Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1904-01-06
OUR GREAT VOLCANO.
Discoveries Lately Made About NJ
Wrangell In Alaska.
Thousands % Square niles % saOw-
clad summfts-Its Unscaled Top
Tough Problem for
Mountafneers.

Only q few years ago the necessarily
active volcano. Mount Wrangell, In
Alaska, was represented on all u maps
as an isolated mountain situated In the
midst Of q great snow covered plateau.
Almost nothing was known OF that In
land region, but Mount Wrangell had at
tracted attention because smoke was al
ways pouring from its summit
Exploring parties Of the United States
geological survey have been particularly
active in this region for the past three
years and are at last able to give much
definite information about It, reports the
New York Sun. II has been found that
Mount Wrangell is not a solitary noun
tain, but is in the midst Of vast array Of
SUBMITS covered with snow and glaciers
and spreading over an area Of no less
than $500 square miles.
Within this area are at least ten snow
clad peaks 10000 feet or more in height
Several Of these are still unnamed and
two, Mount Sanford, 1920 feet, and
Mount Blackburn, Il. 140 feet, are higher
than Mount Blanc or any OF the peaks
within the United States south OF Can
ada. Mount Wrangell, which has at
tracted more attention than the others,
because It is an active volcano, is third
IN altitude, 1900 feet.
This entire mountain region, in the
basin Of the Copper river, is now known
as the Wrangell group Of mountains
w. G. Mendenhall, OF the suvery, has an
article On the group In the latest num-
Der OF the National Geographic Maya
zine. Among bis illustrations he gives
a fine panoramic view, about three feet
long, Of the part OF the group which con-
tains some Of the highest SUBMITS.
It is a wonderful scene OF the grimmest
desolation peak after peak rising from
high valleys, their black, steep sides
streaked with snow and the higher ele-
vations completely white with 1t, and in
the center of the picture is Mount Wran-
CELL with its column of smoke.
But Wrangell itself is a grand o u
tain, though dwarfed by the higher cones
of Sanford and Blackburn. It is a wide
spreading cone nearly three miles high
and eight times as broad. It's gently
arched surface is a glistening snowield,
smudged here and there by volcanic ash.
from the crater, which sends up rolling
columns of smoke and vapor to a height
Of three miles.
From its eastern slope descends the
Nabesna glacier, a frozen river so miles
in length. On its western face a dozen
jets ofsteam may be seen on a still morn
ing issuing from as many vents.
The glaciers proceeding from the shall
low valley where these vents occur are
black with breath Of the mountain. The
summit has never been reached, though
q prospector named John Bremner de-
clares hat he got within a mile Of the
top.
But Mount Wrangell may be ascended.
Mr.. Mendenhall thinks that some time
may elapse before the summit Of Mount
Mckinley is reached, but he says 1t will
not be a difficult feat to get to the top
Of Wrangell. The line Of perpetual snow
is about $500 feet and the summit rises
$500 feet above this. He describes four
feasible routes Of approach and thinks
that the ascent Of the only known active
volcano in the interior Of the continent
north Of Mexico may well appeal to any
mountaineer. All the other active Alas
kan volcanoes are on or near the sea-
coast.
The Wrangell mountains are, for the
most part, masses of lava and volcanic
mud which had been piled up on an
earlier surface, burying the old land
forms and substituting for them the
present splendid group Of mountains.
POPULARITY OF SONGS.