170 I. G. Russell — Mt. St. Elias and its Glaciers. 



Expedition o/1890.* 



In 1890, I left the Mission at Yakutat, early in June, with 

 eight companions, ana proceeded by boat to near the head of 

 Yakutat bay, where our tramp toward the interior began. 

 We worked our way slowly northwestward towards Mt. St. 

 Elias for fifty miles across mountain spurs and over glaciers. 

 More than nine-tenths of the journey was over rough ice or on 

 the neves from which the glaciers flow. We reached an eleva- 

 tion of 7500 feet on the north side of Mt. St. Elias, but were 

 caught in the early winter storms and forced to retreat. 



During this journey we became acquainted especially with 

 the great neve fields on the mountains, and explored a large 

 part of the northern border of the great Piedmont glacier, 

 which is of the nature of a vast lake of ice, formed by the union 

 and expansion of several large Alpine ice streams on the plain 

 intervening between the mountains and the sea. This veritable 

 Mer de glace is known as the Malaspina glacier. It was thus 

 named by the Superintendent of the IT. S. Coast Survey 

 several years since, in honor of Don Alejandro Malaspina, an 

 Italian explorer in the service of Spain, who visited the south- 

 ern coast of Alaska in 1792 The Malaspina is the most inter- 

 esting of all the glaciers in the St. Elias region, and will be 

 briefly described a few pages in advance. 



Expedition of 1891. 



Early in June of the present year, I returned to the St. 

 Elias region, and after calling at the Mission at Yakutat, 

 landed at what is known as Icy bay, fifty miles west of Yaku- 

 tat bay, and there began again the study of the geography and 

 geology of the region to which I wish to direct attention. 



With five camp hands for companions, I crossed the Mala- 

 spina glacier to the Chaix hills, and from there went up the 

 Agassiz and Newton glaciers. Our highest camp was in the 

 snow in the great amphitheater in which the Newton glacier 

 rises, between Mt. Newton and Mt. St. Elias, and at an eleva- 

 tion of 8000 feet. We occupied it for twelve days, and during 

 that time owing to clouds and snow storms, were able to make 

 hut one advance. On the day we did advance, we climbed to 

 the divide between Mt. Newton and Mt. St. Elias and from 

 there ascended the north slope of the great pyramid forming 

 the summit of Mt. St. Elias, until we reached an elevation a 

 little over 14,500 feet above the sea. 



From the divide and while climbing the slope above it, 

 we had an unobstructed view of the vast unexplored region 



* A popular account of this expedition appeared in the National Geographic 

 Magazine for May 1891. 



