172 1. C. Russell — Mt. St. Elias and its Glaciers. 



obtained the necessary measurements of angles for determin- 

 ing the height of Mt. St. Elias and of a few of its neighbors. 

 Computations based on these measurements, show that Mt. St. 

 Elias has an elevation of 18,100 feet, plus or minus a probable 

 error of less than 100 feet. 



From Icy bay we tramped eastward along the coast to the 

 head of Yakutat bay, and thus became familiar with the outer 

 border of the Malaspina glacier. After reaching the head of 

 Yakutat bay we explored the continuation of the same inlet, 

 known as Disenchantment bay. The entrance to the inner 

 bay was discovered by Malaspina in 1791, while searching for 

 a passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic. At first the 

 opening in the mountains at the head of Yakutat bay, gave 

 hope that the long-looked for " Northwest Passage " had been 

 found, but on entering it Malaspina learned his mistake and as 

 an indication of his disappointment, named the inlet " Puerto 

 del Desengano," which has been changed by English writers, 

 to " Disenchantment bay." 



When Disenchantment bay was discovered, the Hubbard 

 and Dalton glaciers had a greater extension than at present and 

 uniting at Haenke island, blocked the inlet from shore to shore 

 with a wall of ice similar to that now formed by the Hubbard 

 glacier. 



Disenchantment bay was next visited by Capt. Puget of 

 Vancouver's expedition, in 1794, and was found to be blocked 

 by ice, as had been described by Malaspina. 



This is the last report we have of the condition of the ice 

 in the bay, until our visit in 1890. When the Revenue 

 Steamer Corwin called for us at the close of the season, we 

 steamed up the bay past Haenke island, to within half a mile 

 of the ice cliffs of the Hubbard glacier, and then ; turned back 

 without exploring its eastern extension. It is reported that 

 two prospectors in their search for gold visited the eastern 

 arm of the bay a few years since, but of this excursion there 

 is no record. 



In the fall of 1891, I again visited the bay and with two 

 companions explored its entire extent. We found it to be 

 prolonged nearly due east from the Hubbard glacier for about 

 ten miles, with a width of about three miles. From near the 

 east end of this arm, beginning at what I have called Cape 

 Enchantment, there is another arm, looking like a broad, 

 placid river, from two to three miles wide, which runs south 

 for over twenty miles, and extending beyond the mountains, 

 expands into a circular lake-like water-body in the flat lands 

 between the mountains and the sea. A partial survey of this 

 southern portion of the bay was made, but stormy weather 

 coming on, all instrumental work had to be abandoned. 



