The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-08-29

No White Man Has Been Assisted 10
Iis Snmmit.

No " hitc Wan Has Been hesiSitu W
it, summit.
The areas within the boundaries Of the
United states yet untrod by the seolog.st
or explorer are rapidly becoming fewer
and fewer. while fields Offering unique fea-
lures OF interest 90 either class OF inves-
ugators are indeed rare Even Alaska.
formerly Stunned. is now much in evil
dence. aud Is being trayersed oy private
and government exploring parties % an
extent which promises soon to srid'ron
that northern Wilderness with malt routes
and travelled trails. while from the sys-
tematic work being carried on by means
OF river. land a8d sea We may expect AZ
no distant day far more satisfactory geo.
logic and topographic maps of the terri
torys vast and previously little known
interior than have heretofore existed
Leaving these broader areas TO those hav-
ing special reasons and ample financial
resources for sulm0unung the great OBJ
staclcs they offer. attention is asked 20
a limited field o. exploration, which for
c0mpactncss. accessibility. economy OF
effort and expense and probable richness
OF returns stands unrlvallcd to-day within
our borders.
The route from sitka 20 Unalaska has
been one Of continuous travel by seaeoing
vessels for many years While making TINS
Journey hundreds OF voyagers have lookei
on and exclaimed over the mojcsi;
beauty Of Mount Shisha'din. iut 30 far rs
known no white man foot has yet trod
the higher slopes of this splendid cone
which rears its sn0w-cl1d crest nearly
nine thousand feet above the adjacent
sea. The eastern half OF Unimak Island
IS occupied by it and the associated
peaks This island. some seventy miles
long with am average width of fifteen or
twenty miles crowded with extinct vol
canoes and separated only by shallow
pass from the Alaskan peninsula. is the
first member of the Aleutian Archipelago
that chain OF submerged mountains
which. with its prolongation, the Com
mand Islands. sweeps from continent 20
continent. describing across the North
Pacific ocean an arc of more than thou
sand miles.
Shishadl.n is undoubtedly still an act
i've volcano but how active cannot DE
accurately known until some explorer
stands ON its summit There are recent
stories by some who claim % have seen
hame-colOrcd yapors rising from 10, and
by others who assert they SAX columns
OF smoke ascending. ln 1897 / saw what
appeared 10 be- banners ~ steam issuing
from IL. but fogs are frequent here and
snow carried by the winds about the
peaks Of mOlntains of high attitudes
plays deceitful pranks. There are two
very intelligent and weil-t0-dO traders
Charles Rosenberg and charles Swansea
who live with their families et Morshoyia
village, near the base Of the mountain
While on "a trip i'm their schooner 90 Dutch
for
supplies they told roe that the volcano
was I'm a tsate of eruption, and that at
nisht they bad seen. h'ea on the slopes
tOulues of molten Java creeping slowly
down the mountain side and branching
round Obstacles iy.ne iH helf cegl
thus leaving islands between .he fiery
streams. They asserted also that ashes
az ejected from the efater $40 that on
hunting trips they had ascended iar
enough 90 detect the heat and recognize
the sulphurous fumes.
Unlmak Island alone with the story of
vOlcan'sm lt has 90 te.i. is well worth
4 summers work. but nearby. within %
circle Of hundred miles radius there are
other volcanoes with more or less residual
Hfe. which. with Shi-haidin form 81
eroup so favOraliy situated for eXpora-
ton tha, i-s Systematic study could De ac-
c0mpishei without great expense and m
a short ne'd season. pogrumnoi. ON the
western end of Uu.mak ls extinct but on
Akuan. the next Island. tncre s. an ae-
tive volcano of the same name. one UNI
usually favorable day in August. lst-. Mr.
Charles b. Townsend of tine United States
Fish Commission and ] climbed one oi me
peaks OF Unaaska Bay. when nious"'
Altutan into fun view. To our eftal sun
prise. we saw gigantic unss OF smoke
such as sometimes come ln miniature I4'Hi
the smokestacks of locomotives, ISSUING
from a crater Gt regular intervals OF ao'u-
tu MS minI.es. As each sue eei'-- i.h '
aur AIRED Is rr.do0e was
.r,. ..n. u. and . fH1t n
F..r .... rU. w.rr tu N i.'-
Tie display el
determine. as Use peah became obscure 'ii
drifting banners of fog.
on UnaIaska Island is the huge yoicaniS
mass OF Matushiu. between ''v,v HiiD
600 feet high From the iet"1 IT. v,",,id
who have assembled Mah"7t+", ~ -. ~ !,
seem that fumarole action Is a.i si'dt -
left of It's piutOnic hres bul v"-l'ih an 4,
some of decided vgor are aIi.l"a.i' ~.
in The locality. while the man Ia. ~ ,be
cinder cones and cratef5 ''''i'' ~ N''
activity of other days. ... ,-,,.,..,,.,
some forty or hfty miles fcom tno'asNi
I'm "a north Of west direction are tne tWo
TINY dots OF ENfh MIsin "tttt
lac, Gonna Roeosloyal. whose origin was
within historic time, ana whose form mas
undergone changes quite recently.
Columns of steam steadily llst rom one
az tha rnounds ana here the warm e3gth
temperature is now utilized, as some one
has playfrily suggested, % assist IN the
Matching of the eggs OF the myrLads oi
guiilemots. which. I'm company WIN a
colony az sea lions. occupy intse Fo,sai,ic
remnants The other member or the
group. connected with its neighbeT by a
iow-lying strip OF sand. IS without neat.
Joseph Stanley Brown IN Geographic
MAGAZINE.