Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1871-08-26
A Field for Tourists.

mineral whica she has COMMITTING mention
Of many other CLOSED over by silver
tcngurl orators ut the East. and Ian .c by
enthusiastic. writer's in our midst. which
she has mt. possesses an alvantag. over
many countries IN a.fording to the tourist,
pleasure ecker an general lover Of Nature
a wide, prolific, auI wonderfully varied
fell. We have not yet developed. pro-
badly never may develop, anything quite
equal 10 the Yosemite the Geysers and
the b. Tree. o! Calaycras, but in the hout
cnsrmbIc Of her natural wonders and
beauties. the number of which is aug
mcntcl yearly by new discoveries, Wash
ington Territory bids fair to more than
rival that whiom cl dorado and now terri
coyaita, California.
Our Territory, on the other hand, is to
large extent terra Wcoynita, and it is
singular how few of its oldest inhabitants
have visited and explored the objects of
natural wonder already discovered within
is borders. Until within the past year
tie subim, heights of Tacoma, or
Rainier, were unexplorea by white men !;
the red man, for generations Graded and
reared within sight of its eternal snow,
having been ever too supcrstitious to at
tempt their mastery; and probably not a
dozen white men have been near enough to
its base to fully appreciate the beauty of
its surrounding scenery. Comparatively
few have seen the ice caves Of Washing
ton Territory, its lake of sunkcn forest,
others of wonderfully Transparent and al.
most fathomlcss depths, the lofty and
beautiful Falls of the Snoqualmc, and
the cascades and rapids of the Skokomish
1t is a remarkable fact that there are many
old residents of Olympia, who though they
have lived for years within less than a
dozen miles of its border, have not yet
seen the singular, almost marvellous, beau
ties Of McAllister Lake, now becoming
celebrated through the encomiums of
transient visitors and strangcr-tourists
from abroad. 1t is pleasing to note, how
ever, that amid the fevcrish excitement
over railroad terminus land speculation,
and the eager pursuit of the almighty
dollar, an unwonted spirit Of enterprise in
the way of exploration and natural re
search is beginning to characterize our
people; that the man aesthetic is begin
ming to question the supremacy of the man
material. The present. season, more per-
haps than any in the past, has been noted
for the number of pleasure parties and
excursions to the bays of our "most
beautiful sheet of water in the world" our
rivers, lakes, and mountains; and these
are but pioneers opening the way and par
TALLY preparing the field for the army of
tourists which will invade our borders
when the iron bands Of the North Pacific
Railroad shall have connected the waters
of Puget Sound with the Great Lakes of
the East. These thoughts have been sug.
gested by the frequent excursions of the
character we have alluded to, but, more
particularly by the preparations making by
a party of Olympians for the exploration
of a portion of the Olympic Mountains, and
the return recently of party of friends
from an excursion to Hoods Canal, the
Skokomish and the Falls of the Lila wap.
From an account of the tour by these
gentleman, given by one of the party, we
present the following sketch
On the morning of the 14th instant, by
invitation of Hon. E, A. Wileson, of Mason
County, Messrs. Ryerson, Pray, Wright
aud Van Trump, Of this place, and Mr..
Cane, of San Francisco, embarked on board
the Bruiscr, at Commodore Cleal's
Wharf, and set sail for Oakland, one Of
the more modest terminus cities of the
Sound, situated on Skookum Bay, near its
head. Under an suspicious sky, and with
tide aud winds favoring, they reached
Oakland at 3 o'clock, P. NJ. having stopped
at noon long enough at Arcadia {" on the
shores of the basin of-Skookum) to par
take Of the hospitality of their commander
in chief, General Wilson. At Oakland
they found, ready saddled and awaiting
them On the beach, six horses, to convey
them across the portage between Skookum
Bay and Hoods Canal. 1--WE were going to
say " Arab steeds," in imitation Of cleri-
| Gle orators recent characterization of the
motive power of the overland stage, but
our deponent saith two of them were of the
kind BALKAN rode, and the rest Cayuse
farm horses.
This portage is strip of land IL miles
in breadth, of thin gravelly soil, and thickly
covered with the eternal and funeral fir.
The party reached Union City Ga half
dOyop cnattorinr hu;1d;no e a., ~ N.x.-