. G.

       *       *       *       *       *

_Third Annual Report on the Statistics of Railways in the United 
States to the Interstate Commerce Commission, for the year ending 
June 30, 1890_: Washington, Government Printing Office, 1891 (advance 
copy, pp. 1-100).--This pamphlet, by Professor Henry C. Adams, is 
issued in advance of the full report, which is promised to comprise 
about 875 pages. It contains a summary, digest and discussion of the 
full report.

It appears that the total railroad mileage on June 30, 1890, was 
163,597, an increase of 5,838 miles during the year. The increase came 
mainly from southeastern and western states. This mileage was owned by 
1,797 distinct corporate bodies, but entirely controlled in one way or 
another by only 747 companies. To illustrate the extent to which 
consolidation of railroad property has gone, it may be stated that 
47.5 per cent of all railroad mileage is controlled by but forty 
companies, and that 65.4 per cent is controlled by seventy-five 
companies. The greatest mileage controlled by one company is 6,053, 
operated by the Southern Pacific company.

The total capital and bonded debt of railroad companies was 
$9,871,378,389, or $60,340 per mile. Stock and bonds were about equal 
in amount. Mr. Adams estimates the value of railroad property by 
capitalizing at 5 per cent the dividends and interest on bonds paid 
during the year, reaching as a result $6,627,461,140, or about 2/3 of 
the nominal capital and bonded debt. The justice of this method may 
fairly be questioned. A comparison of the ruling prices of 
dividend-paying stocks with the rate per cent of the dividend shows 
that 5 per cent stocks are above par and that 4 per cent stocks 
average nearly par. {256} Moreover, it is well known that many 
railroads are built and operated, not for their own immediate earnings 
but to give value to other property of the companies, notably to 
lands, from the sale or lease of which the companies derive profits. 
Again, many railroads are built, not for present but for future 
profits, after they shall have induced settlement of their territory; 
and, furthermore, numerous branch roads have been built as defensive 
measures to prevent rivals from occupying territory; and in many cases 
earnings are used in betterment of property instead of distributing it 
as dividends. In all these cases the roads have value, although they 
are not paying dividends.

Taking all these matters into account, it does not appear that the 
railroad stocks of the country have, collectively, been watered to any 
great extent, if by "watering" is meant expanding nominal values above 
actual values.

Concerning dividends paid on stock, Mr. Adams presents a table showing 
that 63.76 per cent of all stock paid no dividends; that but 6.47 per 
cent paid less than 4 per cent; that 25.26 per cent paid from 4 to 8 
per cent, the remainder paying above 8 per cent. It appears that in 
the northeastern states much the highest dividends were paid, while in 
the west, so far as dividends are concerned, the stockholders have to 
wait for future developments.

The total passenger mileage for the year was 11,847,785,617, a slight 
increase over the previous year. The total freight mileage was 
76,207,047,298, an increase of nearly 10 per cent over that of the 
previous year. The gross earnings of the year were $1,051,877,632, and 
the operating expenses $692,093,971, leaving as the income from 
operations $359,783,661. The income from other sources was 
$126,767,064, and the total deductions from income were $384,792,138, 
leaving as the net income $101,758,587, out of which there was paid as 
dividends on stock $89,688,204.

The magnitude of the railway interests of the country is set forth in 
the above enormous figures. It is still further emphasized by the fact 
that nearly three-quarters of a million men are in the employ of this 
industry. Assuming that each such employé supports two others besides 
himself, it is seen that the railroad interest supports two and a 
quarter millions, or more than one thirtieth of the inhabitants of the 
country.

H. G.


{257}


INDEX.


ABBE, CLEVELAND, cited on isostaths, 43
--, Record of communication by, viii
-- -- -- discussion by, viii

ABORIGINES of South America, 7

ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Russian, Quotation from records of, 212

ADAMS, HENRY C., Review of report on railway operations by, 255

ADELUNG, J. C., Geographic work by, 211
--, Quotation from, on de l'Isle's map, 212, 213, 214

ADMIRALTY BAY, 56

AFRICA, Area of, 32
--, Conquest and division of, 31
--, Natural divisions of, 238
--, Population of, 238
-- (The Heart of); E. C. Hore, 238

AGASSIZ GLACIER, Ascent of, 147
-- -- named, 73

AGE of St. Elias range, 175

ALASKA (An expedition to Mount St. Elias,); I. C. Russell, 53
--, Boundaries of, 237
--, Early works concerning, 206
--, Report of committee on exploration in, 248

ALLEN, JAMES, cited on isostaths, 44

ALPENSTOCKS, Necessity for, 165

ALPINE glaciers, 176, 180

ALTON, EDMUND, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

ALVORD, H. E., Remarks by, at field meeting, x

AMAZON, Discovery of the, 11
--, Sketch of the, 4

AMENDMENT to by-laws proposed, xii

ANDES, General description of the, 1

ANEMOMETER formula devised by C. F. Marvin, 49

ANGOT, A., Reference to work of, 46

ANTIQUITIES of Peru, 8

ARCHANGELICA, Mention of, 89, 114

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, Sketch of, 19

ASIA, Exploration in, 253

ATREVIDA, Mention of the, 63, 92, 105

AURIFEROUS sands from Yakutat bay, 196

AVALANCHES, 145, 155


BAIE DE MONTI, 56
-- named by La Pérouse, 60

BAKER, MARCUS, cited on early eclipses, 220
-- -- -- Mount St. Elias, 232
--, Explorations by, 70, 72
--, Reference to bibliography by, 58
--, Record of discussion by, viii, ix

BASE LINE, Measurement of, 86

BATES, H. W., Quotation from, on South America, 29

BEAR, Meeting with the, 94, 109

BELCHER, SIR EDWARD, Explorations by, 68, 69

BELL, A. GRAHAM, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

BELL, CHARLES J., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

BELLIN, S., Geographic work by, 207

BERING BAY, Mention of, 56

BERING'S first voyage (The cartography and observations of); A. W.
      Greely, 205
-- provisions, 219

BERING, VITUS, Explorations by, 58

BERG, M., cited on thunderstorms, 44

BIEN, MORRIS, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

BIGELOW, F. H., Record of communication by, viii

BIRNIE, JR., ROGERS, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

BLACK GLACIER, Brief account of, 101, 104

BLODGETT, J. H., Record of discussion by, vii, ix

BLOSSOM ISLAND, Description of, 113, 122

BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES, Institution of the, 39

BONVALOT, G., Crossing of Tibet by, 253

BOURSIN, HENRY, Mention of, 79

BRAZIL, Revolution in, 36
--, Sketch of, 17

BROKA, GEORGE, Explorations by, 73, 74

BUACHE, PHILLIPE, Geographic work by, 208

BUCHAN, ALEX., Reference to work of, 44

BUCKLE, SIR HENRY, Quotation from, on tropical America, 29

BY-LAWS, Proposed amendment to the, xii


CAMP hands, 166

CARPENTER, Z. T., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

CARTOGRAPHY, Discussion of, 251
-- (The) and Observations of Bering's First Voyage; A. W. Greely, 205

CASCADE GLACIER named, 144

CENTURY COMPANY, Offer of coöperation by, 249

CHAIX HILLS named, 73

CHARIOT, THE, Mention of, 140

CHATHAM, Mention of, 66

CHERIKOF, ALEXEI, Explorations of, 58

CHINA, Exploration in, 253

CHRISTIE, J. H., Member of expedition, 76
--, Work of, 82, 83, 84, 96, 103, 112, 113, 123, 162

CLIMATE of South America, 6

CLOVER, RICHARDSON, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY, Explorations by, 70, 72
--, Offer of coöperation by, 249

COLD WAVES, Prediction of, 51

COLLETT, M. J., Review of map described by, 250

COMMERCE of South America, 17, 19, 23

COOK, CAPTAIN JAMES, Explorations of, 58

CORDILLERAS of South America, 1

CORWIN CLIFFS, Mention of, 138

CORWIN (The) in Disenchantment bay, 100
-- Return of the, 163

CREVASSES, 181, 182
-- at Pinnacle pass, 130

CROSS SOUND, visited by Vancouver's expedition, 67

CRUMBACK, J. H., Member of expedition, 76
--, Work of, 96, 103, 122, 125, 129, 131, 135, 137

CURTIS, W. E., Record of communication by, xi

CYCLONES, Theory of, 42


DAGELET, M., Mention of, 60

DAHLGREN, ULRICA, Presentation of flag by, viii

{258}

DALL, W. H., cited on Bering's first voyage, 205
-- -- -- -- supplies, 219
-- -- -- de l'Isle's map, 218
-- -- -- early eclipses, 219
-- -- -- Mount St. Elias, 231
--, Explorations by, 70, 72
--, Quotation from, on map by de l'Isle, 207
--, Record of discussion by, vii
--, Reference to bibliography by, 58

DALTON, JOHN, Glacier named for, 98
--, Mention of, 73

D'ANVILLE, M., cited on early eclipses, 229

DAVIS, W. M., Reference to meteorologic review by, 47

DEDEKEN, P., Crossing of Tibet by, 253

DEFINITION of formations in St. Elias region, 167

DEKALB, COURTENAY, Record of communication by, ix

DE L'ISLE, J. N., Authenticity of map by, 211, 213
--, Geographic work by, 206
--, Map by, 207
--, Quotation from, on eclipses, 220

DE MONTI BAY, Arrival at, 79

DESCUBIERTA (The), Mention of, 63

DESENGAÑO BAY, named by Malaspina, 63

DEVIL'S CLUB (_Panax horridum_), Mention of, 95, 115

DIGGES' SOUND, named by Vancouver, 68

DILLER, J. S., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

DIP at Pinnacle pass, 140

DISCOVERY (The), Mention of, 66

DISENCHANTMENT BAY, Canoe trip in, 96, 103
--, Last view of, 163
--, Mention of, 56
--, visited by Malaspina, 63, 64

DIXON, CAPTAIN GEORGE, Explorations of, 60, 62

DOBBINS, J. W., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

DOBBS, ARTHUR, Geographic work by, 210

DOME PASS named, 146

DONEY, L. S., Member of expedition, 76
--, Work of, 85, 158, 159, 160, 162

D'ORLEANS, PRINCE HENRI, Crossing of Tibet by, 253

DOUGLASS, E. M., Record of discussion by, xi

DOUGLASS, CAPTAIN, Explorations of, 62

DRY BAY, Mention of, 55

DU BOCAGE, BARBIC, Geographic work by, 211
--, Quotation from, on de l'Isle's map, 216

DU FOSSE, E., cited on early publications, 207

DU HALDE, PÈRE, Geographic work by, 206
--, Quotation from, on de l'Isle's map, 218


EARTHQUAKES, South American, 2

ECLIPSES, Early, observed in Kamshatka, 219, 229

EIFFEL TOWER, Use of, in meteorology, 46

EKHOLM, NILS, cited on isostaths, 43

ELDORADO, Early accounts of, 14

ELECTION of officers, xii

ESPERANZA, POINT, Mention of, 14, 85

EXPEDITION (An) to Mount St. Elias, Alaska; I. C. Russell, 53

EXPLORATION in Alaska, 248


FARENHOLT, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER O. F., of U. S. S. _Pinta_, 79

FAULTED pebble from Pinnacle pass, 171

FAULTS 83, 136
--, Thrust, in Hitchcock range, 118

FERREL, WILLIAM, cited on cyclones, 42
--, Reference to treatise by, 47

FINLEY, J. P., Reference to work of, 50

FLORAL HILLS, Brief account of, 105, 108

FLORAL PASS, Brief account of, 105, 108, 110

FORMATIONS of the St. Elias region, 167

FOSSILS at Pinnacle pass, 140
--, Description of, of Yakutat system, 172

FOSSIL PLANTS, Report on, by Lester F. Ward, 199, 200

FRANCE, Review of Staff Map of, 250


GABBRO on the Marvine glacier, 123

GALIANO, DON DIONISIO ALCALA, Mention of, 63

GALIANO GLACIER, Visit to, 89, 90

GANNETT, HENRY, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
--, Instructions from, 194
--, Review of railway operations by, 255
-- -- -- Staff Map of France, by, 250

GANNETT, S. S., Computation of height of Mount St. Elias, by, 235

GEOGRAPHIC names, Board of, 39

GEOGRAPHY of the Air; A. W. Greely, 41
-- -- -- Land; H. G. Ogden, 31

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, Acknowledgments to, 40
--, Instructions from, 192, 193, 194
--, Offer of coöperation by, 249

GEOLOGY of the St. Elias region, 167, 174, 190, 191

GILBERT, G. K., Instructions from, 192, 193
--, Record of discussion by, vii, ix, x
--, Remarks by, at field meeting, x
--, Report on exploration by, 250

GLACIAL currents, 187
-- river, Example of, 183
-- streams, 183, 184

GLACIER BAY, Mention of, 67

GLACIERS in Disenchantment bay in 1792, 64, 65, 97
-- -- -- -- observed by Malaspina, 64, 65
-- -- -- -- -- -- Puget, 67, 68
-- of the St. Elias region, 176
-- west of Icy bay, 187

GRACE, M. P., Financial operations by, 23

GREELY, A. W., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
-- cited on Mississippi floods, 38
--; Geography of the Air, 41
--, Note by, on polar regions, 252
-- -- -- -- the crossing of Tibet, 253
--, Record of communication by, vii, viii, xi
--; The Cartography and Observations of Bering's First Voyage, 205

GUIANA, Sketch of, 13

GUIDES, Use of, in ascending St. Elias, 166

GUYOT GLACIER named, 73


HAENKE, D. TADEO, Haenke island named for, 65

HAENKE ISLAND, Condition of, when seen by Malaspina, 63, 64, 65, 97
--, Visit to, 96, 103

HANN, JULIUS, cited on cyclones, 42

HAYDEN, DR. F. V., Glacier named for, 108

HAYDEN, EVERETT, Contributions to exploration fund by, 75
--, Record of discussion by, vii, viii, ix, xi
--, Report on exploration by, 250

HAYDEN GLACIER, Brief account of, 108, 110, 111

HAYS, J. W., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

HAZEN, H. A., Reference to work of, 50

HEIGHT and position of St. Elias, 189, 190

HENDRIKSEN, REVEREND CARL J., Mention of, 80, 83

HILL, S. A., Reference to work of, 47

HILL, R. T., Record of communication by, xiii

HITCHCOCK, PROFESSOR EDWARD, Range named for, 112

HITCHCOCK RANGE, Brief account of, 112
-- from Pinnacle pass, 133
--, Structure of, 118

{259}

HOOGEWERFF, J. A., Record of communication by, viii

HOOPER, CAPTAIN C. L., Navigation of Disenchantment bay, 56, 100
--, Offer of coöperation by, 249

HORE, E. C., Record of address by, vii
--; The Heart of Africa, 238

HOSMER, E. S., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
--, Return of, 83
--, Volunteer assistant, 76

HOTCHKISS, JED., Record of communication by, ix, x
--, Testimonial to, x

HOVEY, H. C., Record of communication by, x
--, Remarks by, at field meeting, x

HOWELL, E. E., Record of communication by, xi

HUBBARD, GARDINER G., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
--, Glacier named for, 99
--, Presentation of flag by, viii
--, Record of presidential address by, xiii
--; South America: Annual address by the President, 1

HUBBARD GLACIER, Brief description of, 99

HUC, L'ABBÉ, Route of, 255

HUGHES, T. MCKENNEY, Record of communication by, x


ICEBERGS, Formation of, 98, 99, 101, 102
-- in Yakutat bay, Description of, 87

ICE tunnels, 184

INCAS of Peru, 8

INDIANS of South America, 7

INSTRUCTIONS from Geological Survey, 192, 193, 194
-- -- National Geographic Society, 194

IRVING, PROFESSOR R. D., Mountain named for, 144


JACKSON, SHELDON, Record of discussion by, ix

JOHNSON, J. B., Record of discussion by, xi

JOHNSON, WILLARD D., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
--, Exploration planned by, 75
--, Record of discussion by, vii
--, Report on exploration by, 250

JUDD, J. G., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

JUNGEN, ENSIGN C. W., Mention of, 81


KAMSHATKA, Cartography of, 217
--, Early eclipses in, 219, 229

KERR, MARK B., assigned as an assistant, 75
-- cited on Mount St. Elias, 39
--, Report on topographic work by, 195

KHANTAAK ISLAND, Village on, 79, 80

KING, HARRY, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

KNAPP, HON. LYMAN E., Mention of, 79

KNIGHT ISLAND, Scenery near, 83
-- named by Puget, 68

KNOWLTON, F. H., Report on fossil plants, 199


LA BOUSSOLE, Mention of, 58

LAKE CASTANI named, 73

LAKELETS on the glaciers, 119, 120

LAKES, Abandoned beds of, near Blossom island, 116

LA PÉROUSE, J. F. S., Explorations of, 58, 60

LA PLATA river, Sketch of, 5

LASSA, recent attempt to reach, 253

L'ASTROLABE, Mention of, 58

LAURIDSEN, P., cited on early maps, 215
--, Quotation from, on de l'Isle's map, 217

LEACH, BOYNTON, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

LEVÉE systems of the Mississippi, 37

LIBBEY, PROFESSOR WILLIAM, Explorations by, 72, 73

LINDENKOHL, A., Computation of position of Mount St. Elias by, 235

LINDSLEY, W. L., Member of expedition, 76
--, Work of, 122, 131, 134, 135, 139, 144, 149, 150, 153, 157, 158,
      164

LITTLEHALES, G. W., Record of discussion by, vii

LITUYA BAY, Mention of, 55

LOB-NOR, Character of, 253

LOGAN, SIR W. E., Mountain named for, 141

LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY, Acknowledgments to, 247

LUCIA GLACIER, Brief account of, 92
-- --, Crossing of, 105, 106, 108, 109

LYNN CANAL, Mention of, 78


MALASPINA, ALEJANDRO, cited on Mount St. Elias, 231
--, Explorations of, 62, 66

MALASPINA GLACIER, Character of, 187
-- described and named, 71, 72
--, Excursion on, 120, 121, 162
-- from Blossom island, 118, 119
--, Mention of, 56

MALDONADO, Reference to, 62, 63

MAPS of Alaska, Rare, 206
-- (Staff) of France, Review of the, 250

MARVIN, C. F., Reference to work of, 48

MARVINE, A. R., Glacier named for, 112

MARVINE GLACIER, Account of, 112, 122, 124

MCCARTENEY, C. M., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

MCGEE, W J, Record of communication by, xiii
--, Record of discussion by, x, xi

MELVILLE, G. W., Record of communication by, viii

MENDENHALL, T. C., Record of discussion by, xi

METEOROLOGY, Condition of, 41

MEYER, HUGO, Reference to work of, 47

MIRAGE in Yakutat bay, 87

MISSISSIPPI RIVER, Flood of, 37

MONSOONS, Characteristics of, 47

MONGOLIA, Exploration in, 255

MOON, Mountains of the, 240

MORAINES, 195
--, Medial, on the Marvine glacier, 123
-- on the Malaspina glacier, 134
-- near Yakutat bay, 191

MOUNTAINS of South America, 1

MOUNT AUGUSTA, Avalanches on the sides of, 145
-- Elevation of, 117

MOUNT BERING, Height and condition of, 65

MOUNT COOK, Appearance of, 92
-- named, 72
--, Rocks composing, 92

MOUNT FAIRWEATHER, Height of, 69

MOUNT LOGAN named, 141

MOUNT MALASPINA, Elevation of, 117
-- named, 72

MOUNT NEWTON named, 146

MOUNT ST. ELIAS, Expedition to, 53
-- (see St. Elias, Mount).

MOUNT VANCOUVER named, 72

MUIR GLACIER, Visit to, 78, 79

MULGRAVE, LORD, Port Mulgrave named for, 60


NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, Instructions from, 194

NÉVÉ fields, 180, 181, 182

NEWELL, F. H., Record of communication by, xi

{260}

NEWTON GLACIER, Ascent of, 150

NEWTON, HENRY, Mountain named for, 146

NEW YORK TIMES, Expedition of the, 72, 73

NICARAGUA CANAL, Progress of the, 37

NOLIN, J. B., Geographic work by, 211

NOMENCLATURE, Geographic, 39

NORDHOFF, CHARLES, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

NORRIS GLACIER, Mention of, 78

NUNATAK in Lucia glacier, 106


OFFICERS, Election of, xii

OGDEN, H. G.; Geography of the Land, 31
--, Record of communication by, xi
--, Record of discussion by, viii, xi

OIL stoves, Use of, 164

OREL, Mention of the, 70

ORINOCO RIVER, Sketch of, 3

ORTHOGRAPHY of geographic names, 39

ORTON, JAMES, Quotation from, on South America, 28

OTKRYTIE, Mention of the, 69

OUTFIT necessary for Alaskan expeditions, 165


PANAX HORRIDUM, 95, 115

PAMPAS, Characteristics of, 19

PANAMA CANAL project, Revival of the, 37

PAN-AMERICAN congress, Work of the, 36
-- railway route, 27

PARTRIDGE, WILLAIM, Member of expedition, 76
--, Work of, 158, 159, 162

PARTSCH, DR., Reference to work of, 46

PEARY, R. E., Record of communication by, viii

PERU, Incas of, 8
--, Sketch of, 22

PHIPPS, C. J., Port Mulgrave named for, 60

PIEDMONT glaciers, Characteristics of, 122, 176, 185, 186
-- --, Example of, 120, 121
-- type of glaciers, Mention of, 57

PIMPLUNA rocks, Mention of, 70, 187

PINNACLE PASS cliffs, Account of, 132, 137
-- --, Height of, 137
-- --, View from, 132
--, Description of, 130, 132
-- named, 130

PINNACLE SYSTEM, Description of rocks of, 167
-- named, 131

PINTA, Mention of the, 79, 81

PIZARRO, GONZALO, Discovery of the Amazon by, 11

PLANTS on Blossom island, 114

POINT ESPERANZA, Camp at, 82, 84, 85

POINT GLORIOUS named, 137

POINT RIOU, Mention of, 69

POLAR regions, Recent work in, 252

POMORTSEW, DR., Reference to work of, 46

POPULATION of Africa, 238
-- of South America, 6, 15

PORT MULGRAVE, 56
-- named by Dixon, 60

POWELL, J. W., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
--, Record of communication by, viii
-- -- -- discussion by, x
-- -- -- introductory remarks by, xiii

POWELL, WILLIAM B., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

PUERTO DEL DESENGAÑO, Mention of, 56

PUGET, PETER, Explorations of, 66, 68

PYRAMID HARBOR, Mention of, 78


QUEEN CHARLOTTE, Mention of the, 60
--, Voyage on the, 78, 79


RABOT, CH., cited on polar exploration, 252

RAILROADS, South American, 25
--, Statistics of, 255

RALEIGH, SIR WALTER, Expeditions by, 14

RATIONS, 164

REPORT on sands from Yakutat bay by J. Stanley-Brown, 196

RESOLUTION relating to publication, xii

REVENUE MARINE SERVICE, Offer of coöperation by, 249

REYNOLDS, J. J., Remarks by, at field meeting, x

RIO DE LA PLATA, Sketch of, 5

RIVERS, Glacial, 183
-- of South America, 3

ROCKHILL, W. W., Reference to explorations by, 253

ROPE CLIFF named, 149

ROUTE (New), Suggested, 163, 164

RUSSELL, I. C.; An Expedition to Mount St. Elias, 53
-- cited on Mount St. Elias, 39
--, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75
--, Height and Position of Mount St. Elias, 231
--, Proposed exploration by, 249
--, Record of communication by, vii, xi
-- -- -- discussion by, vii, ix

RUSSELL, THOMAS, Acknowledgments to, 62
-- cited on cyclones, 43
--, Reference to work of, 51

RUSSIAN Academy of Sciences, Quotation from records of, 212

"RUSSIAN OFFICER," Geographic work by the, 209
--, Identity of the, 222
--, Quotation from the, on de l'Isle's map, 215, 217
-- -- -- -- -- -- writings, 221


SALMON fishing, 162

SANDS, Auriferous, from Yakutat bay, 196

SAN FRANCISCO RIVER, Sketch of, 5

SANGAI, Active vulcanism of, 2

SCHWATKA, LIEUTENANT FREDERICK, Explorations by, 72, 73

SERPENTINE on the Marvine glacier, 123

SETON-KARR, H. W., Explorations of, 72, 73

SEWARD GLACIER, Crevasses on, 133, 179, 180
--, Crossing of, 142
--, Description of, 177, 178, 179

SEWARD, HON. W. H., Glacier named for, 129

SHARP, BENJAMIN, Record of communication by, xiii

SHENDUN, Field meeting at, ix, x

SIEMENS, WERNER VON, cited on air currents, 45

SITKA, Arrival at, 79

SNOW crests, Figures of, 143
-- line, Description of Alpine glaciers above, 180
-- -- -- -- -- -- below, 183
-- --, Elevation of, 92, 111
-- on mountain crests, 182

SOUNDINGS in Disenchantment bay, 56

SOUTH AMERICA: Annual address by the President; Gardiner G. Hubbard, 1

SPRUNG, A., cited on air currents, 45

STAMY, THOMAS, Member of expedition, 76
--, Work of, 137, 139, 144, 150, 153, 157, 158, 160

STANLEY-BROWN, J., Record of communication by, vii
--, Report on sands from Yakutat bay by, 196

{261}

ST. ELIAS, Described by La Pérouse, 59, 60
--, Discovery of, by Bering, 58
-- expedition, Review of, 39
--, First full view of, 135
-- (Height and position of Mount); I. C. Russell, 231
-- -- -- -- -- 40, 189, 190
-- -- -- -- -- determined by La Pérouse, 60
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- Tebenkof, 69
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- Malaspina, 64, 65, 66
-- range, Age of, 175
-- --, Character of peaks of, 175
-- region, Glaciers of the, 176
-- schist, Description of rocks of, 167, 173
--, Suggested new route to, 163, 164
-- uplift, 190

STEIN, ROBERT, Translations by, 59, 64, 65, 66

STEPNIAK, SERGIUS, Record of address by, viii

STRAIT OF ANNAN, 56

STRUCTURE, 174

STRUVE, CH., Acknowledgments to, 221

STRUVE, O., cited on manuscript records, 220

SWISS guides in Alaskan exploration, 166

SULPHUR, Mention of the, 69


TAKU GLACIER, Mention of, 78

TAKU INLET, Visit to, 78

TANGANYIKA, LAKE, Characteristics of, 241

TEBENKOF, CAPTAIN, Notes on Alaska by, 69, 70

TERRACE on northern shore of Yakutat bay, 82, 85
-- point, Brief account of, 106

THUNDERSTORMS, Relation of, to air-pressure, 44

THOMPSON, GILBERT, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

TIBET, Note on the crossing of, 253

TIDE-WATER glaciers defined, 101

TOPOGRAPHIC work, Report on, 195

TOPHAM, EDWIN, Explorations by, 73, 74

TOPHAM, W. H., Explorations by, 73, 74
--, Reference to map by, 177

TORNADOES, Results of, 50

TRADE, South American, 23

TRIANGULATION, Commencement of, 86

TUCKER, J. RANDOLPH, Remarks by, at field meeting, x

TUNNELS, Ice, 184

TYNDALL GLACIER named, 73

TYNDALL, J., cited on marginal crevasses, 127


VAN BEBBER, A., Reference to work of, 47

VANCOUVER, CAPTAIN GEORGE, Explorations by, 66, 68

VERATRUM VIRIDE, Mention of, 114

VOLCANOES of the Andes, 2


WARD, LESTER F., Report on fossil plants, 199, 200

WAXEL, SWEN, Quotations from, on de l'Isle's map, 223
--, Translations from letter by, 224
--, Work of, 222

WHITE, THOMAS, Member of expedition, 76
--, Work of, 158, 160

WILLIAMS, C. A., Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

WILLIAMS, WILLIAM, Explorations by, 73, 74

WILLIS, BAILY, Contribution to exploration fund by, 75

WILSON, H. M., Record of communication by, ix


YAKUTAT BAY, Arrival at, 79
--, Base camp on western shore of, 86, 89
--, Shores of described, 57
--, Synonomy of, 56

YAKUTAT INDIANS described by Dixon, 61
-- system, Description of rocks of, 167
-- -- named, 131