354 
The American Geo/onsf. ■ December, ist»y 
the true course of following thro«gh the pass the sleet cut 
the faces of the men so they would turn their backs to the 
storm and proceed in the proper direction. Had the wind 
blown into the pass from the right or left the expedition 
would have simply drifted out onto the great glacial fields. 
As the storm continued for several days, the men would have 
been snowed in, and probably the entire outfit frozen to death, 
as no living man could face the gale. But as luck was on 
the side of the expedition, it drifted through the pass and 
down toward the Klutena Valley. 
After some five or six hours' travel in the howling storm, 
where it was impossible to hear or see a comrade, a high and 
rocky cliff was finally rounded and the expedition beheld the 
most beautiful sight I ever witnessed. The change was almost 
magical. Two yards after passing behind the shelter of this 
rocky cliff there was a perfect haven of rest and sunshine, 
while out of the pass rushed the howling storm like the water 
out of the nozzle of a fire hose. Throwing ourselves on the 
snow in the sunshine, we stretched ourselves at full length 
and enjoyed that rest which only men can who have been 
battling for their existence. As if understanding the situa- 
tion, the poor, miserable-looking pack ponies, their manes and 
tails all clotted with ice, lay down in the soft snow and grunted 
with satisfaction as the rays of the sun peeled the coating of 
ice ofif their bodies. After resting here a short time and eat- 
ing lunch, the expedition proceeded down the glacier to the 
timber line. Here camp was made for the night in a grove 
of stunted cottonwoods and willows. I had now successfully 
crossed the Valdez Glacier at a season of the year when it 
was universally conceded to be impassable for man, making 
the journey in twenty-nine consecutive hours of practically 
continuous work, without sleep, rest, or shelter. The com- 
mand was, however, in bad shape. The men were more or 
less frost-bitten about the ears and hands, and the pack ani- 
mals bruised and lacerated to such an extent as to render 
some of them unfit for service. After enjoying the luxury of 
the camp fire and relating to each other our various narrow 
escapes, we rolled up in our sleeping bags and soon forgot 
the past in the sound and pleasant sleep that comes to the 
weary man in the field. 
