Evening journal., 1896-11-05
ALASKAN SCENERY.
FEATURES OF THE PASSAGE FROM
WASHINGTON NoRTHWARD.

In making the voyage northward
from Seattle one has scarcely left the
waters Of Puget sound before great
patches of snow are perceptible on the
highest peaks of the colossal range Of |
mountains BORDERING the inland pas
sage. These gradually grow larger and
larger as the steamer wends her way to
the north, and soon the loftiest peaks,
both inland and toward the sea, are
seen robed in glistening garments Of
purest white. Two days travel brings
one we'll into Alaskan waters, and by
the aid Of good glass and not infre-
quently with the naked eye q Close OBJ
server will discern the blue ice Of gla-
ciers creeping from under the lower
edges of the snow banks. Lower and
lower these descend as the steamer
crawls onward, until the northemmost
point on the route is reached, where
they come down to the ocean level.
Here, in q beautiful little bay, dotted
with 1000 icebergs. some Of them high
er than tho topmost mast Of the ship,
great walls of deep blue ice form the
shores, long arms of this ice break from
the mother lode, as it were, and stretch
far back into the mountains, where at
the crest Of the range they reunite, and,
running northward, form into a contin-
uous chain Of glaciers that line that
portion Of Alaska's coast for many hun
dred miles.
This little fairyland is called Glacier
bay, and the most attractive feature is
ko Mtrfr 81 f1,a .laut - oil
group. named in honor Of Mr.. John
Muir, who upon the last excursion Of
the Queen again visited the bay and be-
held the mountain Of ice which will
perpetuate his namo while time lasts.
In matchless beauty, unparalleled
grandeur and colossal structure it sur
passes anything Of its kind on the
American continent. This great mass is
constantly moving, and as it debouches
into the sea hugo pieces break from the
front, and, as thunderbolts from heaven,
they drop into the waters, rolling up
great waves and making a noise like
the booming Of heavy artillery. These
pieces float away as icebergs and are
carried many miles to sea before they
finally are ground and melted into their
original fluid state.
Visible to the north and west, 'front.'
ing on the sea. are among the grandest
peaks on the globe-Lituya peak. 10, 600
feet high; Mount Crillon, l5. 900 feet;
Mount Fairweather, IA. 708 feet; thence
farther north sublime Mount st. Elias,
the giant sentinel Of tho Rockies, towers
nearly 20, 600 feet above the ocean that
thunders at its base. How inexpressibly
grand is this hoary headed monster, for
every foot Of his sides ia in mountain
slopel He bathes his brow in the clouds
and washes his feet in the sea. No hu-
man being has ever planted foot on the
summit of this mountain, although va
rious attempts have been made by hardy
explorers. Lying between the sea and
the base Of the mountain. perhaps threo-
quarters Of milo in width, Is a level
and thickly timbered piece Of land.
From this beach the mountain rises
gradually to the timber line. approx
mately /, 600 feet. Here the line Of per-
petual snow begins and the slope grows
gradually sleeper. Soon the blue ice is
seen under the SNOW, and little farther
up the entire face of the mountain is a
glistening mass This ice extends to
within o, 600 feet of the summit, where
the browning peak rises nearly porpen-
dicular and assumes the form Of lofty
watch tower upon the walls Of an an
cient castle. Snow and ice do not lie OF
the peak, except on the extreme top, foI
the reason that the sides are too steep.
Probably only by aerial means could
the summit be reached, and, even il
that were possible, it is doubtful if any
human being could survive the terrible
cold which would be encountered il
that great altitude. This mountain il
held in great esteem and awe by the no
tive Indian tribes 1t is their Rrea
weather prophet, and by certain clcut
signs they know when they can Will
safety undertake the journey along th,
''ironbound coast, dangerous stretcl
of water running from Cape Spence
northward to Yakutat bay, along which
distance tho mountains break sheer int,
the sea.
The entire length of the inland pas
sage, 1,100 miles, is heavily timbere,
with spruce, hemlock, pine and boil
yellow and red cedar. Great avalanche
Of snow have swept down the mountain
here and there, and in their track lon
streaks of timber have been moves
down as a sickle would so much rip
grain. At intervals Indian villages do
the shores, resting most picturesquel
upon narrow shelves just at the edge Q
tidewater. These nomads Of the north
west spend two-thirds Of their lives on
of doors in their canoes, which are thei
only means Of travel, and with whic
they obtain their livelihood from tn
sea. Throughout the entire stretch Q
country travel by land is almost impo'
sible, owing to the dense timber an
underbrush that cover the entire sui
face.
To the disciples of Izaak Walto
these inland waters and their tribr
taries offer everything from the sma
oolichans and herring TO monster hal
but, sharks and whales. The shores {
innumerable bays viii be found by III
hunter to contain myriads OF duck