Travels in Alaska 



drifts, which, when in this condition, is fixed not only 

 on sheer cliffs, but in massive, overcurling cornices. 

 Along the base of this majestic range sweeps the 

 Pacific Glacier, fed by innumerable cascading tribu- 

 taries, and discharging into the head of its fiord by 

 two mouths only partly separated by the brow of an 

 island rock about one thousand feet high, each nearly 

 a mile wide. 



Dancing down the mountain to camp, my mind 

 glowing like the sunbeaten glaciers, I found the In- 

 dians seated around a good fire, entirely happy now 

 that the farthest point of the journey was safely 

 reached and the long, dark storm was cleared away. 

 How hopefully, peacefully bright that night were the 

 stars in the frosty sky, and how impressive was the 

 thunder of the icebergs, rolling, swelling, reverberat- 

 ing through the solemn stillness ! I was too happy to 

 sleep. 



About daylight next morning we crossed the fiord 

 and landed on the south side of the rock that divides 

 the wall of the great glacier. The whiskered faces of 

 seals dotted the open spaces between the bergs, and I 

 could not prevent John and Charley and Kadachan 

 from shooting at them. Fortunately, few, if any, 

 were hurt. Leaving the Indians in charge of the 

 canoe, I managed to climb to the top of the wall by a 

 good deal of step-cutting between the ice and dividing 

 rock, and gained a good general view of the glacier. 

 At one favorable place I descended about fifty feet 

 below the side of the glacier, where its denuding, 

 fashioning action was clearly shown. Pushing back 



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