The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1909-10-28

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their ;.l lives IS crossing and recrossing
the ICY mountain torrents, the great
. Y range was finally crossed at
what is called Brooks pass. Mount
Mckinley was then almost circled for
"a possible approach and finally was
scaled to the height Of 1000 feet,
when farther progress was ended by
an impossible precipice It was then
tn that the attempt was abandoned and
the party separated after returning to
the ship. Parker went home, Browne
went hunting, Porter went surveying,
and Cook went to glory and the top
OF the continent, although Barriu
sWears he only went near glory and
was more than 10000 feet below the
top OF the continent. At present there
Is no way to check up on the two ex-
cept to recover the little brass tube.
Parker says that if he finds this yes
sci OF honor he will bring it back with
him, but Cook will not give him the
chance He is going to find it himself
Well, strength to their arms, or, rath-
er, to their legs! May they both reach
the top and live to write books about
the purple SHOWS" that all we'll reg
ulated peaks and poles are now sup
posed to wear.
Hardest Climb on Earth.
But if they do it they will have some
climbing. Mount Mckinley is now re-
garded as the hardest peak to nego-
tiate on earth. OF course it is not so
high as the Himalayas or the Andes,
but presents features Of more difficulty
than either. The tableland about the
Alaskan range is less than a mile in
height, while that surrounding the
H1malayas is two or three miles up
leaving a greater sheer ascent for the
American mountain than for those in
Asia. AS for the Andes, they, too, have
a high tableland and but little snow
and ice, while Mckinley is practically
all ice and snow above 1000 feet. An
| other element that makes the Alaskan
mountain hard proposition is that
of the sheer precipices thousands Of
feet in height that apparently surround
it on every side. On the top it is CON-
paratively fat, but it is long way to
the top It has been likened in shape
| to brick standing on end. Two more
features that make it difficult are the
climate and the fact that it is so far
inland in an almost inaccessible coun-
try. AS rule. mountain climbers plan
to reach the base of their ascents in a
fresh and strong condition. In ap-
preaching Mount Mckinley they are
exhausted and worn out before they
reach the foot
The one side of the great peak which
has not been explored and from which
no attempt has been made to scale it
is on the north. 1t is probable that
the Parker expedition will try it along
this route. AS for the Cook expedi-
ton, it will be along the lines of that
of 1906 and will follow the course laid
down in Dr. Cooks book as that by
which he reached the summit of the
mountain. This in itself will be a test
of the truth of his claims, whether or
not he finds the little brass tube. If he
climbs Mount Mckinley along the
route Of 1906. feat that Professor
Parker says cannot be performed. that
in itself will go far toward establish
ing Cooks former story. 1t has also
been suggested. that Barrill should
lead an expedition to the point he
swears that Cook and himself reached
and reproduce the photographs that he
asserts were taken by Cook and rep
resented as Mount Mckinley pictures
For example, he could rephotograph
the peak on which he stood and which
Cook photographed as the top of Nc
Kinley, but which Barrill claims was
twenty miles distant and fully two
miles lower in altitude. At present no
definite steps have been taken toward
equipping a Barrill expedition, how
ever. 1t is only in the talk stage, as
is most Of this controversy.
Former Explorations.
There have already been at least
seven Mount Mckinley expeditions, al
though the first was scarcely worthy
the name. It was that of w. A.
Dickey, mining prospector who was
not looking for mountains, but for
gold. He only saw the peak at a dis
lance, but its size so impressed him
that he believed it the highest noun
tain on the continent and so reported.
Lacking instruments of measurement,
he guessed roughly that it was 10000
feet high, a remarkably accurate esti-
mate. Mr. Dickey gave the mountain
the name Mount Mckinley. To all in
tents and purposes he was it's discov-
erer. although the Russians around
Cook inlet had long known of it's ex-
istence and called it Bulshaia (big).
The second expedition was that of
Robert Muldrow Of the United States