428 The National Geographic Magazine 



dug-out huts must have been a serious 

 undertaking, necessitating the gather- 

 ing of driftwood from far and near. 

 These old excavations are now covered 

 with a rank growth of grass, and the 

 unwary surveyor was liable to drop out 

 of sight without warning. 



The islands are mountainous, with a 

 few narrow valleys, devoid of trees, 

 mostly too rocky for any vegetation, but 

 the smoother slopes are covered with 

 long coarse grass. Each year the grass 

 is matted down by the winter snows, the 

 new grass grows up through the old 

 straw, and the result is a springy mat- 

 tress very tiresome to travel over. 



When our party reached the passes on 

 May 16 the mountains and hills were 

 covered with snow, which in many 

 places came down to the water's edge. 

 It is the rare exception when the hills 

 are not obscured by clouds, which often 

 hang so low that only the beach line is 

 visible. It is not probable that 1 per 

 cent of those who go through the passes 

 on their way to Nome, St Michael, or 

 the Yukon have ever enjoyed an unob- 

 structed view of the higher mountains 

 and volcanoes, and often they have only 

 seen the bases of the hills bordering the 

 water. 



During the early part of the season the 

 clouds hung persistently low on the 

 hills, greatly impeding the work of the 

 survey, but as the season advanced and 

 the snow melted the clouds were less 

 persistent and hung higher and higher 

 until during the last weeks of September, 

 when the snow had disappeared from all 

 but the very highest mountains, the 

 clouds lifted, and the grand scenery of 

 the passes was displayed unobscured 

 during several successive days. While 

 steaming into Beaver Inlet one of these 

 clear days we enjoyed a rare sight — four 

 active volcanoes, each emitting smoke. 

 These were Shishaldin, 9,387 feet, from 

 whose lofty funnel the smoke, black as 

 if from recent stoking, streamed away 

 many miles to leeward ; Pogromnoi, also 

 on Unimak Island, 6,500 feet; Akutan 



Peak, Akutan Island, 4,100 feet, and 

 Makushin, Unalaska Island, 5,691 feet. 

 One night earlier in the season, while 

 anchored in Akun Bay, we saw the flames 

 issuing from Shishaldin, 45 miles away, 

 having the appearance of a burning 

 smokestack. 



On entering Akutan Pass from the 

 south the first headland on Akutan Isl- 

 and is a conspicuous landmark, 1,600 

 feet high, which has some interesting 

 features. To the members of the party 

 this headland was known as 1 ' Liberty 

 Cap," a name suggested by the crest, 

 which resembles in outline the cap on the 

 statue of liberty surmounting the dome 

 of the Capitol. The suggestion of the 

 Capitol is further strengthened by the 

 formation at the base of the promontory, 

 which presents a rounded face to the 

 sea with several openings to the interior, 

 one of them large enough to admit the 

 steam launch; this is an arched gateway 

 20 feet across and about 12 feet high. 

 Running through this passageway, some 

 30 feet long, with the launch we came 

 into a large circular room which re- 

 minded us of the rotunda at the Capitol. 

 This amphitheater is at least 100 feet in 

 diameter, with an arched dome 100 feet 

 high, having a large opening to the sky 

 near the top, as though a part of the 

 dome had been shaken down by an 

 earthquake. There is good water, two 

 fathoms or more, over the floor of this 

 remarkable cavern. Besides the passage 

 by which we entered, there are several 

 others of varying widths, some leading 

 by winding ways through to the open, 

 others piercing deep into the base of the 

 headland. It is the noise of the waves 

 lashing into these narrow passages prob- 

 ably that gave origin to the name ' ' Bat- 

 tery Point," by which this point is des- 

 ignated on the recent charts. 



The tidal currents in the passes are 

 very swift, sometimes as much as eight 

 or ten knots, often causing "rips" of 

 terrific violence. These tide rips are 

 discernible a long distance by the white 

 gleam of tumultuous waters, and it is 



