Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-02-04

rccS H1En; mount Cr11Ion, is. 300 feet: :
Mount Fairweather. 14.7O8 feet thence
farther north sublime Mount Sc Elias,
the giant sentinel Of the Rockies. towers
nearly 20. 900 feet above the ocean that
thunders at its base. How inexpressibly
grand is this hoary headed monster, for
every foot Of his sides is in mountain
slopeI 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 havs been made by hardy
explorers Lying between the sea and
the base Of the mountain. perhaps three
quarters OF mile in width, Is. level
and thickly timbered piece Of land.
From this beach ths mountain rises
gradually to the timber line. approx
mately 1000 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 a little farther
up the entire face Of the mountain is q
glistening mass. This ice extends to
within 8, 900 feet of the summit, where
the orowning peak rises nearly perpen-
dicular and assumes the form of lofty
watch tower upon the walls of an an
cient castle. Snow and ice DO not lie on
the peak, except on the extreme top, for
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 in
that great altitude. This mountain is
held in great esteem and awe by the ma
tive Indian tribes 1t is their great
weather prophet, and by certain cloud
signs they know when they can with
safety undertake the journey along the
''ironbound coast" dangerous stretch
of water running from Cape Spencer
northward to Yakutat bay, along which
distance the mountains break sheer into
the sea.
The entire length of the inland pas
sage, LOO miles, is heavily timbered
with spruce, hemlock, pine and both
yellow and red cedar. Great avalanches
of snow have swept down the mountains
here and there, and in their track long
streaks of timber have been moved
down as sickle would so much ripe
grain. AT intervals Indian villages dot
the shores, resting most pioturesquely
upon narrow shelves just at the edge Of
Underwater. These nomads of the north
west spend two-thirds of their lives out
of doors in their canoes which are their
only means Of travel, and with which
they obtain their livelihood from the
sea. Throughout the entire stretch of
country travel by land is almost impos-
sible, owing to the dense timber and
underbrush that cover the entire sur
face.
To the disciples Of Izaak Walton
these inland waters and their tribu-
taries offer everything from the small
oolichans and herring to- monster half
but, sharks and whales. The shores, Of
innulnerable bays will bsfound by the
hunter to contain myriads of ducks,
geese and other water fowl. In the for
ests he will meet moose, caribou and
bears in sufficient numbers to satisfy the
most ardent, and the Alpine climber
who has assembled the Matterhorn can
here find mountain peaks whose sum-
mits have never yet felt theetouch. Of an
alpeustock, Alaska News