408 AN EXPLORATION TO MOUNT McKINLEY. 



coast for over half a centurj-, knew the mountain and called it ^ Biil- 

 shaia," which, like the native name "" Trolika," signified " high moun- 

 tain ; " but Russian literature on Alaska, so far as we know, contains 

 no reference to this important geographical feature. Lieut. Henrj^ T. 

 Allen, too, who, in 1885, made his hazardous exploration of the lower 

 Tanana, saw this peak, liut at so great a distance that he was not spe- 

 cially impressed with its altitude. 



Thus it was that explorers and traders did not seem to be aware that 

 they had sighted the highest peak on the continent. When, in 1895, 

 scores of prospectors were attracted to Cook Inlet by the discover}- of 

 gold, they, too, saw the mountain, but apparently gave it no thought 

 until the following year, when one of them, W. A. Dickey, recognized 

 its importance, and upon his return published a description of it and 

 proposed the name Mount McKinley. Though the mountain had been 

 known to white men for over a centur}-, and though scores of others 

 had been as near it as this prospector, or nearer, he was termed the 

 discoverer of Mount McKinley. All honor to him for calling attention 

 to it, but let us not make the absurd blimder of crediting him with its 

 discovery. 



Two 3"ears after the naming of the mountain, George H. Eldridge 

 and Robert Muldrow^ of the United States Geological Survey, in the 

 course of their exploration of the Sushitna River, located it accurately 

 and determined its altitude at over 20,000 feet. Its height and posi- 

 tion were thus known, and something of the character of the southern 

 flank of the range above which it towers. The northern face of the 

 range and the base of the mountain remained to be explored, and this 

 was the task assigned to me as part of the general S3^stem of explora- 

 tory surve3^s undertaken by the Geological Survey in Alaska. I was 

 fortunate in having as associates in this enterprise Messrs. D. L. Rea- 

 burn and L. M. Prindle, as well as four able and enthusiastic camp 

 men. 



On May 27, 1902, the vessel bearing our party steamed slowly up 

 Cook Inlet. Hardl}' a ripple stirred the water, and through the hazy 

 atmosphere we could barely discern the outline of the low coast, beyond 

 which, in a bank of clouds, lay the high mountain range which we 

 were to explore. At noon we dropped anchor at Tyonok, a small 

 native settlement on the west shore of the Inlet with one trading post 

 and a white population of half a dozen men. (See plate iii.) 



We were forced to wait until the evening tide floated a large scow 

 destined to convey our horses to the shore. These, in spite of much 

 struggling and kicking on their part, were then unceremoniously hoisted 

 out of the hold and dropped over the side into the scow. The landing 

 was attended with some excitement, for the horses, restless after their 

 two week's confinement, exhibited a strong desire to leave the narrow 

 gangway which reached the beach. One little brute satisfied his curi- 



