OUR GREATEST NATIONAL MONUMENT 



243 



Photograph by E. C. Kolb 



MOUNT MAGEIK FROM THE ASH FLATS 



The elderberries and bunches of grass have come up through a heavy blanket of ash 



and pumice. 



not along to realize how these men 

 worked for the success of the expedition. 

 No task, however difficult or disagree- 

 able, was too great, whenever it was 

 recognized that it was for the good of 

 the expedition. 



Many of the tasks for which there 

 were volunteers in plenty would have 

 been altogether unreasonable in the eyes 

 of any except men who were there for 

 the love of overcoming difficulties. 



In addition to the regular members of 

 the expedition, visitors were received for 

 the first time. The first "tourist" to visit 

 the Katmai National Monument was 

 Rodney L. Glisan, of Portland. Later in 

 the summer the wives of the three mem- 

 bers of the expedition whose families 

 were at Kodiak — Mrs. Griggs, Mrs. Fol- 

 som, and Mrs. Kolb — also came across 

 and visited the valley, thus proving that, 

 despite the necessarily primitive condi- 

 tions, the place is by no means impossible 

 for women (see page 242). 



"lining" supplies up the rapids 



Although there was some uncertainty 

 in advance as to the possibility of "track- 



ing" our supplies through the rapids by 

 lining the boats, it had been decided that 

 the chances were favorable to success. 

 When the Naknek section of the expedi- 

 tion, under the leadership of Sayre, ar- 

 rived, they found the river extremely 

 low — so low that there was considerable 

 difficulty in getting the boats over the 

 bars. 



Nevertheless, it was found that as much 

 as 1,500 pounds could be tracked up in a 

 single load, which was far more than we 

 had dared anticipate. At the time, the 

 low water, with its shallows, was con- 

 sidered a considerable handicap, but, as 

 we found later, to our sorrow, it was ex- 

 tremely lucky for us that there was no 

 more water. 



Any one who has tried it knows that 

 lining a boat through swift water is hard 

 work. It took three men, two on the tow- 

 line and one to fend off, at the bow of 

 the boat, and in many places the water 

 was so swift that the combined efforts of 

 all three were barely sufficient to move it 

 against the swift current. Yet, with all 

 its difficulties, a day of this work is much 

 easier than a day with a pack on one's 



