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The National Geographic Magazine 



steamers to enter. So also the breaking 

 up of the ice masses seems to have been 

 so thorough that great quantities have 

 continued to be discharged every year 

 since then, and it was not until this sum- 

 mer that the excursion boats were able 

 to approach to within less than from 10 

 to 20 miles of the front of the Muir. The 

 steamer Spokane, commanded by the 

 veteran Capt. James Carroll, succeeded in 

 getting up to within about a mile of the 

 face of that glacier on one of her trips 

 this year. 



Formerly the Muir presented a per- 

 pendicular front at least 200 feet in 

 height, from which huge bergs were de- 

 tached at frequent intervals. The sight 

 and sound of one of these vast masses 

 falling from the cliff, or suddenly ap- 

 pearing from the submarine ice-foot, was 

 something which once witnessed was not 

 to be forgotten. It was grand and im- 

 pressive beyond description. 



Unfortunately the recent changes in 

 the Muir have not increased its impres- 

 siveness from a scenic standpoint. In- 

 stead of the imposing cliff of ice, the 

 front is sloping, and seems to be far less 

 active than formerly. Its shape is en- 

 tirely changed. It is now divided into 

 two branches, the two branches being 



caused by what were formerly two 

 "nunataks" in the body of the glacier. 

 The eastern arm discharges but little, and 

 appears to be nearly dead. The front of 

 the western arm is in shape of an elon- 

 gated basin, and, as above stated, slopes 

 gently. It is badly crevassed ; a point of 

 rock juts out at the water's edge on the 

 west side of the basin. This is apparently 

 the prolongation of a ridge which out- 

 crops through the ice-field further back, 

 and which will soon, if the glacier con- 

 tinues to retreat at its present rate, make 

 two arms of the present western one. It 

 is from this western arm that the bulk 

 of the ice is now discharged. 



That the changes now going on will 

 continue in the same direction is by no 

 means certain. All around Glacier Bay 

 from Bartlett Bay up into Hugh Miller 

 Inlet, and including the Muir Inlet, there 

 are evidences that there was once before 

 a retreat of the glaciers followed by an 

 advance. Stumps of large trees, in situ, 

 along the shore line, testify unmistakably 

 that for a long period the country was 

 free from ice, that forests grew, that the 

 ice advanced and overwhelmed them, and 

 has again retreated. Who can predict 

 what will come next? 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 



Friday, January 31, 1908— "The Conserva- 

 tion of Our Natural Resources." Mr Gifford 

 Pinchot, Chief of the U. S. Forest Service. 



Friday, February 7, 1908— "South Africa : 

 The Natives and the Mines." Mr Gardiner F. 

 Williams, author of "The Diamond Mines of 

 South Africa" and for many years General 

 Manager of the De Beers Diamond Mines, 

 Kimberley. Illustrated. 



Friday, February 14, 1908 — "The Deep-water 

 Route from Chicago to the Gulf and its Con- 

 nections." Hon. Joseph E. Ransdell, Member 

 of Congress from Louisiana and President of 

 the Rivers and Harbors Congress. 



Friday, February 21, 1908 — Hon. George 

 Shiras, 3rd, of Pittsburg, has accepted the in- 

 vitation of the National Geographic Society to 

 address the Society on some of his experiences 

 in hunting wild game with the camera. Illus- 

 trated. 



Friday, February 28, 1908 — -"Holland's War 

 with the Sea." Prof. J. Howard Gore. Illus- 

 trated. 



Friday, March 6, 1908 — "The Missions of 

 California." Hon. Joseph R. Knowland, Mem- 

 ber of Congress from California. 



Friday, March 13, 1908 — -"Arizona — The 

 Egypt of the New World." Mr Frederick 

 Monsen. Mr Monsen describes not only the 

 ancient ruins, but the country as it is today, 

 with its Indian tribes, Spanish-Mexican settle- 

 ments, and American towns. The wonderful 

 Snake Dance of the Hopis will be shown. 



Friday, March 20, 1908 — "Persia — Past and 

 Present." Dr A. V. Williams-Jackson, of Co- 

 lumbia University. Illustrated with unusual 

 pictures taken by Professor Jackson on exten- 

 sive journeys through the ancient kingdom. 



Friday, March 27, 1908 — "The Geography of 

 the Sea." Rear Admiral Colby M: Chester, 

 U. S. Navy. 



Friday, April 3, 1908 — "Cathedrals, Mosques, 

 and Temples of the World." Hon. O. P. 

 Austin, Chief U. S. Bureau of Statistics. Il- 

 lustrated. 



