Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1870-09-03

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4 good deal Of fine cedar timber was seen, but
little or no good soil Fourteen miles from
the first nights camp, the Nisquaily was
fo,Lcl. after q tedious and tortucus march
through thickcts of the river bottom, across
sandspi,s and along dry channels or aban-
doned side .courses Of the river. filled with
deep loose sand. The river here is forty
or fifty yards wide, the current strong, the
water waist deep, and Of the wcll-known
mursy hue. This peculiar color Of the
Nisqually was found, from day to day as
the party assembled the river, to become
less Opaque or dense, but to retain a
chalky or milky appearance quite to
the glaciers of Rainier, in which the sew
eral branches of the river originate. AS
ccndiug a steep bluff on the opposite side
of the river, to an altitude Of 25O feet, the
Longmire and Packwood trail, its "blazes'
now quite faint after four years exposure
to the weather and occasional fires, was
followed along the edge Of the bluff for
mile or two. A partial descent was then
made to the edge of on open prairie, where
the second camp was established, sixteen
miles from the settlements" Mishell
Prairie forms a picturesque and oasis-like
opening in the dense forest of frs between
the Nisqually and Mishell rivers. 1t has
an elevation of nearly two hundred feet
above the bed of the Nisqually, and accord
ing to Mr.. Colcman's barometrcll observa-
tions, of about nino hundred feet above
the Sound. 1t has an area Of about one
hundred acres, soil apparently Of rich
gravelly loan, and was found to be we'll
grassed. The staple and most prolific pro-
ducts of Mishcll Prairie, however, are
gnats and mosquitoes, myriads of the former
making day hideous," and lesions of
Josh Billings aristokratic burls" making
the benign efforts of Natures sweet re-
storer" utterly futile. At the upper end
of the prairie, Mr.. Longmire pointed out
a " bloody ground" Of the war Of 80 and
SO. Here Skihi, chief at the head of u
party Of Nisquallys, was surprised by
force of whites under Capt. Maxon, and he
and his little band entirely annihilated.
Traversing the length Of the prairie
about half mile, the party again entered
the woods, and after tedious tramp of
eight or nine miles, through thick salal
and whortleberry bushes, and over and
around fallen logs, reached the right bank
of the Mishell River, clear stream about
twice the size of the Deschutes. The trail
through the belt of forest between the
prairie and the river is pretty we'll defined,
evidently being used by the Indians in
their fishing excursions to the M,sholl,
along which were seen cedar bark huts,
used by them during the salmon fishing
season At the river the pack-mules were
eased of their burdens aud the party halted
for lunch. During the stay, one Of the
party, hoping to secure mess of trout,
took lis rest in toiling through the thick
cts up the stream, trying the pools with
an artificial fly. Not a trout was obtained,
however, and the only "bites" secured by
the unsuccessful angler were those of in
Vulnerable mosquitoes.
The monotony Of the afternoons travel
was varied by several incidents. The
guide was treated to an involuntary bath,
while fording the Mishell, mule falling
and throwing him into the river, and while
ascending a steep bluff on the opposite
side of the river one of the pack animals
lost its footing and rolled some distance
down the hill. For twelve miles their
course lay over high wooded ridges, &C.
casionally crossing small swales of vine
maple and alder, and towards sunset the
descent Of high ridge brought the party
to the Nisqually again, and to their third
camping-place. This was on ground once
occupied by Carleton and his Northern
Pacific Railroad surveying party, near an
old log cabin known as the "Indian
house" once the habitation of an Indian
celebrated among his tribe as " medicine
man" and put to death by them because
his medical lore failed, in one instance, to
save dusky patient. The sweat house"
Of the defunct rcdskin practitioner, the
ruins of which we're stumbled upon in the
brush, furnished Mr.. Coleman with sub.
ject for his ever ready pencil.
The course on the next day, the 18th,
followed the Nisqually pretty closely for
twelve miles, then DETECTING to the left and
leaving the river, crossed belt of timber