48 CRUISE OF THE STEAMER CORWIN. 



and oa August 17 we rc.-iclicd ihis jilacc on oiu- dowiiwanl jounicy. llr. Towiiscml uiul I 

 climb,-d t;) the Id]) of ll.c luouutain and from this coi,i;-u of va,iitaKo had an extiuid'jd view. Ear 

 away to tlic wwtward flir mountains around Sclawik Lalvt' could Ix; .seen, ami between uy ami 

 Hotliain Inlet \\v could make out the delta of the Kowak witli its iiumlreds of cliannel ways 

 and hi-oons. so close to^-ether tliat it seemed, as viewed from oni' ])ositi(jn. tjiat oniv a slight rise 

 in the river would he necessary to ciian-v tins systemof islands, lagoons, and st reams, hitooiie 

 Vist sheet of water in shape like an ei|uilatera.l tria.jigle. luiving one of its angles at our feet. 

 one at the lowei- end of Selawik Lake, ;ind the remaining one at the north end of JJolh-ini 

 Inh-t. 



We olisei'\c(l on the siiuinut of this n:ounta.in several pih'S of stones, and u]H,n iiii|uii-> 

 learned tliat they wei-e jjlaeetl there as landmarks Ity the natives to serve as guides while trav- 

 eling during the winter. Huge l)owlders of marble lay along the ridge, and seemed to hav.- 

 hurst their way thi-ougli tlic moss which covered tlie inouiitain in all other places. 



During till' next day we i)assed the juiu-tion of the 8(inirrel River with the Kowak. h 

 Hows III from the noi-theast, and beyond being one of the i)rinci])al feedei-s of the large river il 

 is not believed to l)e of any .special importance. A sliort distance below this place is where 

 C(jal was first discovered in the first exi)l(n'atiou by me. Here the river is confined by a .series 

 of rocky IdulTs, ami forms what 1 have designated in former descriptions the first or lower 

 rapids. We experienced some difficulty in getting through here, l)ut. Ih-iving obtained consid- 

 erable knowledge of the chaiimd liy former struggles, we managed to get through without 

 injury. 



Tlie coal is iidiniately mixed with a fine white clay, whicli renders its u.se for a small fur- 

 nace almost impossible. However, it is my ojiinion, ba,sed on tin! exiierience of others, that 

 this seam if worked would produce a good cpudity of coal. 



1 saw iiiimeious sjiecimens of extra, good bituminous coal, which tin- Indians claini could 

 be oljlained easily, on some of tlie small tributaries of the Kowak, hut I never succeeded, 

 altliougli I tri(Hl several times, to <lefinitely locate the place where such coal could be ol)tained. 

 • One of the UKwt remarkable, in fact the only remarkable feature of the lower river, is the 

 ice formation in tlie high black bluffs. The recent heavy rains had caused the river to rise 

 loan unusual height, and I observed in many places where the erosion of tlie fl(.)od had exposed 

 vast masses of ici', whicli had escaped my notice formerly. Change is the order of the day 

 here, and it is no uncommon thing to see, soon after a flood or freshet in the river, masses id' 

 earth, upon which trees thirty to forty feet high have grown, suddenly break away and fall 

 -with a tremendous roar into the river. I obtained sketches and photographs of these broken 

 Ijlutfs, but no picture can adequately portray the feeling of utter desolation which this destruc- 

 tive work of the ever-rushing river conveys. 



Tiie constant falling away of the soft earth, leaving the solid ice hare in many places, has 

 given rise to many curious and fantastic formations. 



Heads of men. women, and animals can be readily discovereil, and if the I'lit hiisiiistic 

 tourist who .sees in tim pictured rocks of Lak(^ Superior .so much thai is womlerful could .gaze 

 iijion tliese icy cliffs, his emotion would be iiu^xiiressible. 



1^'or mill's along the river in this |iorlion of its course these icy clilTs a])[iear and disappear 

 at regular intervals, so that it is ob.served that they recur in bends that are parallel with ea(dj. 

 other, which would .seem to indicate that its existence is not due to deposits of ice hy the river, 

 else it would be ill all of the l)eiids. liiit tliat its presence is dui^ to smue other cause. If a 

 straight line is drawn through the ceider of one of these ice-clilfs, and through the ENE. 

 and WSW. points of the coni])ass. it will not (Jiily touch all of tlie cliffs, but if extended to 

 the sea will touch the coast at a point very near Eleplia-iit Point, on E.sclioltz Bay. where, it is 

 well known, a peculiar ice formation in tin' blulfs has been oliserved and coiiuneiited upon 

 by numerous scientific men. 



Climbing to the to]) of one of these ice-cliffs, Mr. Townsend and Ipusln-d tnw way through 

 the den.se lliickets of willow and luxuriant .growth of grass into tlu! interior for about one mile, 

 where we found a sliallow lake about a mile in diameter, which I have no doubt had its origin 



