ALASKA EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 295 



miles from the river the trail rises gradually over a slightly rolling 

 country having a rather light, poor-looking, and somewhat stony soil. 

 Early in the forenoon we reached a point where snow had fallen the 

 night before, and we had a depth of 2 inches in the pass proper. The 

 grade on each side of the pass is gradual and the elevation is probably 

 not more than a thousand feet above the trail. 



After leaving Kimballs Pass the trail is muddy, there being a black 

 muck or boggy soil across the Ernestine Divide, which is really a large, 

 elevated, almost level, and mossy section, from which flow the South 

 Fork of the Tonsena on one side and the Ernestine Creek on the other. 

 We stopped at "The Barns" on the evening of the 25th. At this 

 point the Government has a large barn to shelter horses which it may 

 be desirable to keep at this place during the winter months. A mem- 

 ber of the signal corps is in charge of the station. The telegraph line 

 is in operation between Valdez and Copper Center and men are sta- 

 tioned about 25 miles apart along the line. After leaving "The 

 Barns " our course is along the North Fork of the Tiekell River. In 

 places this stream has a valley 2 or 3 miles wide; in other places it is 

 closely shut in by mountains on either side. There are evidences of 

 snow slides at various places along the trail, chiefly in the form of 

 great bowlders that have come down with the snow during the winter 

 season. Soon after crossing the bridge over Stewart Creek we passed 

 up and over a considerable elevation, where the trail was steep, muddy, 

 and somewhat stony. We were now following a mountain pass up the 

 Chena River. Timber here was rather sparse and the trees somewhat 

 stunted in growth. The Chena is bridged at a point where it flows in 

 a narrow bed between perpendicular rocky banks. About a mile and 

 a half from the bridge is station "Number Three," put up by the trail 

 builders, and which consists of two Government buildings. One is 

 used for a storehouse for supplies, the other is a dwelling for the signal- 

 corps man who is stationed here. We remained at this station over 

 night. Next morning our horses were missing, but they were finalty 

 found some 4 miles up the trail, near an old mail station, where grazing 

 was good. At this place I saw timothy grass that stood 3 feet high. 

 The seed had evidently been scattered from hay that had been fed to 

 the mail horses. The elevation here is about 3,000 feet, and glaciers 

 may be seen in a number of different directions. I counted 6, none 

 of them distant. We had intended to make it into Valdez on the 27th, 

 but the action of our horses delayed our start. The grade to the 

 summit is a gradual one and the climb is not at all difficult. Near the 

 head of Ptarmigan Creek, well up toward the summit, the land 

 stretches with a gentle upgrade in all directions from the creek bed, 

 and here the ground is grass-covered, the land is somewhat marshy, 

 and the vegetation is like swamp grass in appearance. We had a fine 

 day for crossing the summit, and the scenery, as the trail led over low 



