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

~ at the map will show, is ,
small. unimportant stream il
Southwestern Alaska whicl
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 III
the arm, which is really wide estu
ary, where. for days. and sometimes q
week, the foe formed surgcs back and
forth with the tide, until elally it all
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 1oc
often jams on them and piles up to a
great height. 1t was in one Of these
jams that John Hardman, q young
naturalist. who had come to Alaska in
the interests Of geological society in
one of our Eastern cities, had an ex-
tremely perilous experience in the
spring of 1901, while voyaging 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 a
hurry to reach the mountains.
So when the ice broke up he did not
walt for it to go out to sea, but started
aboIt the first of May from the head
Of Cooks Inlet with his party of four
one white man named Caulkins and
three Knik Indians-in large river
boat or scow. He intended to fight his
way through the vast foe that filed
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 wheA the water was
open eiiougI and I'M
ATent @rsn-tho cakes closed IN around.
To prevent the boat from being crushed
when the zee iammed on the numerous
bars required untirins 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 Oh q bar directly IN
front of the voyagers. Fortunately FOR
their lives they We're 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 500
pounds Of provisions out on the i'H-
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 jailled fast on
the shadows. Left on the largest bar
about half mile out was huge, ir-
regular heap of big cakes, most Of
. them fully three feet thick, which COW
Z cred about two acres and was nearly
FORTY feet high. On the smaller bars
Scyond, 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 in the 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 it and
somewhat changed it's shape. 1t was
not safe to attempt to run the narrow
channels now; the only thing to do was
to wait until the insetting current
should clear passage for them. Per,
haps the next tide would do this.
at about o'clock Hardman, taking
his camera, left camp alone to get O
closer view of the jam and some pic
lures Of the mounds. Going along the
shore about mile he came to the
portion of the foe stuck in the wide
CHANNEL. It made perfectly safe
bridge clear across to the main bar
md over this he made his way to the
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 q view iron
the summit. Climbing up by way o
the front slope, which was long ant
quite easy ascent, he was q third o
the distance to the top when n
reached u giant cake, broken in two Il
the centre. The lower half lay at a
angle of forty-fve degrees, the uppe
half at not more than thirty. Betwee
the two was crack three feet wide
and beneath it an opening several Zee
deep.
Resting for q moment on the uppe
edge OF the under cake. Hardma
steppcl upon the one above, not notl'
ing how insecure was its position. II
siantly his foot slipped and he fell int
t,,e crack between. He clutched at I'll
slippery edge as he went down, hun
suspended by his arms tor secon'
then, his hands loosing their hold L
dropped just in time to escape Deil
crushed. For the lightly poised bloc
had been started downward by Ii
weight, and crashed against the low
one as nc struck i'll 4 heap below. l.
was caught like a squirrei in be
tran In marrow, ,irregularspace amol
the blocks, about three feet wide, IL
feet long and six feet high.
For a moment Hardman did not