(Contineu from Page One)
fissures, but looked down into their
dark green depths with respectful in
terest from a safe distance. After
mushing through the soft surface snow
for two miles we began the ascent
again, still on the snow reaching an
elevation of 4,000 feet at three in the
afternoon. We soon found ourselves
on a kind of a glacial divide, a smooth
rounded ridge of ice flowing on the
left down the valley whence we had
come to the Gastineau channel and on
the right, to the Taku inlet.
Now the gray object of our climb
stood fully revealed before us, not half
a mile distant. Some mountains are
climbed to look off from, and see the
surrounding country. It was enough
to approach this mountain and look
into its bare, beetling face. Its south
ern side rose sheeny gray in the sun
light 700 feet straight up from the
snow. Not a vestige of either snow
or vegitation could be seen on its bare
head, not a moving creature nor sound
of life anywhere as far as the eye
could range. On every side only rocks
and snow, rocks and snow with just a
glimpse of the blue of Taku inlet to
the east and the blue sky over head
We went straight on up the steep
snow slope, crossing once the solitary
tracks of a mountain sheep, on to the
rocky wall through which we saw a
notch by which we hoped to get
around the precipice and perhaps to the
top. The snow had melted away from
the racky face of the mountain leav
ing a deep wide space except at this
notch where a bridge of snow most op
portunely carried us over. We strug
gled up the narrow notch and found
ourselves on a rocky ridge but a few
feet wide of broken boulders piled in
gigantic confusion, and at the back a
dizzy discent of not less than 800 feet
sheer away to the snow fields below.
We looked aloft and there stood our
peak five hundred feet above our
heads accessible only by a narrow ridge
of loose lying rocks shelving off to the
precipice to the rear and stopping at
the precipice in front.
We stopped to consider. It was 4
in the afternoon, we were ten miles
from camp, the miles of glacier with
its jagged descent, the jungle to pierce
and then nearly five miles of trail
through the woods. I never saw a
peak ^hat seemed to say so seaucti\ely
"Come climb me,” but with that per
ilous ledge to traverse, n e knew it. was
a s:ren song and resolutely but re
gj.ufully turned our backs upon it.
We were roped together, but what
wail’d avail a rope if both .'Ofks and
climbers started for one of those pre
cipices. We lunched there at 4000
feet and took some pictures, but most
of all mental pictures of that vast
desolation. Near at hand on every
side were great fields of ice, snow cov
ered, rising between endless ridges of
rocks. Far away were towering peaks
higher than ours and equally steep;
four to the northward standing close
like four fingers, two standing like
twin trees perfectly round to the north
west; near the upper sources of Men
denhall glacier a sharp sawtooth range;
near at hand a peak nearly as tall as
ours on the opposite side of Lemon
creek glacier. To the east the moun
tains of the Taku and far to the south
our near neighbors on the channel.
Particularly plain were the outlines of
the top of Sheep creek mountains, the
forehead of the old man’s race being
just visible.
We did not stay long to look but
crawled down the notch across our
bridge and began a long sloping tract
down the snowr field, not a sound but
our own footsteps and sometimes the
fall of melting snow into some deep
crevass. We recovered the tracks that
had brought us safely up and reached
the outer edge of the level ice field in
less than half the time it took us go
ing up. Then that fierce swift plunge
of 700 feet down the soft snow, plow
ing it up like diminutive snow plows
and slowing up safely at the bottom
on a wide level space. Then across
the ice—no extra mountains this time.
We dodged around big open crevasses
slid down icy slopes, climbed down the
ledge at the sides of the glacier and
finally reached our jungle again.
Of all the hard places ou that tramp,
I think none were quite so ex
hausting as that tangled mass of
trackless brush, especially on the re
turn trip. But all things have a way
out and we reached the prospector’s
cabin again at quarter past seven, a
kittle more tnan tweive hours since we
left it. After finishing the remmants
of our lunch we went the long but
easy end of the journey to our camp
four miles and a half below.
WHALES
Under the old methods, the whale
fishery, wherever pursued, was very
wasteful, the bulk of the animal being
thrown away. It is different now—at
all events in Alaska, where an inten
sive system, as one might properly call
it, has been adopted.
This system depends primarily up
on the establishment of permanent
shore stations, from which centers of
industrial activity the fishery is prose
cuted.
In any case, when a whale is killed,
instead of cutting it up in the open
sea—often when weather conditions
render the task ‘exceedingly difficult,
—the animal is towed to the nearest
shore station and there disposed of to
the best possible advantage.
At Tyee, in Southeast Alaska, is a
shore whaling station that maintains a
plant for utilizing all parts of the
whale. Nothing of the creature is
wasted, what is not available for oil,
food, or other purposes, being turned
to account as fertilizer.
There still seems to be plenty of
whales in Alaskan waters, but they
have become much more shy and diffi
cult to approach than formerly. The
vessels engaged in the fishery are pur
suing them, more than hitherto, in the
open ocean, and they are capturing a
greater number, relatively speaking, of
the “ sulphurbottoms. ” It is a mat
ter of interest if only for the reason
that the sulphurbottom whale is pro
bably the largest animal that exists or
ever did exist.
The gasoline schooner Lizzie S. Sor
renson, operating from the Tyee whal
ing station, met with a most unusual
fate a few months ago. While she
was cruising near Cape Addington, a
whale was sighted. She approached
cautiously to within gunshot and drove
a harpoon-lance into the animal. The
weapon failed to reach a vital spot and
the whale made off at a terrific rate;
but, finding its progress checked, it
suddenly turned and made directly for
the vessel. Striking her a terrific blow
in the stern, it knocked out a big piece
of the bottom and she quickly sank.—
Saturday Evening Post.
JUNEAU MUSICAL CLUB
The Ladie3 Musical Club has per
fected a successful organization. Thir
ty singers were present at the meeting
at the Juneau school building on Tues
day evening. They took up “Behind
the Lattice,” by Chadwick.
On account of his valuable services
to the club, Willis Nowell was present
ed with beautiful landscape painting
by Carot.
George Irving
George Irving is back from his salt
ery at the westward, and reports a
hard but gratifying summer’s work.
He is looking strong, hard and brown,
but his many friends in Alaska will be
glad to know that hard work does not
take from George any of his jolly good
nature.
NEWCASTLE LUMP
A TON SACKED
CITY DOCK
THE
I ISLAND
DEPARTMENT
STORE
Goods that show Quality!
A stock that offers Variety!
| Prices that spell Economy!
The Best Is
Always the
Cheapest
t
It was this store
that first intro
duced Best Quality
Fresh
Vegetables
& Fruits
in Douglas—We
still set the pace.
B. R.
LEI VERS