194 /. C. Russell — Expedition to Mount St. Ellas. 



Washington, D. C, May £9, 1890. 

 Mr. Mark B. Kerr, To2')ogra2)lier. 



Sir : You are hereby assigned to field-work in the vicinity of Mount St. 

 Elias, Alaska, in the party under charge of Mr. I. C. Russell. Upon the 

 receipt of these instructions you will please proceed without delay to the 

 field, and map upon a scale of four miles to an inch such territory in the 

 vicinity of Mount St. Elias, including that mountain, as the field season 

 will permit. The work should, if practicable, be controlled by triangula- 

 tion. Special attention in the course of your work should be given to 

 measuring the altitude of Mount St. Elias, and it should be determined by 

 triangulation and also, if practicable, by barometer in such manner as to 

 be conclusive. 



The topographic work should be controlled by triangulation. As many 

 positions on this coast are approximately known, including a number of 

 the prominent peaks, astronomical determinations of position will not be 

 necessary unless needed to supplement the triangulation. 



The details of your outfitting and the management gf the work will be 

 left to your own judgment. 



Very respectfully, Henry Gannett, 



Chief Topographer. 



NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. 



Memorandum of Instructions to the Party sent out under the Direction of Mr. 

 I. C. Russell, assisted by Mr. Mark B. Kerr, to explore the Mount St. Elias 

 Region, Alaska, 1890. 



The general object of the expedition is to make a geographic reconnois- 

 sance of as large an area as practicable in the St. Elias range, Alaska, in- 

 cluding a study of its glacial phenomena, the preparation of a map of the 

 region explored, and the measurement of the height of Mount St. Elias 

 and other neighboring mountains. Observations should also be made and 

 information collected on other subjects of general scientific interest as far 

 as practicable. 



The purpose of these instructions is mainly to suggest the lines of in- 

 vestigation that give promise of valuable results, but it is not intended 

 that they shall limit the director of the expedition in the exercise of his 

 own discretion. 



Gardiner G. Hubbard, Chairman^ 

 Marcus Baker, 

 WiLLARD D. Johnson, 



Committee. 

 Washington, D. C, May 29, 1890. 



