Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1870-09-17

view perhaps that the mountain presents its
grandest aspect. The peaks rise to a consid-
cradle elevation above the body of the noun
tain and are about equi-distant. TIE space
separating the extreme ones was judged (the
lineal distance being calculated) to be at least
one and q half miles. The summit of the mid
die peak is crowned with ledge of bare rock,
on scaling which they found themselves in q
small crater, filled in the center with snow, Z,
which touched the rim Of rock at but one or
two points, having been melted for some dis
tance down the sides nearly all the way round.
As the party crossed the opposite side strong
odor Of sulphur was discovered, and soon after
jets of steam and smoke. The jets issued from
oriices in the soft debris of the rim and from
fssures in the rock. This was joyful discov-
cry to the adventurous, fatigued. and benumb.
ed climbers. Had it rot been made, (return
to camp being impossible,) they would have
perished, they felt, in attempting to pass the
night on the summit. They threw themselves
down near streams Of the hot steam, and
warmed their cold and stiHenng limbs with the
grateful heat.
1t was now six o'clock, and they determined
to spend the night in the crater and make
themselves as comfortable (D as possible with
out blankets and food. Near where they lay
they discovered, in the center of the crater, an
ice-cave, which had doubtless been formed By
the action Of the heat, jeIs of steam being
found in it. The roof was dome of
brilliant green ice, with long icicles pendent
from it. The floor, composed of debris, in
clned towards the center of the crater at an
angle of 800, with an area of about twenty
FIVE by thirty or forty feet. In tue mouth
of this cave, around a strong jet of hot steam,
they built circular wall Of rock four or FIVE
feet high and enclosing a space five by six in
width. Closely huddled together in this shell
ter, they passed miserable night, their bodies
warm and almost freezing by turns their
minds stupefed and stomachs nauseated by the
fumes of sulphur. In the morning, their
cloths in front, where exposed to the hottest
steam, were saturated with moisture, and
their backs covered with frost and ice. All
right the wind howled without, and soon after
the break Of day, the wind increasing in vo-
lence, thick, driving mist began to envelop
the whole mountain, making it impossible to
discover an object fifty steps distant. new
fear now assniled them las far as their mental
stupor or lethargy admitted of any emotion),
the setting in Of a snow-storm that
might Ia st longer than their power of endur-
ance. To attempt to find their way, over crew.
asses and precipccs Of ice aud snow, down the
through an almost impe 1etrable
mist, would be folly, so they quietly sat down
and stoically awaited their fate. Between
eight and nine 4. NJ, greatly to their joy, the
mist began to roll away, and the sun OCCASION
ally shone out brightly. After exercising vio-
lently by walking to and fro in the iIe-cave,
and swinging the arms to start the blood in cir
culaton. they prepared to commence the de-
scent of the mountain, first depOsiting the
brass plate and the canteen (which they had
melted ice in for drinking water) in the crevice
of rock on the summit. Passing around the
bare slope of the summit on the north side, to
avoid the wind, they found that they would
lose time by making the circuit Of the peak,
so asccnded to the summit to cross to the other
side. Here they discovered another crater,
larger than the first and With much higher
rim Of rock. 1t is circular, filled with snow
in the center, which overlaps the rim at
one point on the southeast side. The rim
Of this crater, not so active as that Of the
smaller one, on the inside at some points rises
to a height of forty feet. They crossed the
crater to its south side, and estimated its diam
eter at $50 yards. The middle summit of the
they christened Crater Peak, the
northern one Tahoma, to perpetuate the Indi-
an name Tor one of the Indian names) for the
mountain.
In descending, the same course was followed
as in ascending. the time it was performed in
seven hours. The time occupied in the whole
ascent, from camp to the summit Crater Peak
was eleven hours. Stopping few moments
on the brow of the mountain above the point
scaled by cutting steps the day before, they
took a survey of the mountain on its north
eastern and eastern exposures. Here they
found the mountain much more rugged than
on the side BY which the ascent had been
made. Immediately beneath them, thrown
together in chaotic heaps, were great blocks
or masses OF snow and ice. which had broken
and fallen from the high bectling walls or pre-
cipiccs OF snow, The snow-felds, stretching
far away beneath, were plowed and scrried
with innumerable crevasses. The deep,
smothered rumhling of falling rocks started by
the settling OF the snow and ice of the glaciers,
heading just below them, and the occasionally
dull thug of some snow-slide. a6ded to the ef-
feet produced by the wild and sublime view of
the mount ain, its vast and dwide-spreading base
half revealed, half obscured by the changing
mist and murky smoke. By cutting steps in
the ice again. and by using their rope (occa-
sionally doubling il around an ice pinnacle
and then sliding down by holding strand of
rope in each hand), the successful mountain
eers reached again the base OF the rocky preci-
pice. Around this they crept as before,
and after passing down the rocky ridge by
which they had reached the cliff the day be-
fore, they were once more on the long, sweep
ing snow-held, stretching away toward their
camp. Down this they proceeded with rapid
strides, sliding down the deeper slopes occs.
sionsllv for fifty or a hundred feet at a time.
when they were within mile and half of
of camp, after all the really dangerous places
had been passed. one Of the tourists met with
an accident Mr.. Van Trump lwho had taken
of his snow climbers they being out Of ORDER
slipped while they wete descending q snow
bank fnrty or fftv feet high, and was hurled
some distance down II and upon mass of loose
sh 'rp stones at its base. A cash was inflicted
in the left thigh, and both face and hands
badly bruised. Assisted by his companion,
he managed to limp on to camp. where his
wounds were dressed. and where both noun
taiueers. weaken'd d by their ulphur-vapor bath
Of fourteen hours. and hungry with their fast
Of thirty hours. were by sundown inieresiedly
engaged in discussing bonntiful repast Of
coffee, =. slspiscks' and fried badger. Sluis-
kin. though he hunted faithfully for deer and
the mountain goat, failed to kill ANYTHING larg-
er than badgers CT marmots- He was out
hunting when the aonntsineers arrived in
camp, and did not put in an appearance,
without +" mowitch" as usual, till evening.
Az he stslked slowly into camp and silently
,ook a po.itior nv the 6re oayioo long and