y2, Smithsonian Exploration in Alaska in 1904 



" The cliff in which these fossils appear to have been imbedded is 

 part of the range in which the ice formation was seen in July. Dur- 

 ing our absence (a space of five weeks) we found that the edge of 

 the cliff in one place had broken away four feet, and in another two 

 feet and a half, and a further portion of it was on the eve of being 

 precipitated upon the beach. In some places where the icy shields 

 had adhered to the cliff nothing now remained, and frozen earth 

 formed the front of the cliff. By cutting through those parts of the 

 ice which were still attached, the mud in a frozen state presented 

 itself as before, and confirmed our previous opinion of the nature of 

 the cliff. Without putting to this test, appearances might well have 

 led to the conclusion come to by Kotzebue and 'W. Eschscholtz ; more 

 especially if it happened to be visited early in the summer, and in 

 a season less favorable than that in which we viewed it. The earth, 

 which is fast falling away from the cliffs — not in this place only, 

 but in all parts of the bay — is carried away by the tide. * * * 



" In consequence of this shallow water there was much difficulty in 

 embarking the fossils, the tusks in particular, the largest of which 

 weighed 160 lbs." 



September 25, 1826, page 329. " In another excursion which I 

 made along the north side of the sound, I landed at a cape which had 

 been named after the ship (Blossom), and had the satisfaction of 

 examining an ice formation of a similar nature to that in Eschscholtz 

 Bay, only more extensive and having a contrary aspect. The ice 

 here, instead of merely forming a shield to the cliff, was imbedded in 

 the indentations along its edge, filling them up nearly even with 

 the front. A quantity of fallen earth w-as accumulated at the base 

 of the cliff, which uniting with the earthy spaces intervening be- 

 tween the beds of ice, might lead a person to imagine the ice formed 

 the cliff, and supported a soil two or three feet thick, part of wdiich 

 appeared to have been precipitated over the brow. But on examining 

 it above, the ice was found to be detached from the cliff at the back 

 of it ; and in a few instances so much so, that there were deep chasms 

 between the two. These chasms are no doubt widened by the tend- 

 ency the ice must have towards the edge of the cliff; and I have 

 no doubt the beds of ice are occasionally loosened and fall upon the 

 beach, where, if they are not carried away by the sea, they become 

 covered with the earthly materials from above, and perhaps remain 

 sometime immured. In some places the cliff was undermined, and 

 the surface in general was very rugged ; but it was evident in this, 

 as in the former instance, that the ice was lodged in the hollow places 

 in the cliff." 



