132 /. C. RihHHell — Expedition to Mount St. Ellas. 



down the slope in spite of vigorous efforts to hold on, and a rapid 

 descent in the yawning chasm below seemed inevitaljle, when, 

 coming to a slightly rougher surface, he was able to control his 

 movements and to regain what had been lost. Climbing on, we 

 Came to the base of a vertical wall of shale several hundred feet 

 high, and made a detour to the lelt where a cascade plunged down 

 a narrow channel. We ascended the bed of the stream, which 

 was sometimes so steep that the sjDray dashed over us, and 

 reached the base of an overhanging cliff of conglomerate com- 

 posed of well-worn pebbles. Above this rose a cliff of snow fifty 

 feet or more in height, which threatened to crash down in ava- 

 lanches at any moment. One small avalanche did occur during 

 the ascent, and scattered its spray in our faces. Had a heavy 

 avalanche formed, our position would have been exceedingly dan- 

 gerous; but by taking advantage of every overhanging ledge, 

 and watching for the least sign of movement in the snow above, we 

 reached without accident a sheltered perch underneath an over- 

 hanging cliff near the base of the snow. We then discovered 

 that clouds were forming on all the high mountains, and shreds 

 of vapor blown over the crest of the cliff above told us that fur- 

 ther efforts would be useless. Seeking a perch protected from 

 avalanches by an overhanging cliff, we had a splendid view far out 

 over the sloping snow-plain toward the west and of the moun- 

 tains bordering Pinnacle pass on the south. My notes written 

 in this commanding station read as follows : 



" Looking down from my perch I can plainly distinguish the 

 undulations and crevasses in the broad snow-fields stretching 

 ' westward from Pinnacle pass. Each inequality in the rock be- 

 neath the glacier is reproduced in flowing and subdued outlines 

 in the white surface above. The positions of bosses and cliffs 

 in the rock beneath are indicated by rounded domes and steep 

 descents in the snow surface. About the lower sides of these 

 inequalities there are in some cases concentric blue lines and in 

 others radiating fissures, marking where the snow has broken in 

 making the descent. The side light shining from the eastward 

 down the long westerly slope reveals by its delicate shading the 

 presence of broad, terrace-like, transverse steps into which the 

 stream is divided. Were the snow removed and the rock be- 

 neath exposed, we should find broad terraces separated by scarps 

 sweeping across the bed of the glacier from side to side. Similar 

 terraces occur in glaciated canons in the Rocky Mountains and 



