The Nome nugget., 1929-12-28
MARSHALL'S EXPERIENCES IN
 INFERIOR ALASKA

gently TOT Baltimore alteT mdk ing two months study of tree growth in the Arctic. MT. Mar shall will stop off at Lawing and plans to take the boat from there for Seattle.
 The discovery of five valleys rivalling the Yosemite in beauty an encounter with grizzlies, and d narrow escape from being mar ooned On an island, were among experiences of MT. Marshall and Al Retzlaff on their recent trip into an unexplored region of the Brooks range.
 The first of the canyons, which Mir. Marshall believes rival the Yosemite in grandeur, was found on side trip they made up the East Fork of the koyukuk. This valley, 10 miles long, hollowed out of perpendicular cliffs 500 feet high-the river laundering through white with rapids-was a sight, MT Marshall says, which would attract tourists by the thousands if it were located Out side. They tried to camp there but the horsaa We're driven wild by the mosquitoes forcing them to go on. Though it was light enough to travel. the trip that night back to the North Fork of the koyukuk was hard going, as they had to cross soft bogs fill ed with crevices from which a glacier had recently receded. One horse was so badly mired that they nearly lost him.
 Next night they camped in an- other valley which they named "Gates to the Arctic" It was so beautiful that they thought noth ing else on the entire trip could possibly equal it. But it turned out to be merely the threshold to even mere wonderful scenery. The western wall of the canyon, 5000 feet high, was formed by a series of crags rising sheer 1,500 feet from the steep pedastal like bases also 1,500 feet in height. A mountain with perpendicular 3,000foot precfpice walled in the otherside of the valley. The floor between, a mile wide. was covered with dry river bars and willows.
 Reach Timber Line
 In the third valley of this type. twelve miles further, the northern timber line of Alaska was reached From there On only dwarf willows could be found. This canyon, wall ed in by 2,oo0 to 3,0OO-foot cliffs of slate. had fascinating side gor- ges opening into it, but there was no time to explore them. Eight sheep were seen here. Mir. Mar shall climbed mountain from which he counted Is neighboring apparently unscalable peaks, three of them bearing glaciers on their northern slopes.
 Seventeen miles further up the main North Fork of the Koyukuk hey established their base camp in cold, rain-swept valley. It was here, the very first morning when MT. Retzlaff had gone off to pan for gold, that Mir Marshall had his adventure with two griz- zlies. He was sitting in the tent writing notes, when +he two pack horses suddenly broke loose and started galloping down the wall ey. He ran out and managed to bring them back. But they reared and became manageable. He just had time to snatch up his gun, still trying to hold them, but they were so wild that he haa to let them drag him. Then hap oening to look up, he saw two enormous grzzlies on the noun tain side above, coming directly for them. They came 50 near that he let the horses go and fired his gun. The first shot wounded one of the bears but did not stop :fem. At the second shot, how