St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-23
THE NAME GIVEN TO THE RE-
GION VISITED BY THE
SPERRY PARITY
A Lake Which Is PerpetualIy
Filled With Ice Cold
Water.

OF Prof. l.. w. CLANCY, of Carleton
college; A. l.. Sperry, of Owatonna,
and &. R. Shepherd, photographer,
of Minneapolis. At Lake Mcdonald
they secured a pack train, and two
camphelpers. The primary object
of the expeditian was to make a
more careful examination and pre-
Eminary survey of avalanche
basin,' which DR.. Sperry and a sim
liar party visited last June. On this
second trip the party found Ava
lanche basin even more impressive
and beautiful than was at first rep
resented. Prof. CLANCY and A. l..
Sperry, determined, by careful tri-
angulation, the altitude of the more
conspicuous peaks which surmount
the crests of this precipitous basin,
and also the heights of the larger
cataractS which pour over the cliffs
and rush unanimously into the lake
The average altitude of the crest of
the basin, exclusive of the more
conspicuous peaks, was found to be
little over $500 feet, while the
higher peaks rose from 1000 to more
than 4,5G0 feet above the level of
the lake-a greater altitude than is
reached by Gel Capitaine,'' "Glaeier
Point" or any other of the Rocky
heights which overhang the floor of
the Yosemite valley.
The Matterhorn, the most striking
peak of all the Avalanche basin
sentinels, is a trifie over 1000 feet
high, while Cathedral Spires are sos
feet higher than the Matterhorn.
Avalanche lake, the turquoise gem
that is set in the midst of the floor
of the basin, is but little less than
mile in length and about half that
distance in width. It's surface is
1910 feet above sea level.
The increased melting of the snow
fields upon the heights since June
had increased the number of cas-
cades from two to seven, besides
adding a number of ephemeraI,
laughing riils, too numerous and
transitory to justify special names.
The disappearance of large snow
areas since June enabled the party
to ascend the southern slope of the
basin directly to the base of the
Matterhorn, where they found them
selves, at an altitude of about 1000
feet, on a ledge or rock so narrow
that, standing in one place, they
could look northWard directly down
into Avalanche basin, and by turn
ing the face southwark, they could
gaze equally we'll down into another
valley almost as striking as Ava
lanche basin. On account of it's
shape they named this latter valley
or pocket Horseshoe BASIN" Look
ing down the valley, which drains
Horseshoe basin, across it's two smil-
ing lakelets and over about ten
miles of fir and cedar forests, they
could distinctly see almost the en-
tire surface of the charming Lake
Mcdonald, smiling in the sun. This
Horseshoe basin looks like a veri-
table paradise for game. 1t was evil
dent that mountain goats make use
of the steep and narrow pass at
the base of the Matterhorn for travel
between the two basins.
To enable the Sperry party to get
their surveying instruments and
camp equipage into Avalanche basin,
Mr.. Whitney, of the Great Northern
railway, had ordered a trail cut from
near the head Of Lake Mcdonald TO
Avalanche lake. AS soon as this
trail was passable, parties of ma
lures lovers began to visit the basin.
So far, the tourists who have pene-
trated to this spot have been largely
from Kalispel and Great Falls,
Mont, though a few from as far
east as Boston have already been at
tracted to it. All who have gone in
there pronounce it a marvel of scenic
beauty.
from Mcdonald to Horseshoe basin,
and, unquestionably, another season
will see large numbers of tourists and
campers enjoying it's attractions, in
connection with those of Avalanche
basin. 1t is believed that ambitious
and muscular climbers can pass di-
rectly from one basin to the other,
over the crest and through the con-
venient cleft at the base of the Mat
terhorn. The Sperry party reached
this cleft, but did not descend into
Horseshoe basin. AS far as the eye
could determine the matter, the
descent appeared not only feasible
height from one basin to the other
will prove a more thrilling and in
teresting trip than travel over most
of the Alpine passes which are so
justly celebrated with tourists.
After spending ten days in and
about Avalanche basin, the party
proceeded northward about twenty
five miles further, following a trail
that has recently been cut to some
very interesting exposures of copper
ore and a series of promising incipi-
emit mines. When only a short dis
lance from the copper veins, and
within about ten miles of the British
line, they came upon mountain
scenery even grander and more in
teresting than that about Avalanche
basin. These northerly mountain
peaks are not only higher, more rug
ged and more unique than those
nearer Lake Mcdonald, but they are
more striking in geological structure,
in form and in color. A little north
of the international Copper Nine 81
and about twenty-eight miles from
Lake Mcdonald, the party came
upon a glacier which, with its snow
field, completely fills an amphithea-
tire nearly four miles in diameter,
and discharges itself eastward into
| the valley of the Belly river a tu-
multuous stream which curves
| northward and flows into the Sas-
| katchewan. Prof. CLANCY spent two
days studying this glacier and MAX
ing notes and sketches of it's pecu-
liarities. In view of his being, as the