Barometrical Measurement of Mt. Seward. 



175 



ridge, thongli tlie thick, miniature forest, obscured the view, telling 

 by its presence — before I had glanced at the instruments — that we 

 were still far beneath the height ascribed to the mountain. Baromet- 

 rical observations were here taken ; cloud fragments drifting through 

 the forest, the while. 



Hour. 



Barometer. 



Attd. Ther. 



Detd. Ther. 



3 . 26 p. M 



25.900 inch. 

 25.940 " 

 25.950 " 

 25.950 " 



44° Fah. 



42° " 

 40° " 

 39°. 5 " 



40° Fah. 



3.30 " 



38° " 



3.35 " 



37° " 



3.40 " 



37° " 







Hardly had the above been noted before my guide, who 

 had wandered off, returned to announce a still higher point in 

 view. The barometer was returned to its case, and we hurried on. 

 The balsam trees continued to dwindle in height, until we stood. 

 upon an open crest. The world seemed all below us ; but northward, 

 half a mile away, a lofty summit reared itself, grizzly with dead and 

 withered balsams, struggling to keep their hold upon the rock that 

 here and there looked out gloomily ; it was Mt. Seward. Between 

 us and it was an abyss through which clouds floated. 



It was a grand, though disheartening spectacle ; so near, yet seem- 

 ingly inaccessible. The afternoon was nearly spent ; it was evident 

 that we would now be compelled to camp amid the clouds. How- 

 ever, evening and twilight continue upon the mountains long after 

 the valleys are dark with shadows, and we determined to improve 

 the time by attempting the passage of the gorge. At length, as the 

 clouds parted, we noticed a narrow ridge, or " horse-back," far below, 

 which crossed the deep valley, and on which it seemed that one 

 might pass over. 



Starting to descend, we discovered snow in small quantity, the 

 remains of a last winter's drift, lying exposed to the air, discolored 

 and icy. Its preservation thus must be exceptional. Descending 

 amidst precipitous rocks, we reached the "horse-back," and, by 

 hastening, were able at nightfall to cross the deep valley. With the 

 last rays of the sun upon us, we formed a camp just below the true 

 summit of the mountain, on the edge of the impenetrable thicket of 

 dwarf balsams. 



