Explorations in Alaska. 37 
on the open glacier so as to be out of the reach of avalanches. 
All our cooking was done by means of small coal oil stoves. 
''After returning to Blossom island, an excursion was made far 
out on the great Piedmont glacier, which forms a plateau about 
1,500 feet high, stretching along the southern base of the St 
Elias range. This glacier is of the continental type in distinction 
from the Alpine glaciers, and has an area by estimate of about 
1.000 square miles. It is the largest glacier known in the North- 
ern hemisphere, with the exception of the icefields of Greenland. 
"We returned to Yakutat bay about the 20th of September, 
having had stormy weather almost all the time since leaving the 
vicinitj- of St. Elias. On the 22d of September our hearts were 
gladdened by seeing the Corwin steaming up the bay. Capt. 
C. L. Hooper, commander of the Corwin. acting on his own judg- 
ment, and knowing that we would have a hard time if left at 
Yakutat until winter set in, made the cruise from* Sitka especially 
for our relief, and conveyed the expedition to Port Townsend, 
where we arrived on October 2. 
•From the point of view of the scientist, if 'not the Alpinist, 
our expedition was a success. The plan proposed before starting 
was carried out almost to the letter so far as the study of glaciers, 
geology, and topography was concerned, but we did not reach the 
top of mount St. Elias. The measurements made have deter- 
mined that all the mountains in this region are lower than was 
previously supposed, and that St. Elias. instead of being the 
highest point in North America, is in reality a second-rate moun- 
tain. Its elevation, instead of being 10,500 feet, as previously 
considered, is about 15,000. Mount Cook has an elevation of 
12.000, and Vancouver 9,400. .Many other peaks in the same 
region are as elevated as Cook and Vancouver, but St. Elias is 
higher than any of its immediate neighbors. St. Elias is not 
an ancient volcano, as its form might suggest and has been re- 
ported by sea captains, who state that they have seen it in erup- 
tion, but is formed of sedimentary rocks. The great pyramid 
is really the end of a roof like ridge in which the rocks dip 
northeast, its form is typical of a large number of lesser moun- 
tains in the same region. 
••The more important glaciers and mountains in the region 
explored were named principally in remembrance of distinguished 
American geologists who are no longer living. One grand moiin- 
