Vancouver's Chart, Made Only
A Century Ago, Shows No Trace Of It, Though Found Admirably Faithful
In General.
It seems probable, therefore, that even then the entire
bay was occupied by a glacier of which all those described above,
great though they are, were only tributaries.
Nearly as great a
change has taken place in Sum Dum Bay since Vancouver's visit, the
main trunk glacier there having receded from eighteen to twenty five
miles from the line marked on his chart. Charley, who was here when a
boy, said that the place had so changed that he hardly recognized it,
so many new islands had been born in the mean time and so much ice
had vanished. As we have seen, this Icy Bay is being still farther
extended by the recession of the glaciers. That this whole system of
fiords and channels was added to the domain of the sea by glacial
action is to my mind certain.
We reached the island from which we had obtained our store of fuel
about half-past six and camped here for the night, having spent only
five days in Sitadaka, sailing round it, visiting and sketching all
the six glaciers excepting the largest, though I landed only on three
of them, - the Geikie, Hugh Miller, and Grand Pacific, - the freezing
of the fiords in front of the others rendering them inaccessible at
this late season.
Chapter XI
The Country of the Chilcats
On October 30 we visited a camp of Hoonas at the mouth of a
salmon-chuck.
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