Transcription:
To Mrs. Muir Off Prince William-Sound, June 24, 1899 Dear Louie and darlings: We are just approaching Prince William
Sound - the place above all others I have long wished to see. The snow and ice-laden mountains loom grandly in crowded ranks
above the dark, heaving sea, and I can already trace the courses of some of the largest of the glaciers. It is two P.M., and
in 3or 4 hours we shall be at Orca, near the mouth of the bay, where I will mail this note. We had a glorious view of the
mountains and glaciers in sailing up the coast along the Fairweather Range from Sitka to Yakutat Bay. In Yakutat and Disenchantment
Bays we spent 4 days, and I saw their 3 great glaciers discharging bergs and hundreds of others to best advantage. Also the
loveliest flower gardens. Here are a few of the most beautiful of the rubuses. This charming plant covers acres like a carpet.
One of the islands we landed on, in front of the largest thundering glacier, was so flower-covered that I could smell the
fragrance from the boat among the bergs half a mile away. I'm getting strong fast, and can walk and climb about as well as
ever, and eat everything with prodigious appetite. I hope to have a good view of the grand glaciers here, though some of
the party are eager to push on to Cook Inlet. I think I'll have a chance to mail another letter are we leave the Sound.
Love to all, J.M. 737 02597