350 The American Geologist. December, i899 
cold air blowing over the glacier through Bates Pass, rose 
rapidlv and was precipitated as snow and sleet on the summit 
and rain in the valley below. There was rain and fog August 
I, 2, 3 and 4, and the humidity was so pronounced and so 
continuous that bacon and ham became one mass of mold, 
while, the water of crystallization in the sugar being liberated, 
the sugar wasted away in the form of a sirup. One thousand 
three hundred pounds of commissary stores at the camp in 
Valdez were exchanged for an equal amount in the interior, 
thus obviating the packing of this amount over the glacier. 
August 5, notwithstanding the foggy, rainy weather, the 
expedition was ordered to proceed at once for the interior. 
Camp was broken at 5 a. m. At the foot of the glacier Pri- 
vate Bence was found, and when asked what he thought of 
the prospect of getting over the summit, replied that if the 
wind shifted and the pass was missed, that the stock and out- 
fit stood a chance of being a total loss. On the arrival of the 
train at the foot of the glacier each section of it was inspected. 
Each section consisted of five horses, each horse being led by 
a man, and there was also an extra man and extra rope to 
each section. The instructions to the men were to proceed 
over the glacier at given intervals as a unit, and whenever a 
horse broke through a snow arch over a crevasse they were 
all to join at once in roping and pulling him out without 
unpacking. After seeing that everything was in its place, 
the train started, with Private Bence, with pickax and alpen- 
stock, in the lead. I followed, leading my horse, on which I 
had packed a 5-gallon keg of whisky, to use as a stimulant 
. during the night and the following day. 
Passing onto the glacier, the animals seemed to know 
instinctively that there was danger ahead, as they would 
tremble and keep their noses close up to the backs of the men 
whO' were leading them. Whenever they broke through a 
snow arch, as they often did, they would lie perfectly still 
until roped. This applied equally to those which had been 
extremely shy and hard to approach prior to leaving the 
camp on the beach. As the expedition passed up through 
one crevasse, and turned to make an ascent of some 50 or 60 
feet up a grade of not less than 45 degrees, onto the cone 
of a hogback that was obscured in the thick fog, some of the 
