The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-07-16
EXPLORING MOUNT BAKER.
sulphur River and a Marble Cliff
Hard to Reach the Summit


sUMAs, July 15.-TspeciaL ION Sunday last F.
Blaine. returned from prospecting trip around
Mount Baker. The party numbered five, ineluG-
ing J. H. Robertson and John wagen who came
in last week. The party brought with them
some OF the finest samples of Tree milling gold
quartz yet seen this side of the Cascade noun
tains, also samples of lava and the sulphur
formations about the crater and north glacier.
The party, in going out, went up the middle
fork OF the Nooksack river, going 10 the north
or mountain side Of tho canyon, which is
about seventy live feet in width and
1000 feet deep, then TO the divide
between the middle fork ana Baker
river. On this divide there ID lake of con-
siderable size. Both the Baker river, which
empties into the skagit, and the middle fork Of
the Nooksack rise on the south side and drain
the glacier there, which this party says Is. if
anything, of greater extent than that on the
north side, being AZ least q half mile in width
and DO feet thick, in places being Is clear a.
crystal. II must be extensive, since il leeds two
good-slzed rivers, the Baker alone being larger
than the north fork of the Nooksack, which
drains the north glacier. The explorers passed
round the mountain on the east side to the
glacier on the northwest side, and then fol-
lowed down Glacier creek 70 the north fork
They say the milky appearance of the
wster in the north fork is caused By the sui
phur formation The water il so strongly i'm
pregnated that no ish exist In the river. This
is not true OF the smaller streams on the south
fork, which abound in trout This party report
the existence Of q whole mountain side of mar
bic on Boulder creek, which enpties into the
north fork. This was discovered before. They
did not attempt the ascent OF the mountain 10
the top, bat are satisfied il can be accomplished
from the east side. They saw the camp fires on
the mountain side OF the other Blaine prospect
ing party, one member of which lost his hfe By
accident, and the Whatcom party on the nights
of July and ) They are inclined to believe
the Whatcom party did not reach the summit
for two reasons. On July 5, the day they claim
to have made the ascent this party was in q
position 10 have seen them and 10 have seen the
flag if one had been hoisted, also they do not
think the mountain can be scaled from the west
side where their camp fire was seen
Mr.. John says the old crater was emitting no
smoke during this trip. He said although he
had conversed with q man in Blaine who told
him that in the fall OF 1890 he saw fire in the
crater on two different nights, be does not credit
IL. and attributes the appearance OF smoke 20
the vapor arising from the melting snow.
The inability to.distingui.h the Tag through
glasses on July from Sumss and the previous
failures In attempts TO ascend Mount Baker
makes its accomplishment from the west ,ide
by the Whatcom party very Questionable
Professor A. G. Ingrahan, who has made the
ascent of Mount Rainier, attempted the ascent
of Mount Baker with q party OF nine in the
month OF August in 1859, and again in 1880
They went up from the south and west side and
failed each time TO get over the glacier, where
they found q crevasse so feet wide and 500
feet deep.
Mr.. W. B. Goodwin, of Seattle, who has
claim on the middle fork, and 10 fairly wei se-
quainted with the country in the vicinity of the
mountain, announced here yesterday that he
would, with r. NJ. Hurd, OF Seattle, attempt the
ascent of Mount Baker in August AS they
have had some experience in the swiss Airs he
thinks they viii accomplish their object. and
MAKE il known 70 q certainty that thev did So