THE MONARCHS OF ALASKA 



613 



ROUTE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS 



Skagway, at the head of salt-water 

 navigation of southeastern Alaska, is the 

 southern terminus of the White Pass and 

 Yukon Railroad, which is the connecting 

 link between the Pacific Oc>an and the 

 Yukon River, the great artery of central 

 Alaska. This railroad is one of the in- 

 teresting engineering accomplishments of 

 the age. Starting at tidewater, it follows 

 the valley bottom of the Skagway River 

 for about three miles, and then gradually 

 climbs the precipitous sides, winding in 

 and out of the smaller side valleys and 

 canyons, frequently crossing them, until 

 13 miles in a direct line from the start- 

 ing point it crosses the Coast Range at 

 the White Pass, 2.888 feet above the sea. 

 On the northern side the range slopes 

 gently to the great interior plateau, thus 

 making the grade of the road from the 

 pass to Whitehorse. the northern termi- 

 nus', very slight, the elevation of the latter 

 place being 2,084 f eet - 



A trip to the westward from Skagway 

 may take one either by Sitka or through 

 Icy Strait and Cross Sound. If the 

 former is taken, an opportunity is 

 given for viewing Mount Edgecumbe, 

 the only recognized volcano in south- 

 eastern 'Alaska. Situated as it is, just 

 off the coast, its dome-shaped summit 

 covered with snow, it adds much to the 

 beauty of the surroundings of Sitka, 

 which is one of the most picturesque 

 spots on the globe. 



If the more-frequented route through 

 Cross Sound is taken, the progress of 

 the steamer will undoubtedly be greatly 

 hampered by winding its way through the 

 waters thickly strewn with floating cakes 

 of ice. These icebergs are supplied by 

 the large glaciers in the vicinity ; the 

 Johns Hopkins, Muir, and Brady gla- 

 ciers and many others, each being large 

 ice-sheets covering hundreds of square 

 miles, discharge into Glacier Bay, which 

 opens to the Sound. 



SAINT ELIAS MOUNTAINS 



From Cross Sound westward the 

 mountains increase in height and gran- 



deur. The Fairweather Mountains rise 

 abruptly from the ocean to heights of 

 over 15,000 feet, while farther to the 

 westward the range increases in eleva- 

 tion until, at Mount Saint Elias and 

 Mount Logan, altitudes of 18,000 feet 

 and 19,500 feet, respectively, are reached. 

 Mount Saint Elias, however, has fig- 

 ured in Alaskan exploration from the 

 earliest accounts. In fact, it is the first 

 point of the territory which was sighted 

 by Bering in 1741. He discovered it on 

 Saint Elias' day, and accordingly gave it 

 the name. Singularly, it is a cornerstone 

 of the International Boundary, since it 

 lies practically in longitude 141 ° and is 

 on the crest of the range. Here the 

 boundary, which follows the 141st me- 

 ridian, bends abruptly to the east, follow- 

 ing the crest of the mountains. 



Saint Elias, while not the highest in 

 the group, has become the most widely 

 known because of the numerous attempts 

 to climb it. I. C. Russell, of the United 

 States Geological Survey, made two at- 

 tempts to reach the top. One of the ex- 

 peditions of which he was the leader was 

 financed by the National Geographic 

 Society. His narrative of one of these 

 expeditions was printed in the magazine 

 in May, 1891. The harrowing experi- 

 ence is' related of two days alone on the 

 snow-clad sides of the mountain at an 

 elevation of 14,000 feet, while a fierce 

 blizzard raged and many feet of new 

 snow were added to the old. 



Russell was unsuccessful in his at- 

 tempts to reach the summit, but his sug- 

 gestions as to the advisable route in an 

 ascent gave such accurate and valuable 

 information to those who followed that 

 the Duke of the Abruzzi, accompanied 

 by guides, profiting by his advice, suc- 

 ceeded in reaching the summit in 1897. 



While but 18,000 feet in height. Mount 

 Saint Elias, as well as McKinley and 

 many other Alaskan mountains, presents 

 difficulties to the mountaineer not usually 

 encountered. Unlike the majority of 

 difficult peaks which have been con- 

 quered, where the first few thousand feet 

 of altitude are traversed over roads or 

 trails, the entire 18,000 feet demand ex- 



