An Expedition to Mount St. Elias, Alaska. Israel C. Russell

Bering does not appear on any map that I have seen. Which of the numerous high peaks in the vicinity of Dry bay should be designated by that name remains to be determined.

In a record of the astronomical work of Malaspina's expedition10 there are some interesting observations on the position and elevation of Mount St. Elias, a translation of which, by Mr. Stein, is here given:

      "True longitude of Mulgrave west of Cadiz, 133° 24' 12". On the same day, the 30th of June 1792, at the observatory of Mulgrave, at 6h. 30' in the morning, the true altitude of the sun was observed to be 16° 14' 20", and its inclination being 23° 11' 30" and the latitude 59° 34' 20", the true azimuth of the sun from north to east was concluded to be 71° 43' 0". But having measured on the same occasion with the theodolite 110° 33' from the sun's vertical to the vertical of Mount St. Elias, the difference between these two quantities is the astronomic azimuth. Hence, from the observatory of Mulgrave, said mountain bears N. 38° 50' W., a distance of 55.1 miles, deduced by means of good observations from the ends of a sufficient base. A quadrant was used to measure the angle of apparent altitude of the mountain, 2° 38' 6", and allowing for terrestrial refraction, which is one-tenth of the distance of 55.1 miles, the true altitude was found to be 2° 34' 39"; whence its elevation above sea-level was concluded to be 2,793 toises (17,860 feet), and the length of the tangent to the horizon, 152 miles, allowance being made for the increase due to terrestrial refraction....

      "Lastly, with the rhumb, or astronomic azimuth, and the distance from the observatory of Mulgrave to Mount St. Elias, it was ascertained that that mountain was 43' 15" to the north and 1° 9' to the west, whence its latitude is found to be 60° 17' 35" and its longitude 134° 33' 10" west of Cadiz."

      Taking the longitude of Cadiz as 6° 19' 07" W. (San Sebastian light-house), the longitude of St. Elias from this determination would be 140° 52' 17" W.

VANCOUVER, 1794.11

      The next vessels to visit Yakutat bay after Malaspina's voyage, so far as known, were the Discovery and Chatham, under command of Captain George Vancouver. This voyage increased knowledge of the geography of southern Alaska more than any that preceded it, and was also of greater importance than any single expedition of later date to that region. The best maps of southern Alaska published at the present day are based largely on the surveys of Vancouver.

      The Discovery, under the immediate command of Vancouver, and the Chatham, in charge of Peter Puget, cruised eastward along the southern coast of Alaska in 1794. The Discovery passed the entrance to Yakutat bay without stopping, but the Chatham anchored there, and important surveys were carried on under Puget's directions.

      On June 28, the Discovery was in the vicinity of Icy bay, where the shore of the ocean seemed to be composed of solid ice. Eastward from Icy bay the coast is described as "bordered by lowlands rising with a gradual and uniform ascent to the foot-hills of lofty mountains, whose summits are but the base from which Mount St. Elias towers magnificently into the regions of perpetual frost." A low projecting point on the western side of the entrance to Yakutat bay was named "Point Manby." The coast beyond this toward the northeast became less wooded, and seemed to produce only a brownish vegetation, which farther eastward entirely disappeared. The country was then bare and composed of loose stones. The narrative contains an interesting account of the grand coast scenery from St. Elias to the eastern end of the Fairweather range; but this does not at present claim attention.

While the Chatham continued her cruise eastward, Puget ascended Yakutat bay nearly to its head, and also navigated some of the channels between the islands along its eastern shore. A cape on the eastern side, where the bay penetrates the first range of foot-hills, was named "Point Latouche;" but the same landmark had previously been designated "Pa. de la Esperanza" by Malaspina. The bay at the head of the inlet, which Malaspina had named "Desangaño," was named "Digges sound," after one of the officers of the Chatham. Boats were sent to explore this inlet, but found it "closed from side to side by a firm, compact body of ice, beyond which, to the back of the ice, a small inlet appeared to extend N. 55° E. about a league."12

      These observations confirm those made by Malaspina and indicated on the chart reproduced on plate 7, where the ice front is represented as reaching as far south as Haenke island.

The evidence furnished by Malaspina and Vancouver as to the former extent of the glaciers at the head of Yakutat bay is in harmony with observations made by Vancouver's party in Icy strait and Cross sound.13 Early in July, 1794, these straits were found to be heavily encumbered with floating ice. At the present time but little ice is met with in that region. On Vancouver's charts there is no indication that he was aware of the existence of Glacier bay, although one of his officers, in navigating Icy strait, passed its immediate entrance. These records, although somewhat indefinite and of negative character, indicate that the fields of floating ice at the mouth of Glacier bay were much more extensive a hundred years ago than at present; but they do not show where the glaciers of that region formerly terminated.

      After the return of the Chatham's boats from the exploration of Disenchantment bay, an exploration of the eastern shore of Yakutat bay was made. The following extract indicates the character of work done there:

      "Digges' sound (Disenchantment bay) was the only place in the bay that presented the least prospect of any interior navigation, and this was necessarily very limited by the close connected range of lofty snowy mountains that stretched along the coast at no great distance from the seaside. Mr. Puget's attention was next directed to the opening in the low land, but as the wind was variable and adverse to the progress of the vessel, a boat was again despatched to continue the investigation of these shores, which are compact from Point Latouche and were then free from ice. This opening was found to be formed by an island about two miles long, in a direction S. 50° E. and N. 50° W., and about a mile broad, lying at the distance of about half a mile from the mainland. Opposite to the south part of this, named by Mr. Puget KNIGHT'S ISLAND, is Eleanor's cove, which is the eastern extremity of Beering's (Yakutat) bay, in latitude 59° 44', longitude 220° 51'. Knight's island admits of a navigable passage all round it, but there is an islet situated between it and the mainland on its northeast side. From Eleanor's cove the coast takes a direction S. 30° W. about six miles to the east point of a channel leading to the southwest between the continent and some islands that lie off it. This was considered to lead along the shores of the mainland to Point Mulgrave, and in the event of its proving navigable, the examination of the bay would have been complete, and the vessel brought to our appointed place of meeting, which was now supposed to be no very great distance."

      In endeavoring to reach Port Mulgrave by a channel leading between the islands on the eastern side of the bay and the mainland, the Chatham grounded, and was gotten off with considerable difficulty. Many observations concerning the geography and the natives are recorded in the narrative of this exploration.

BELCHER, 1837.14

The next account15 of explorations around Yakutat bay that has come to hand is by Sir Edward Belcher, who visited that coast in Her Majesty's ship Sulphur in 1837.

      In the narrative of this voyage, a brief account is given of the ice cliffs at Icy bay, which are stated to have a height of about thirty feet and to present the appearance of veined marble. Where the ice was exposed to the sea it was excavated into alcoves and archways, recalling to the narrator's mind the Chalk cliffs of England. "Point Riou," as named by Vancouver, was not recognized, and the inference seems to be that it was formed of ice and was dissolved away between the visits of Vancouver and Belcher.

      Accompanying