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
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}