'- • 





FLOATING ROCK 



Photograph by R. F. Griggs 

 -LUMPS OF PUMICE PICKED UP ON THE BEACH : KATMAI BAY 



The foot rule gives the scale. The violence of the explosion was so great that all the 

 pumice was blown to small bits. There were few pieces more than six inches in diameter 

 from Mount Katmai. These came from one of the subordinate vents in the Valley of the 

 Ten Thousand Smokes. 



fresh tracks on the pass at the top, and 

 on returning followed his trail across our 

 own. How he managed to hide from us 

 in a country so destitute of cover is not 

 clear, but probably he had ample notice 

 of our approach and secreted himself 

 somewhere behind a rock. Of the smaller 

 mammals we saw not a sign, although 

 the surface of the ash preserves tracks 

 to a remarkable degree. 



We were surprised to find a few small 

 fish like minnows hi the river, for with 

 the ash fall all the streams were entirely 

 filled up for a time, and even the river 

 must have been nearly choked. There 

 was no evidence, however, anywhere of 

 salmon, which must have formerly en- 

 tered the river in large numbers. 



The means of subsistence of so many 

 large animals was very much of a mys- 

 tery to us ; yet they must have found 

 something to eat, for they were evidently 

 at home and not merely passing through. 

 Moreover, if they had not found food 

 they could easily have migrated, for a 

 journey of 20 miles to the westward 



would have taken them into a country 

 rich in berries, mice, ground-squirrels, 

 and marmots, besides large game such as 

 caribou, and, most important of all, in 

 the summer, salmon in the streams. The 

 only evidence we could secure in this 

 matter beyond our own conjectures was 

 obtained from the character of the bear 

 droppings, which much resembled horse 

 dung, as though the animals had been 

 living on grass. The quantity of grass 

 obtainable, however, seemed entirely in- 

 adequate to feed even one bear. 



FIRST VIEW OF THE VOLCANOES 



On the 1 6th, having previously broken 

 the trail as far as Soluka Creek, we 

 packed up our outfit and as much food 

 as we could carry and started up the 

 valley for the volcanoes. Our remaining 

 provisions, together with everything not 

 essential to our work, were left in the 

 base camp. Although Ave had made 

 things as snug as we could, it was not 

 without considerable trepidation that we 

 turned our back on our supplies ; for in 



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