* Return to Civilization.. 163 



had left Kerr, quite recovered from his exposure on the moun- 

 tain. Stormy weather continued, and a gale from the northeast 

 piled the ice high on the beach and threatened to sweep away 

 our tents, as has already been briefly described in earlier pages. 



On September 20, our tents having been beaten in by a 

 violent storm and our camping j^lace overflowed by the waters 

 from a lake above us, we removed our goods to a place of safety 

 and went to Dalton's cabin, where we awaited better weather. 

 The morning of September 23 dawned clear and bright, and 

 after drying our clothes around a blazing camp-fire, we started 

 back to our camping place on the shore. Before reaching there, 

 however, we Avere rejoiced to see the Convin coming up the bay. 

 It took us but a short time to get on board, where Captain C. L. 

 Hooper, her commander, did everything in his powder to make 

 us welcome and comfortable. To him we are indebted for a 

 delightful voyage back to civilization. 



After steaming up Disenchantment bay nearly to the ice-cliffs 

 of the Hubbard glacier, and obtaining a fine view of the glaciers 

 about Disenchantment bay, the Corwin returned to Port Mulgrave 

 and, on September 25, put to sea. After a splendid ocean pas- 

 sage,- we arrived at Port Townsend on October 2. 



During our stay in Alaska not a man was seriously sick and 

 not an accident happened. The work planned at the start was 

 carried out almost to the letter, with the exception that snow- 

 storms and the lateness of the season did not permit us to reach 

 the summit of Mount St. Elias. 



Suggestions. 



Should another attempt be made to climb Mount St. Elias, 

 the shortest and most practicable route from the coast would be 

 to land at Icy bay and ascend the Agassiz glacier. The course 

 taken by us in 1890 could be intersected just north of where the 

 tributary glacier from Dome pass joins the main ice-stream ; and 

 from there the route followed last summer would be the most 

 practicable. A camp should be established on the divide between 

 Mount St. Elias and Mount Newton, from which excursions to 

 either of these peaks could be made in a single day. 



In the preceding narrative many details have been omitted. 

 One of these is that tents, together with blankets, rations, etc., 

 were left at two convenient points between Blossom island and 



