Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 53.djvu/177

Rh away on the mainland to the east we could see the sun glistening on the myriad ice-bound peaks of the coast mountains, while about us in every direction were the forest-covered tops of half-submerged mountain peaks which make up this sea of islands. The afternoon was one long to be remembered. Tents, blankets, and clothing were put out to dry, while we rambled through the forest, following paths made by deer and bear down to the springs near our camp. The forests were a revelation—bathed in an almost eternal mist which



has been tempered by the mild Japan ocean currents, they are indescribably green. Giant cedars, firs, spruce, and hemlock fairly crowd each other and leave but scant room for the ferns and underbrush which cover every inch of ground. Then there is a ruggedness about the shores of the islands; here absolutely barren, there piled high with drift, often to a height of sixty feet or more, which speaks eloquently for the mighty forces of Nature which never tire. We left Cape Northumberland at three o'clock on the morning of July 6th, just as the sun was beginning to throw a ruddy glow over the ice-bound peaks on the mainland. By eleven o'clock we