The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1900-07-15
THE MUIR GLllIER SL0UGHIHG.
SERIOUS EFFECT OF THE EARTH
QUAKEs on TIE ICY MASS.
The Bay choked VITA Ice ard ApVrOeeh
within Less Than Five Xiles
Impossible

SEATTLE. June g. - The Posz-In-
teIligencer Of this morning has The fol
lowing:
Though its imposing grandeur is sill
unmarried, countless thousands Of tons
Of ice lave sloughed Of the face OF
famed Muir glacier through the cratic
action Of last September's Alaskan
earthquake. The information comes
from Captain David Wallace. master Of
the steamship Queen. which returned
Wednesday from al excursion voyage
% Alaska.
Captain Wallace, as has been his Gus
tom for the past sixteen or eighteen
years, sought to line up his ship across
the face Of the glacier. but for the first
time In nearly two decades he scored
a failure. He was unable owing to
great field Of float ice, to get the vess,i
closer than five miles from Alask4's
wondrous attraction. whose scenic
beauties have been gazed upon and ad-
mirsd by tourists from the length and
breadth Of the land.
Il never saw so much ice" Captain
Wallace said last night. discussing the
strange phenomenon. "Forty-tiye miles
out from the glacier we encountered
stray chunks OF float and they grad
ually grew thicker and thicker until
closer approach 20 the glacier was i'm
possible We got within i've miles OF
IL and could go no further. The ice
was packed 50 solid that one could not
jam q stick Of stOvewood between the
cakes. which IN some instances rose 100
feet above the surface OF the water.
Consider that ice floats but one-seyenth
out OF the water and then you have an
idea Of the enormous size OF such a
chunk There must have been 500 or
Coz feet under the water.
ITO tell the truth. when We were
there il seemed SO damned that one
cannot even make a prediction when
the bay will clear of the CONCEALED OBJ
struction and permit close proximity
to the great glacier. / think, however,
that the old Muir still retains its IA
cial beauty We took the glasses and
viewed II as best We could at such a
distance. The sea front seemed to stand
out In bold. perpendicular form, as of
yore, but the jagged float ice rose up.
so obstructing the sight that one coul1
not get definite idea Of what damage
has been wrought. The heavy slough
ing of was undoubtedly caused by last
September's earthquake: but the gla-
cier is ever on the move. and it will
push on seward until as much of its
remarkable formation is visible as be-
fore.
II have been running ships to Muir
glacier for sixteen or eighteen years,
but this was the first time il gave me
such a chilly reception. Even the
Queen had 10 stand of at a respectful
distance. But the tourists and others
aboard expressed themselves as amply
repaid by what they saw. OF course
we were all curious 10 get up closer.
but that was impossible. By the time
we return the bay may be comparative
ly free, permitting us to get as close
TO the glacier as formerly, but no one
can tell.
Were the ice in the bays and inlets-
about the glacier all packed together
should say II would constitute a field
five or six miles wide by probably twice
that distance in length Nc doubt the
fee in the bay approach TO the glacier
extends clear TO the bottom. and the
water drops off rather abruptly from
twenty fathoms to 500 and 500 feet