The Wrangell sentinel., 1929-08-08

I long lapse of time before another authentic record was made. This was in 1879, when the glacier had receded several miles up what is now known as Reid Inlet. Then followed a series of recordings until in 1912 the glacier was reported but a short distance from the inter- national boundary line.
 Discovery by W. c. Waters
 It was in October of 1924 that Constable Harper-Reid. of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. was in formed by MT. Walter Waters Ca resident of WrangelD, that at the foot of the Grand Pacific Glacier on Reid's Inlet a strip of land was showing. This land had been re- vealed by the recession of the gla- cier, and was about half a mile | long and five hundred feet wide. It was flat and lay. he believed on the Canadian side of the bound ary. MT. Waters also reported that the harbor there was :orty fathoms deep and that there ap- peared to be a passage overland in the direction of a place called Haines Mission.
 Glacier Bay, which the ice once covered, Is an inlet of the sea. A distanve of forty-four miles from Icy Straits it divides into three branches. These branches are known as Queen Inlet, Rendu Inlet and Reid Inlet. The latter Is some twelve miles in length and again branches off into two more inlets. The longer and most northerly if the two is named Tarr Inlet (which extends for thirteen miles). It is at the head of this channel that the glacier has receded beyond the boundary line.
 Territory Recorded
 MT. J. P. Forde, district engineer at Victoria for the Dominion Pub lie Works Department, on hearing of the discovery proceeded in the government boat, Walronda, and in- vestigated the waters of Tarr Inlet. Tn his report to the government he advised the official recording of ter ritory in the interest of the Yukon and Northern British Columbia. He reported that the glacier had re- ceded 3,40O feet north of the Can adian-Alaskan boundary.
 The annual recession of the gla- cier from 1794 to 1912 has been at the rate of half a mile a year This glacier, MT. Forde believes, is the second ice cap to cover Alaska. He found a buried forest in the vii cinity of Muir Creek. One tree was found and a portion near the en- trance of Geiku Inlet, brought to the Provincial Museum showing a growth of 124 years. The forest is estimated to have been under the ice for some 300,000 years.
 When the glacier receded sixty two miles in the period between 1794 and 1912, the recession from the latter date was slower, the rate being 260 feet each year. Now that the glacier has left the water and land is showing at it's base, the re- cession is less discernible over a period, MT. Forde says.
 This is due to the fact that the action of the sea no longer helps in the gradual dislodging of the glacier t is still receding, but the press'lre from behind keeps 1t well down to the waterfront.
 Boundary Establishr
 In carrying out his investiga- tions at the head of Tarr Inlet, MT. Forde took a triangular survey and erected a boundary mark to show distinctly that the waters and land for the last half mile of Tarr Inlet belonged to Canada. He also drew i large scale map showing where the glacier had receded, not only up Tarr Inlet, but up the other arms of Glacier Bay and Reid In- | let. On this map is indicated the | land on the Canadian side of Tarr Inlet. It is a sand and gravel strip on the west side of the inlet, allow ing plenty of space for the erection of wharves for the docking of steamers.
 Another important factor in the discovery revealed by MT. Forde's investigation is that, despite the ex- treme northerly location of the new harbor, Glacier Bay or it's adjacent inlets have never been formed over with ice during the coldest weather. This is due undoubtedly to the in- fluence of the Japan current which sweeps into these shores.
 This means that the Yukon and Northern British Columbia is as- sured of a port free from ice the
 whole year round-an outlet to
 foreign ports that, unlike the St
 Lawrence river, will be navigable
 at all times of the year.
 MT. Forde points out in his re-
 port to the Dominion Government
 that there is a splendid harbor for
 deep sea shipping there. Soundings
 showed forty fathoms of water
 within 200 feet of shore at low tide
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