The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-08-01
THE THREE PASSES.
4 Choice Of Obstacles for the
Great Northern.
DESCRIBED BY 4 pRospecToR.
Eneineen At Work i'm the Mountains
Selecting . Route--A Correction
Of the Map.

8. g. Dewsuap an experienced mining man
ana analytical chemist Of Nevada, has just re-
eusuea from trip through the Cascades from
me Silver creek country and yesterday gave a
description OF his trip to . Posr-ISTELLIeEScEg
reporter. He said:
The mines are thirty-fve miles due east of
6nohomish, but the distance is much greater
following tho trail You 90 up the snohofnisn
RIVER % the confluence of the Skykomish then
Up the ekykomish north branch TO Silver creek
xfyc miles up Silver creek you strike the min
efnl belt. which continues to the summit OF the
m0unt&ina A wagon road runs to Wallace at the
c0nhuence Of Wallace creek with the Skykom-
In. twenty-five miles from snohomish Thence
= HAL runs thirty-fiye miles to the mines. The
ascent to the mouth Of Silver creek is gradual,
the elevation 1t that point being only 200 to
ass00 feet, but in the i've miles to the beginning
81 the mineral belt the ascent is about LOCO
feet. From there to the summit you ascend to a
height OF about $500 feet l ascended the
National peak about !, 100 TO 100 feet higher or
900 to 400 feet above the sea. overlooking
Indian. cady and the Wenatchee passes From
that point we could have seen the valleys of the
Qkenogan snd the wenatchee on the east and
the 6auk, Skykognish and Stillaguamish on the
vest But abont i've minutes after VIC reached
The summit the clouds settled on the mountains
and the view was shut ont.
The mountains are really double ridge Hike
SAW teeth. We climbed along one OF these
ridges on gent trail for which there was hardly
room, tho sides being precipitous. Betwcen
these ridges il depression probably 2.cdo feet
wide in some places and about loo feet deep.
Three canyons from the east cut through the
eastern ridge into this depression. and are the
only passes through the mountains al that point.
The most southerly OF these Is the head OF the
Wynatchee river, the middle one is the Cady and
the northern one is the Indian. There arc three
gaps in the western ridge also. but they are all
close together.
THE Great Northern engineers were in that
neighborhood surveying the most practicable
route across the mountains. but did not see
the chiefs of the parties so that / could not
learn which pass they thought the best. II they
select the Indian pass, they will have TO go
southwark through the depression in order TO get
out through the corresponding gap on the west
side. In the Cady pass tho east and west gaps
sre nearly opposite. while in the wynatchee
they would have TO go northward
through the depression in order
q strike the corresponding western gap
All these passes lead to the head OF the Sky
komish and the Sank rivers. and the route
Gown either OF them would be comparatively
easy. The point which will probably decide
the choice among these three passes viii be the
ease Of approach. From the men on the trail I
learned that the approach to the wynstchee is
not so dfficHlt as the other passes on the east,
the Indian is very PERCEPTIONS on the west,
while the Cady may be described as the best of
= bad lot II either the Indian or Wynatchce
pass were chosen the road would have to be
covered with snowsheds where it passed
through the depression between the ridges, as
the snow there Is now sixty to eighty feet deep
'sThe maps of that country are very mac
curate. Hubbard's peak is directly west Of the
western ridge of the summit Of the range, with
Index peak to the south, the two forks of the
Skykomish rising on It's north and south sides
TO the northwest of Hubbard's peak is National
peak, and from one snowb bank in its side rise
the Stillaguamish, the Sank and the Sultan
rivers and Silver creek. The mineral belt on
Silver creek is to the south of National peak
Silver lake. which is the source OF Silver creek.
is on the side of National peak, and the Twin
lakes are at the base of Hubbard's peak"