The fabled ''Phantom City." 53 



look like the ice-front of another glacier ; the pinnacles of Muir 

 glacier sometimes look like minarets. These appearances have 

 given rise, hy a considerable stretch of the imagination, to the 

 so-called "• Silent city,'" or " Phantom city," figured in some hooks 

 which describe this region. This mirage is just the opposite to 

 that seen in hot deserts. There the rays are bent up, making 

 the image look as if it were reflected fr'om the surface of water ; 

 here the rays are bent down ; yet the bending is not sufficient to 

 entirely separate the image from the oliject, but only makes the 

 latter appear distended, as though it were made of rul:)ber and 

 had been stretched upward. 



^Ve had rather less rain than we expected ; about one day in 

 three was rain}' during July and August ; September was much 

 wetter. There were no thunder-storms, and usually the rain 

 was in small drops. In August aurorse were frequently seen, so 

 fi'equently that I think they must have occurred every night ; 

 possibly all the time, although, of course, daylight would have 

 masked them. Earlier in the summer the twHight, which lasted 

 all night, would also have drowned them if they occurred. 



The Survey.* 



A base hue was measured off with a steel tape fr'om A to B 

 on the plateau on the western side of the inlet ; here we found 

 fairly even ground. The base was measured twice ; first fi-om 

 B to A, then from A to B. The two values obtained were 

 962.301 and 962.330 meters respectiveh". The length adopted 

 was 962.32 meters, = 1,052.8 yards. By means of small transits 

 we then made a network of triangles and fixed the points A B, 

 D. Camp, E. K. L. M. b^. cJ. The maps were made entirely with 

 the planetable. This instrument was set up at Camp. D. E, H, 

 L, X. 0, P, R. S, 7" and T', for the general map. The map of 



* The instruments used in the survey were lent b}- the United States 

 Coast and Geodetic Survey. They consisted of — 1, a .39-meter steel tape, 

 with which we measured the base line ; 2, two small Casella transits, irtith 

 2i-inch vertical and hoiizontal circles, di\'ided to half degrees and read- 

 ing by two verniers to minutes, which were used in the triangulation, in 

 the measiu-e of the motion of the ice, and in determmations of latitude : 

 o, a planetable 14 by IS inches, with which the maj)s were actually made. 

 In addition, we had fom aneroids, only one of which, however, was found 

 to yield reliable results. This one was used in determining the height of 

 T", and the height of the glacier near P. 



