88 I. C. Russell — Expedition to Mount St. Ellas. 



arch in the southern heavens, to soon disappear into the sea 

 toward the southwest. Brief as were her visits, they Avere always 

 welcome and always Ijrought the feeling that distant homes were 

 nearer when the same light was visible to us and to loved ones 

 far away. The soft moonlight dimmed the twilight, the after- 

 glow faded from the highest j)eaks, and the short northern night 

 came on. 



After returning from the mountains, late in September, we were 

 again encamped on the northwestern shore of Yakutat bay. A 

 heavy northeast storm swept down from the mountains and 

 awakened all the pent-up fury of the waves. The beach was 

 crowded with bergs, among Avhich the surf broke in great sheets 

 of feathery foam ; clouds of sj^ray Avere dashed far above the icy 

 ramparts, carrying with them fragments of ice torn from the 

 bergs over Avhich they swept ; Avhile the stranded bergs rocked 

 violently to and fro as the Avaves burst over them. Sometimes 

 the raging Avaters, angered by opposition, lifted the bergs in their 

 mighty arms and, turning them over and over, dashed them 

 high on the beach. It seemed as if si:»irits of the deep, unable 

 to leaA'e the Avater-world, Avere hurling their Aveapons at unseen 

 enemies on the land. The fearful grandeur of the raging waters 

 and of the dark storm-SAvept skies Avas, perhaps, enhanced by the 

 fact that the landAvard-bloAving gale, combined Avith a rising 

 tide, threatened to SAveep aAvay our frail home. Each succeeding 

 AA^ave, as it rolled shorcAvard, sent a sheet of foam roaring and 

 rushing iip the beach and creeping nearer and nearer to our 

 shelter until only a fcAV inches intervened between the high- 

 Avater line and the crest of the sand bank that protected us. The 

 limit Avas reached at last, however, and the Avater sloAvly re- 

 treated, leaving a fringe of ice within arm's length of our tents. 



The wild scene along the shore was especially grand at night. 

 The stranded bergs, seen through the gloom, formed strange 

 moving shapes, like vessels in distress. The Avhite banners of 

 spray seemed signals of disaster. An Armada, more numerous 

 than ever sailed from the ports of Spain, Avas being crushed and 

 ground to pieces by the hoarse Avind and raging surf. Sleep Avas 

 impossible, even if one cared to rest AAdien sea and air and sky 

 were joined in fierce conflict. Our tents, spared by the waves, 

 Avere dashed doAvn by the fierce north Avinds, and a lake in the 

 forest toAvard the Avest overfloAved its banks and discharged its 

 flooding Avaters through our encampment. At last, tired and 



