The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-04-18
N ALASKAN WASTES
Towers Mount Mckinley in
inaccessible Grandeur.
NORTH AMERICAS APEX
Two Thousand Feet Higher
Than Mt. St. Elias.

Chicago, April ftp to the present TIM
the belief has almost universally obtained
that Mt St Elias, which rises to the heigh
Of 1904 feet above the level Of the sea
is the tallest peak on the continent; bu
the recent work done by the United State:
| Geological Survey shows conclusively tha
| Mt. st. Elias is overtopped more than q
| 900 feet by another Alaskan peak situated
about one hundred and. twenty-five mile:
| north Of Cook Inlet, and on what is known
at present as the Mckinley range. This
| towering mountain Is close TO the intersec-
| ton Of the thirty-third parallel of north
latitude with the one hundred and fifty
| first meridian of west longitude, and Il
designated in recent maps Of Alaska as
Mt. Mckinley, although it was not inaptly
named by the early Russian settlers
around Cook Inlet, Bulshaia, which, tran
slated, means big"
In a general way the great height of
Mt Mckinley has always been known to
the Indians and scattering whites, who
settled in the vicinity of Cook Inlet and
along the banks of the Sushitna, as its
towering summit is plainly visible on clear
days for a distance of 125 miles or more.
So far as there is any record, however,
no attempt was ever made prior to the
summer OF 1898 to measure it's exact
height
Alaska has an erea of nearly coo, coo
square miles exclusive Of It's many Islands,
and its coast line exceeds that of the
United States. Accurate data with re-
gard to the geography Of this immense
There are many large ereas on the map
of Alaska which has never been viewed
by the eye of the omniscient white man
and are totally unknown.
1t was i nresponse Of a general desire
for more and better information about
Alaska that several departments of the
government received appropriations from
Congress to equip and send out exploring
parties whose duty it would be to break
up several of these blank ereas and to find
and report on routes to the interior from
American seaports. Twenty thousand dol
lars placed a the disposal of the United
States Geological survey determined that
body to organize and send into Alaska
four parties. Each was to consist of a
geologist, a topographer, and as many as
directed to cross the passes at the head
Of the Lynn canal, and to proceed down
the Yukon until American territory was
reached, the other two were to proceed
TO the head Of the Cook Inlet One of them
under the direction of J. E. Spur. was
then to proceed westward in an endeavor
to reach the Kuskok vim River; the other
party, under George H. Eldriege, geologist,
was directed to travel north up the Sus-
hitna in an attempt to get through the
Yukon. The second of these parties 1 ac-
companied in the capacity of topogra-
pher.
The United States gunboat Wheeling, de-
tailed for the purpose of carrying the
four government parties to Alaska left
Seattle on April 4, Each party was equip
ped with camping outfits, supplies for six
months and necessary scinetifffc instru-
ments, The Wheeling followed the regu-
lar inside passage from Seattle to Skag-
way, where the two Yukon parties dis
embarked on April 10. 1t arrived at Tyoo-
nok, near the head of Cook Inlet, on the
9th of April. We unloaded there and pre-
pared for real work.
Beside Mr.. Eldridge and myself, there
were five experienced woodsmen from the
of Lake Superior, chosen as
adapted for the work proposed
on account of their long experience in
packing and boating. All were eta!wart
Injured to hard work and travel,
and they bore themselves well through lTt
the expedition. We consumed little time
in preparing for our trip. and on May 4
We made a start up the Sushitna River.
This stream, by far the largest which
flows into Cook Inlet, is of the glacial
origin. and its current extremely swift
its lower course it :-averses
a heavily timbered glacial plain. The
stream is divided into many channels by
low sandbars and Islands, most of which |
are covered during seasons OF high water, |
and il carries in its waters an immense |
amount Of slit. 1t is navigabls only for |
canoes and light draft boats. We started |
up about the time Of the spring flood. and |
our passage was constantly impeded by !
trees which came floating down stream /