The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-09-27
Hours for Hsars.
Breakfast, 2 p. m
Dinner, 2p. IN.
Supper. IN m

supper, p. N.
One hundred and sixty acres of Nook
sack timber ought to bring good price
| when, 70 keep it from running away, it has
to De sat on by a good hearty typo with
only one meal of mush per day. Mr.. Wat
son, for such is the claimants name, take
the advice of wanderer and 60 back to
your cases. Though you will not be in
| close communion with the babbling Nook
sack or the balmy eyergreens; you viii
hea- sweeter music in the dinner bell and
breathe more fragrant incense from the
| kitchen window than any blessings a
| mountain timber claim can bestow. Yc>ir
ambition to become landholder is laud-
able, but cold pudding diet and the chill
| from the adjacent glaciers will surely nip
fhe root OF the most romantic or deep
seated desire
The demand for agricultural land has
been great, owing to its limited extent
west OF the Cascade mountains. This has
caused much land to be taken in the
scramble for slice of the government do
main which would seem to have no value
whatever. Your correspondent was sur
| prised to find young Scotch couple To-
/ Gated on the north side OF Glacier geek,
| on the moraine drift slightly covered with
| rain which falls. The little timber which
| stood upon it had no value. Here this
man with a pair of oxen and wagon had
! brought his household goods, young
wife and babe. scarce two months old. had
built house and proceeded to clear up
/ the land with a will. The wife seemed
| contented and he had all the hope of as
| sured success. This is the last ranch, and
vro md hel, III, III
TO procure matches after one Of our mis-
haps in the river above few days later.
In making the cutoff from Glacier creek
between two rocky ridges, to strike Horse
shoe bend Of the Nooksack, both horses
and men suffered severely from heat and
| lack of water. Nearly every step of the
| way trail must be cut for the pack train.
A severe fire had felled most of the tim
bers. and the blackened trunks of the trees
let standing served to draw the heat with
fearful intensity. Without water or food
since morning we made the lower end of
| Horseshoe bend at o'clock p. M, the
horses with their packs almost piling one
| upon the Other in their haste TO get down
| the steep descent to the water in the river
bed below. At one time during the day
the train made but fourth of mile IN
| three hours. At Horseshoe bend the
Bald mountains-a sharp or comb-like
| range-begin on the north side OF the
river and run through to Mount Shuks n.
The green crowns of these mountain
slopes and the many flowing stres ms
could be temptingly seen at a height
OF 5000 feet, as men and
horses sweltered under the noe lday
sun. On the south side of the
river the Baker range, in two sweeping
curves southwark, follows through to
Mount Shuksan. The valley of the river
here becomes very narrow, the benches
which, with the gravel bars, are used for
trail, necessitated the crossing of the
stream several times under difficulties
The climbing of the horses up steep ascents,
sliding on their launches down the sharp
declines, jumping over large logs and
crossing the river where the current would
almost sweep them from their feet were
feats accomplished which well trained cir
Gus animals would be unable to perform.
The slip of a hoof from secure footing sew
eral times precipitated a horse back into
the river below, the animal rolling over
several times with its pack in the descent.
The whole outfit went into the river
several times, SO that sleeping under wet
blankets became no novelty. The horses
left at night 10 brouse, unfettered. several
times took the back trail and thus often
caused delays.
At the end of six days journey from
Glacier creek at distance of fifteen miles,
the party was confronted with canyon
walls and heavy cascades. Exploration
showed further travel with horses to be an
impossiblity unless bridges were con-
structed. Here the north fork of the
North Fork, which we named Fall river.
comes in, the clear green water leaping
hu ldred feet or more into the canyon be-
low. 1t there joins the grey and roily
Nooksack from the glaciers of ShuSsan,
hemmed in by canyon walls several hun
dred feet deep. After uniting. they fall in
8 succession of romantic cascades over
enormous green stone bouldeIS unsl I'M
confined by the widening of the valley
below The main canyon of the Nooksack
proper is about two miles long, very wind
ing. making q double curve, and is fully
900 feet at its deepest point. With packs
on our backs We passed the falls in a half
DAYS time with difficulty, by going over
the mountain and crossing Fall river on
very small tree feiied across the gorge Just
above the main fall. The travelling from
here on was much easier, since a level val
lev. about 5000 feet above the sea level,
opened out from one 10 three miles in
width and about ten miles IN length, ex-
tending very near the entire distance 10
the base of Mount Shuksan. The valley
contained considerable timber and had
good rich soil, somewhat marshy. with a
thick growth of skunk cabbage. It would
supply fifty families with better ranches
than many of those settled upon further
down the river.
Mount ShQksan is very bold, sharp
angular peak, perhaps $3.50 feet in height.
The mountain has two very prominent
benches or shoulders-one on the eas. and
one on the west side, with very irregu-
lar peak between, which reminds
one much of a giant clowns cap.
The top OF the mountain IS so
extremely angular that it is comparatively
| bare OF snow, but on three sides of It's
breast Is covered with snow and glaciers,
save the northeast side, which is precip-
tious 70 the river below. The main source
| of tie Sooksack river is on the east side
| Of the mountain, branch coming in from
! the south. one from around the mountain
on the west side, and smaller one further
vest, al joining nearly at the same point,
| then flowing first in northe-iy direction.
| after which, 10 the settled townships, the
course Of the river is nearly west. On