1178 The American Naturalist. [December, 
General "Notes. 
GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL. 
Alaska.—Mount St. Elias. — The scientific expedition sent out 
last spring under the joint auspices of the National Geographic Society 
and the United States Geological Survey, for the purpose of exploring 
the region about Mt. St. Elias, Alaska, has returned. Mr. Russell, 
who organized the expedition and had charge of the work, is now in 
Washington, and, at the request of the Associated Press, has furnished 
the following picturesque sketch of the work of his party: 
The party consisted of Israel ©. Russell, geologist; Mark B. Kerr, 
topographer, both members of the Geological Survey ; E. F. Hosmer, 
general assistant ; and seven camp hands, hired at Seattle, Washington, 
of whom J. H. Christie was foreman. Owing to uncertain health Mr. 
Hosmer returned home from the first camp. All arrangements for 
camping in an unknown country were completed at Seattle early in 
June, and on the 17th the expedition sailed for Sitka on the steamer 
Queen, one of the excursion boats plying regularly between Puget 
Sound and Southern Alaska. The voyage to Sitka furnished an 
opportunity for seeing the fine glaciers of Tanku Inlet and Glacier 
Bay, thus serving as an introduction to the still more wonderful ice 
fields about Mount St. Elias. On arriving at Sitka the members of the 
expedition were transferred at once to the United States steamer Pinta, 
under command of Captain Farenholt, who had previously received 
instructions from the Secretary of the Navy to take them to Yakutat 
Bay. The Pinta reached the mouth of Yakutat Bay on June 25th. 
The bay is a broad, deep inlet, extending more than thirty miles in- 
land, and it was the plan of the expedition to begin work near its head 
on the west shore. The weather being thick, Captain Farenholt did 
not think it advisable to take the vessel up the bay, and the voyage had 
to be made by means of boats and canoes in a driving rain storm. 
The actual base of operations was reached on June 28th, and the 
study of the geology and geography of the region began at once. 
** When the storm passed away," says Mr. Russell, ** we found our- 
selves on a wild shore encumbered by icebergs and at the immediate 
base of a majestic mountain range, trending southeast and northwest. 
Along the southern base of the mountains there is a plateau some 
