The San Francisco call. [volume], September 22, 1907, Page 1, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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The San Francisco Sunday Call.
Magazine Section
Part I.
The Death
of
Muir
Glacier
Lindsay Campbell
THE Muir glacier, one of the most
fascinating of the natural "-won
der* of Alaska, Is dying.; Tills
tummer, for the first titnejln nine
years, steerners have been able to.ent^r
th« bay Into whichllhe glar«er- empties
its gIe»JiiEES of ice, snow and: rocks,
end tie sight of this long hidden -. ice
vick v»s a s^ad one. for those -who'had
known the glacirr before.it received its
mortal wound frvhn an carrtiauake; -in
SS2S. The TacLflc Coast v steamship
company's liner Spokane, which- has
Jest returned to this port after a sum
mer spent in making: excursion trips
between the soimd and Alaska,. was the
first vessel to penetrate the bay, which,
since the caithcuake of nine years ago,
has been closed to navigation by jagged
barriers of ice. The Spokane had no
easy task to force its way "through,
but when the barriers had "been*, passed
the steamer floated in the clear -water
at the glacier's face, and the sight,
although vastlr different from what
had been expected, was rich repayment
for the struggle.
"VThen those who had known : the
glacier in its prime last saw it its f,ace
vr&a ftJl two miles long. It stood
££0 feet above the water and extended
t-elo^r the surface. to a depth of 'S3o
feet. Every foot of the two miles
vai full cf life and actively .engaged
In the titanic labor of manufacturing
end launching icebergs.
T. J. Richardson, an artist, who. has
Epec^l6 of the last 23 years appoints
along: the northern coast of .the Pacific
ocean, and* who has -known tho Mvir s
glacier e!ne* IS9I, thus describ-s^thc
"It was a grand and awe inspiring
eig-ht, for the great ice mass was dj--
Integrratinsr fast and the detonations sis
the bergs toppled off into the eea were
like ti« roar of artillery. .. Ilardly,: 10
•minutes would pass without the colj
lapse of some great piece of ice, and the
tifial waves which would follow ,\u25a0 the
submergence of a big fragment would
tend a -wall of water 10 feet high 1 or
wore rushing in to the shore.- One had
to i>c constantly o:i g^ard for these
• 'Tnucrs when oa Die beach. ' The sight
of VtiQ falling masses of ice iis«-«j ahvavs
to make me think of a fight o£ giants,
i:\ which those In the front rank were
constantly falling:, pushed on to de
struction by the fellows behind." -
That was whm the ice pack, was a
"live" glacier. In the days, be fore the,
earthquake shook the pack out of its
regular habits the Muir glacier pre-"
senteda straight wall, ofice two miles
across the head ,of >thebay. The gla
cier wasfed from an 'amphitheater, of
mountains on a:diet> of ice and snow.
The area - of' this -^amphitheater .in
SCO square miles and'al'.- tire Jce
formed therein made, its exit fivr-ugh
•.the two mile outlet. .At thatttmether<s
.was an ."island", In the icefield about
a >day*s journey ;from the "ta'ce !of the
glacier. - The earthquake lias left;th«
."island" iCipostd and todcy it. looms
up. a full grown mountain. - --
\u25a0 ' This mountain now_ divides the sia
oier; into Two streams. .-.The stream to
the^rig-hfdiffers.in.the. quality ."of : ti}«
ice fromthe 'strcpmrtoaiic'left of the
mountain.* The" right hand stream is
mcl ting ' q uickl y . and . its. f ace . i s 'non o w
four miles farther inland than = that ~of
the lelt hand stream. - Thl right l>aiid
'stream 5? ;"t!ead," or nearly, so. U.is
receding- as the process of "dis^cliHiQU
advances and in going: back. it lias. left
a 'ttiilfttjvide 'channel, ifouV milee .lopg-,
into * trhich . ttie steamer
steamed /along the crescent sh.iped
boundary of the ; survi vingr - arm of i the
glacier. •' As, a -the sight is
more -\u25a0inspiring tlian 'ever, ' but that'
Bolid front' of iiying^giaoier.v.-ith its in
cessant ripping and : splashing, has
S<W~e /forever.' : The -living .arm .of the
glwcier still "sheds^.: icebergs, but the
productions is' limited*; and' the parses
between -the .- artillery 'like reports
grow— longer. ; ' ( '\u25a0.-•.
. - Mr; Richardson thus describes '-Ike
Muir. -glacier- as \u25a0 'ir> found^ it \u25a0 \u25a0- thins
sumif.er: :.' '\u25a0\u25a0 . ._- .. .'. . *'\u25a0 , :-'\u25a0.'\u25a0•\u25a0 '• '.
* '"Only' about, half of ; the. former face
of : the' glacier} is active" in '".discharging
to' tile 'sez. ; Today -the 'active portion,
may- be described; as, the left. arm! The
right arm ii^hardly, active at all ajid
In .m y opinion Trill.' be 'dead' : ip " a tone*
paratively few i'ycare-. \u25a0 ; AVrcady .'."in
front of ' the » face' are 1 sho^w'lns^sand
and; gravel •ridges ;in'\the \u25a0water. r whicli*
indicate that.- the \ ice mass', is forming
a-tcrminal morrainc,. which in \u25a0time
will" grow ,to, such "pfoportiohs that* the
glaciers-will be entirely, separated from
the- sea. - : ' \u25a0- », . r , \u25a0" \u25a0 ; -"" . ; ( '. ';" ' '*:- \
,'A' live glacier, speaking tcchnicaMy,
is-^one \ which, discharges directly , f i;Vto:
the ocean, .while' a /"dead "glacier is." one
whlrfi ;cnds • on; lar.d A and where. ,th«. jce!
mass is dissipated -6y<tlVe' action of (he
sun v alona.. ,»It melts j away,- -while th«
live. A grlaci«r ;i disimeWratesV? in" huge
masses which 'float«.a.xay to/sea in' the>
form of .icebergs/ - The 'dead ;gla'ci^i\.is
of. : cohiparaliv«»ly 'niijall interest to' -any'
save ;tho ; scientist. Awhile .the, live one,
with -.its, awe; inspiring; detonations atid
activity. .wilL hold the attention^ of "any
creature,.-,no : matter ,how> unschooled/
for> ei-en the . "uneducated natives , 'will
stand ; for; hour's '; "watching "the : move
ments of the ice." ' : '•. \ : . \u25a0 .-..,• V \u25a0:\u25a0'\u25a0'\u25a0