Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1890-06-27
THE GREAT LANDMARK,
Mr.. p. B Van Tramp Tells what he
Knows about Rainier and Tacoma.


There will probably be for a long
time to come Rainier party and
Tacoma party, at least as long as a
rivalry exists between the aspiring
cities of Seattle and Tacoma, nor is
opposition in the new State to the
modern nomenclature confined to
Seattle by any means, for large num-
ber of its inha abitants use and prefer
the time honOred name of Rainier,
and are disposed to honor the brave
Vancouver in recognizing his right to
the naming of his early discovery.
The advocates of the new name, how
ever are yearly increasing in number,
and the time is possibly coming when
the historic name Rainier viii bel
dropped from print, if not from oral
usage. The principal argument in
favor of Tacoma is that it is the In
dian name of the mountain, and that
it is more euphonious and appropriate.
But is it the Indians name for the
mountain? Among the latter genera
ton of Indians who have in a large
measure become civilized and who
have adopted the speech and nomen-
clature OF the whites, the mountain
may sometimes be called Tacoma, but
l venture to say that no one has ever
heard the mountains name so pro-
nounced by any of the old chiefs,
whose memories run back anterior to
the event of the white man on the
shores OF the l." Mediterranean of the
Pacific" Winthrope's name may be
regarded as a corruption of the Indian
name OF the mountain, rather than "a
pure invention. 1t is impossible to so
spell the word rs to give it the deep,
guttcral and withal the musical sound
the Indian does.
The first Indian heard pronounce
the name was old Sluiskin, who guided
General Stevens and myself to the
snow line, when he made the first
ascent to the summit in 1870. Sluis-
kin's pronunciation, as near as can
represent it by letters, was Tah-ho-
nah, and in his rendering of it, there
was, besides its music, an accent of
awe and reverence, for Sluiskin was
very imaginate and superstitious
about Tahoma, believing that its
hoary summit was the abode of q
powerful spirit, who was the author of
its cruptions and avalanches, and who
would visit dire vengeance on any
mortal who would dare to invade Gf
that were possible) his dread abode.
When Stevens and I were encamped
at the foot of the snow line we would
often be awakened by the thunder of
falling rocks or the deep thud Of some
avalanche. At such times Sluiskin
would start from his blanket and re-
peat a dismal, dirge-like song, as
though he would appease the noun
tain spirit. Mishell Henry. another old
Indian guide to the two-named noun
tain, prides himself in giving its true
name and its correct pronunciation.
He has several times drilled me in
pronouncing it, always smiling grave
ly and dignifedly at my Intellectual at
tempts to give his deep chest notes.
Henry was the first tn mark out the
present route to the snow line, by
which the tourist can now reach the
snow line and even ascend it for two
miles without leaving the saddle. He
guided our party (the Ravley party) in
1883, and himself ascended to the 8 900
foot level. Beyond that nothing could
tempt him, for beyond Gn his view
lay danger, folly, rashness. For even
Henry. who is intelligent and much
more of philosopher than the rest OF
the tribe (Khikatats) associates the
sublime summit of Tahoma with awe,
danger and mystery. have ques.
toned the Indians as to their mean
ing of the word Ta-ho-mah. The
answer OF some showed their ignorance
of the meaning. Others, with that re-
ticence and suspicion peculiar to the
savage mind, were stoically non-com-
initial. One Interpretation I have
heard given is "nourishing breasts"
the idea presumably being that the
eternal SHOWS of the twin SUBMITS
have given origin to the streams and
have occasioned the glacial deposits
that have enriched the valley, thus
nourishing and sustaining vegetable
life there. just as through the ages the
maternal breasts have nourished and
sustained youthful human life. If in
the end we are doomed to Danish the
historic name of Rainier, which our
boyhood and the old biographies made
dear and familiar to us, and must
adopt the Indian name, let US apply
to the mountain the true appellation
and not the modern corruption of it,
which is not near go musical and So
norious as the original.
The companies in the field, at
American Lake, are Company C, Ia
i Hl.-A.:- Yy