24 
ALASKA GLACIERS 
and the Muir, at least, has not yet, after the lapse of three 
years, resumed its normal habit. Just what changes were 
made we do not know, because ordinary sources of infor¬ 
mation have been cut off and no student of glaciers has 
yet made an investigation. 
On July 29, 1900, O. H. Tittmann, Commissioner for 
the United States on the International Boundary, visited 
Glacier Bay on the tourist steamer ‘ Queen.’ In the lower 
part of the bay the main channel was so obstructed by 
floating ice that the commander of the vessel sought for 
an easier passage west of Willoughby Island, and finally 
desisted from the attempt to approach the glacier when 
opposite the mouth of Muir Inlet. Looking ahead it ap¬ 
peared to Tittmann that the whole of Muir Inlet was occu¬ 
pied by an ice pack, the ice being probably grounded and 
stationary. Instead of being able to steam as usual to the 
very front of the glacier, the vessel was turned back at a 
point about ten miles distant. In the summer of 1901 
tourist steamers were stopped by the pack at distances from 
the glacier ranging from five or six to eight or ten miles. 
In December of the same year a special trip was made by 
the ‘City of Topeka,’ for the purpose of forecasting the 
accessibility of the glacier for the excursion season of 
1902. The way was then found comparatively open, and 
the steamer approached within about a mile of the gla¬ 
cier; but in the following summer the nearest approach 
was to a point five or six miles distant. 
These facts seem to show that the earthquake shock, or 
shocks, not only set free a great quantity of ice, including 
bergs of unusual size, but left the glacier in such condi¬ 
tion that bergs were more easily detached in subsequent 
years. The determination of the nature of that condition 
will be of much interest to students of the physics of 
glaciers. Joint systems in rock have been plausibly as¬ 
cribed to the passage of earthquake waves, and it is easy 
