The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1891-12-26

THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF A PARTY
OF SCIENTISTS.

uriant Vegetation Where There Is No
Ice-St. Elias Not a Volcano.
Mr.. Israel c. Russell has returned tc
Washington from that region Of eternal
ice and snow in Alaska, where the high
est peak in North America rises to an
altitude Of 1900 feet from a glacier
1000 square miles in area and as big a.
all those Of the Alps put together.
Along the edge Of the glacier, all the
way from ley bay TO Eakutat bay, there
extends a strip Of green coast which Is
covered with luxuTiant vegetation.
Strawberry vines cover the ground for
miles, and the vcrdant fields are red
dcncd a. far a. the eye can reach with
luscious fruit, which compares favor
ably III point Of size and flavor with the
finest grown in temperate ATTITUDES.
There are ~huckleberrics, too, and sal
mon berries" which are something be
tween b~laCkbcrrics and raspDerrIes, but
Of giant size, measuring nearly two
inches in diameter. All the lOWlandS
are carpeted with v~iOlets, buttcrCups.
yellow monkey flowers and other wild
blossoms. Here and there, in the midst
Of the vast ice fields, are the loveIiest
gardens watereI by the melting snow.
There are plenty OF grizzly bears III
the vicinity OF Mount 81. Enas, but Mr..
Russell did not find them very danger
Gus. He says that his encounters with
them reminded him Of killing pigs. OF
brown and black bears he saw ana shot
a great many. 1he expedition met with
enough per1Is' however, TO satisfy the
most adventurous geographical eXpIor-
trs. Nearly all OF the climbing had to
be done up steep walls OF ice and snow
by cutting steps. At limos any time a
slip would have precipitated the party
down the frozen Prec1plces thousands OF
Icct' Ol one occasion iity were de-
sccndlhS when they toInd that an ava
IalIche haI carried away the steps which
they had made III gong up. The III
pf"lhptn staircase was destroyed Tor 3OO
Ie"t. ana theE mao 10 lower man by a
rope 10 chop our ahother, there DelhS no
other way OF getting " such acCl-
dent rs this were not uncommon.
~HAIKBtEADTH ESCAPES.
AvaianchcS We're continually falling,
rushing down the slopes with the speed
OF railway trains and with a roar like
thunder that could be heard twenty
miles away.
one might ab""t - o'clock the party
was passing over a bad place III the
AgaSSlz glacier. IWO men were III the
lt2d, dTaWlhS Il SItd. suddenly they
disappeared troin sight, having fallen
mo assure IN lhe Ice. Luckily they
were IlllHlH fltlDn n n1Olprllnp Ip1rn at
the dcpth OF about twenty feet, else they
would never have been seen again.
IHty were haII'u out with ropes. Inc
newt DAY III 1he same nclghbOrhOOd Mr..
Russell cilahced To look behind HIM and
50" n a the Ice held over INCL he had
just passed was gone, leaving an enor-
nous mole o. depth. Another
tnc n OF his men tumbledl INTO a cTev-
ice, u was only saved by the pack
fastened 10 his shoulder, which inter
rupted ms progress through a twist in
the frozen tunnel that had yawned for
nm.
Inc ASaSSlZ Slacler Is II OF the tour
great glaciers winch, together with about
" IhouSai" SINAI ones, no" out from the
HLouil'"Iio az Lhe noIil 10 the nhSnty
Nd"l'SPiha SIa'ler' pouring thelr streams
ol ICE Coh'll"alIy llIo thlS vast frozen
sea- MS SIacler OF MaIaSplna, from
200 to 2'ooo feet thick, Is interesting,
not merely because OF It's enormous size,
n"I also ny reason OF the Tact that 1t Is
lhe only 4 now III existence OF the
same type as the glacier which formerly
covered all OF TINS continent as far south
as Philadelphia and St. Louis, leaving
traces that are visible 10 this day in
scratches on the rocks.
\ GLACIAL RIVER.
Where the land III that region is bare
OF Ice the vegetation attalns an almost
tropical Insurance, and the Arctic
JungleS are We'll nigh impossible to. the
explorer. one OF the chief obstacles en-
countered III threading them is a plant
knOWn rs the 'deviIsCl club" which grows
to Il height Of ten or fifteen feet, its stems
running along the ground for some dis
tancc and then turning upward. Every
part Of It's surface, ever TO the ribs of
the leaves, Is thlckly set with spines,
winch Nntlrr p,D1nFT1l NJ-lr.,l- a,j l-,,1-