Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1892-12-24
ST I'LL UNEMPLOYED.
THe LARGEST VOLCANO M ALASKA
pEFlEs APPROACH

Mae y Attempts Have Bssn Made 60
u. seh the Giant. bat u Lies 80 Far
~ nth That the Absence of Vegetation
Hhs Rendered ~ IBacc-ssIbI..
The grandcst mountain Of North
Am erica has not yet been visited by ex-
plurers.
ID i an active volcano called Wran-
sclI located in the interior Of Alaska,
aud its frost wreathcd dome forms pre-
suthably the apex ct the continent.
Mount Wrangeli lies about 900 miles
north Of the celebrated Mount st. Elias
and Is in the center Of region en-
shrbu1ed in mystery. Gigantic noun
TAIN ranges rise like terraces one upon /
the other, guarding in their midst this |
snd wy monster of the north.
4About forty years ago party of Rus
sian explorers ON the Copper river, of
Alaska. first sighted the peak away to
thu northeast, and being duly impressed
with its majesty conferred upon it
thu title Of their honored governor,
Ba ron Wrangell. They made no at
tempt, however, TO reach the mountain,
it being in the country of hostile ma
tives and presenting such apparently
in Burmountable obstacles to approach.
Several other companies Of Russians
made partial ascents of the Copper river
/ about the same time and met with dis
aater. One party Of seventeen, under
Saberinikoff. was massacred by the ma
tikes No new knowledge of the Cop
per river was obtained, and no approach
was made TO the volcano.
Ii was not until 1884 that another at
tempt was made ut exploration in the
Copper river region. Then Lieutenant
Allen. one IT the most daring men who
yer entered Alaska, forced his way with
several white companions up the Copper
nearly To- its source and circled half way
al round the Mount Wraugell district,
viewing the mighty peak from distance
of forty or fifty miles, but finding no OPP
uortunity To reach and ascend it. In.
deed he was ON the verge Of starvation
qt the time aud 1t world have been
suicide to have attempted 10 scale the
snowclad heights.
The terrible experiences of Allen dis
l touraged further explorations by way
Iered Alaska for the second time, | at.
4 tempted To reach Mount Wrangell by a
new avenue Of approach. viz, from the
northeast This route necessitated an
I overland march OF 300 miles from tho
!. Yukon river. and when provisions be
a came exhausted my party was still full,
forty miles from the volcano and tan
a gled up in a labyrinth Of mountaiI
! ranges. Gigantic peaks, snowclal, lie
: void of vegetation and animal life
barred our progress in front, and an at
tempt To scale them, with nothing to en-
and naught in sight, would have beef
sheer madness 50 circle was made 4
9 the northwest. crossing Aliens trail
u and we forced way to the Yukon, 20
|. miles distant. barely escaping starvation
5, In 1891 Lieutenant Schwatka, famou
4 as an explorer OF the Yukon, tried hi
,e hand at trayersing the southern borde
2. of the Mount Wraugcll domain. II
n proceeded overland from Fort Selkirli
II on the upper Yukon, piercing an IN
4 known district and emerging ON tn
/. Copper river south ~ Mount Wrangel
e lie also had close call from starvation
- sum total pf the discoveries i'll the Weir
i ity Of Mount Wrangell up TO date. Se,
u erai sketches of tho volcano have bee
'r made as it appears from distance. hr
no accurate information concerning
II has yet been obtained.
TX Ii appears to be fully as high as Noun
N ST. Elias, and may be even higher. TIL
o. natives living in the vicinity are supei
10 stitinusly afraid OF venturing near tn
~ volcano and this fact adds to the intel
M est which surrounds it, | believe tina
w. Mount Wrangell can I've reached by e,
plorers who will establish depots of SUI
:. plies. projecting one post beyond al
u other and arranging for the syAtemai
= forwarding Of the provisions TO I'll
N terminal No food can be depenae
~ upon in this region after leaving IL
river except that brought in by the e,
plorer The scaling of Mount Wrange
:, heights would require many days, bl
= could probably be accomplished.
= There is apparently little chance TIN
'h Mount Wrangell will ever be reachs
oh from the direction Of Mount st. Ella
IL that is. from the south. Ii is proper
Dy state that the region between Mount 5
to Elias and Mount Wrangell is the on
ed glacier field IN Alaska. a few isolate
er glaciers can he found elsewhere alol
mel the coast, but in four-tifths Of the int
,r- rior no snow or ice exists during II
summer dense wilderness of con
IN fer,e surrounds the ice region al
ha blankets the country for hundreds
miles eastward. The volcano Of Moul
80 Wrangell offers today unique field f
the explorer and the professional mon
tain climber. Cincinnati Post.
nv