Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1903-09-09
- HE Knik River. as q glance
at the map will show, is u
small. unimportant stream in

at the map Will show, is 1
small. unimportant stream IL
Southwestern Alaska which
empties into the Knik Arm, shallow
indentation from the head Of Cook:
Inlet. When the ice in this river
breaks up in the spring it collects In
the arm, which, is really wide estu
ary, where. for days. and sometimes q
week, the foe formed surges back and
forth with the tide, until eaally it al
works its way out to sea.
AS the tide Of the arm comes in with
a small bore the floating ice is swept
back up stream with great force. and
the waters Of the estuary being thickly
studded with bars, the tide driven tloc
often jams Oil them and piles up to q
great height. 1t was in one Of these
jams that John Hardman. young
naturalist, who had come to ALASKA il
the. interests Of geological society in
one OF our Eastern cities. had an eS-
tremely perilous. experience in the
spring Of 1901, while voyuging up the
arm OH Ills way inland.
Hardman was bound for the head
waters of the river, for the purpose Of
capturing alive some Of the mountain
sheep so plentiful there. Owing to
the fact that the lambs must be taken.
if at all, when very young, he was in
hurry to reach the mountains.
So when the ice broke up lie did not
walt for it to go out to sea, but started
about the first of May from the head
Of Cooks Inlet with his party of four
one white man named Caulkins and
three Knik Ildians-in large river
boat or scow. He intended to fight his
way through the vast foe that filled
the arm.
As at this time it was possible to
travel only when the tide was setting
in, the method of proceeding was to
walt until the bore passed and then
launch. the boat among the ice fields
behind, rowing when the water was
open enough
sTrh tsr.ssn-tho cakes closeu III afouIu.
( TO prevent the boat from being crushed
when the See iammed on the numerous
I bars required untiring vigilance and
prompt action, but ,Caulklns handled
the scow so skilfully that for four
hours the first run with the tide had all
gone well.
Then suddenly wide area Of the foe
began to pile up on bar directly III
frontsof the voyagers. Fortunately for
their lives they were near shore. BY
quick work they succeeded in getting
the boat to land before the ice could
close up and catch them. To drag the
clumsy scow with its cargo of S0O
mounds of provisions out on the &C.
heaped bank was no small feat, yet
they did it.
Here in safety they watched the foe
make itself into miniature mountains
of blocks on the chain Of bars across
the arm, until at last the tide spent its
force and began to recede. carrying
back all the ice not jammed fast on
the shadows. Left OH the largest bar
about half mile out was huge IL
regular heap of big cakes, most Of
them fully three feet thick, which COW
cred about two acres and was nearly
forty feet high, On the smaller bars
beyond, with open channels between.
were several other mounds not so
large, and in the broad channel be-
tween the shore and the big mound
was an uneven field Of tightly packed
ice. AS they could not get any further
at present camp was made to wait for
the tide of the next morning in the
hope that by then the jam would be
broken.
But fil tho morning 1t was found that
the tide which had come in during the
night instead of breaking the barrier
had only added more ice to 1t and
somewhat changed its shape. 1t was
not safe to attempt to run the narrow
channels now; the only thing to do was
to walt until the lnsetting current
should clear passage for them. Per
haps the next tide would do this.
At about 0 o'clock Hardman. taking
his camera, left camp alone to get
closer view of the jam and some pic
lures Of the mounds. Going along tho
shore about mile he came to tht
portion of the Zoe stuck in the wide
CHANNEL. 1t made perfectly SAFE
bridge clear across to the main bar
and over this he made his way to thu
base of the great white pile of jagged
blocks.
After taking two or three photo
graphs at favorable points he wa
seized with q desire to get view iron
the summit. Climbing up by way
the front slope, which was long am
quite easy ascent, he was q third
the distance to the top when Il
reached o giant cake, broken in two
the centre. The lower half lay at a
angle of forty-fve degrees, the uppe
half at not more than thirty. BetWee
tho two was crack three feet wide
and beneath it an opening several Zee
deep.
Resting for moment OH the uppe
edge OF the under cake. Hardma
stepped upon the one above. not noti'
ing how insecure was its position. IL
stantly his foot slipped and he fell in'
- thn crack between. He clutched at IL
aig siiDpery edge as he went down, h''i'
ou suspended by his arms for secon
cnt then, his hands loosing their hold
'droppcd just in time to escape Den
crushed. For the lightly poised Dlot
q had been started downward by
thtS Sweirht. and crashed against the low
ole aoua MS he struck i'll heap below. L
EicttKas caught like a squirrel i'll W
SOM a -aD In a narrow, irregularspace amor
fiat, sle blocks, about three feet wide, IL
low let long and six feet high.
= - ,,,a,,,nnf TT rdmaIl did not