The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-16

rouse, 1880 feet; Lituya. 10000 feet;
DAgelet, 5000 feet high above the
noble Pacific These form the southern
extremity of the Mount ST. Elias Alps.
All these noble SUBMITS are seen from
the deck OF our steamer on our left as
We ascend Glacier Bay, together with
picturesque White Mountains" which
line the east side between Glacier Bay
and Lynn canal; but Mr.. st. Elias IT.
self. though 1t rises to over 1900 feet,
Is too far north to be visible from this
inland passage. Oh. such mountains!
reaching to the very battlements of
heaven. The horizon seems so full Of
them that there Is no counting them
any more than counting the icebergs in
the bay This is a sight too grand to
seem reality; it's enough to take ones
breath away as the view widens. 1t
only lasts for a glorious half hour, and
then by turn and the jutting out of
great promontory they are mainly lost
to view.
A WALL OF ICE.
Up to 1869 no civilized person knew
anything of this Glacier Bay. though
Vancouver found a wall of ice extend
ing across its mouth 100 years ago. 1t
was not till 1877 that Lieutenant G. T..
IS. Wood entered the bay In his canoe.
to the world until Professor John Muir
and Rev. :. Hall Young, the Presbyter-
ian missionary at Fort Wrangel, eX-
plored it in 1879. Captain Beardslee,
United States navy, accompanied by
CoZian, the famous Russian pilot
though he had never heard of the bay
before-made an exploration in 1880
and traced u chart that he gave to our
Captain Carroll, of the Queen, who
,ta T.I.1,a .
bay I'm July, 1888, found the great glacier
described by Professor John Muir. and
named for him both the glacier and the
| inlet. In August, 1892. Captain Carroll
himself took the Queen and entered
this bay again and made important dis
coveries, among them the Pacific gla-
cier, the John Hopkins, Rendu and Car
roll glaciers, as named by Professor
Reid.
Near the mouth of the bay is a group
| or eight low islands named for Com
mander Beardslee, q mass of loose ma
terial. evidently glacial debris. Near
the middle OF the bay is bare rock.
| u mass of limestone. about three miles
long and 1900 feet high and a half
mile wide. showing glacial burrows and
polished from the bottom to the top.
AS we proceed the dense forests which
look down upon us from both sides.
/ ouCheu ny tuc NidJeStlc IilouIltdlHS, ldue
away and vegetation ceases and we sail
through innumerable icebergs to the
end of the bay Muir InleD which Is 50
blocked that the prows of the steamers
are protected with heavy timbers to
save the strain and shock caused by the
crashing Of the vessel into the bergs
and floating "mush ice." Canoes rarely
enter here. 1t is difficult to convey by
words any appreciable or intelligent
% xh.,e 4,
passing. Nor can | do so fully by the
aid of my right hand friend. the "Lun-
delius Camera" l can only say that
the bay was full of ice floss of all inn
aginable shapes and sizes; some con-
tained deep caverns with statactite
roofs, many honey-cOmbed through and
through like white coral: some assume
the form OF ships, churches, castles, In
dian tents, not fantastic creations but
so marked as to attract the attention
and comments of the passengers. But
the most remarkable was the coloring,
that exquisite blue of which the tur-
quoise Is the nearest specimen, spotted
here and there and sometimes covered
with crystals of snow. An occasional
squadron Of these floating pyramids, i"
with their white sides and uniform
shape bring vividly to mind the regatta
scenes of New London and Newport,
| cNCIl oiiS NllltC VI WdI -NtSSClS
as they lay at anchor in Newport har-
Dor.
THE MUIR GLACIER.
We are now at the mouth of Muir
Inlet" and the great glacier, the
Worlds Wonder" spreads out before
U.S. Here is sight so grandly impress
sive that the human voice Is awed to
silence, but we can imagine we hear
inaudible tones. the voice Of the great
Creator. saying: "All the kingdoms OF
that am God" II, the Lord formed all
these things"
This is the great Muir Glacier" A
wall of ice a mile wide, 300 feet high
. and five times that beneath the water
Millions of spires crown its height, al
tinted from snowy white to the deepest
! indigo. AS we peer with strained eyes
into these caverns of deepest sap.
, phire, surmounted by glistening pin.
nacles of transparent blue, some huge
, mass, may be an acre in size, topples
: and falls into the bay with a deel
! laundering noise, like cracking of ar.
; tillery or the boom of cannon A clouC
: of foam arises. and the sea is stirred
to a fury. the great waves dashing fai
up on to the beach, even rocking oul
| steamer as though 1t were a sail boat
} which Is anchored u half mile from 1t
Soon we hear another almost deafenins
report, then a succession Of them tina
3 resemble the discharge of heavy gun.
or the reverbrations Of thunder, but NJ
outward effect is seen. This Is tn,
breaking apart Of great masses of ic,
within the glacier. Presently another
huge pinnacle topples over with a roal
and giantic splash that Is heard ant
felt for miles with a tremendous nm