Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1892-06-14

tight and we were fearful that its little
valley, rough as 1t was, might be oblit-
Grated by the gloomy precipices loom
ing over us, meeting in a mighty canon.
Every yard counted now in q struggle
that few miles would proba bly, termin-
ate in our being forced back or opening
a more agreeable aspect. We camped
on a large lake in the course of the
river caused by a glacier from the other
side damming it up 1t was stocked
with icebergs, most of them being at
the upstream end showing, l think. a
nine miles was one of the memora Die
journeys of the trip, a fearful struggle
with icy torrents, slippery rocks, muddy
moraines, hummocky glaciers, willow
and alder cbapparels, soft mountain
turf knee deep, dizzy heights on rock
slides: and in every way one long to be
remembered. The next day was an
other hard struggle with Alpine diff
culties. We struck a well-defined trail
early, but whether game or Indian was
hard to tell; probably both, with great
preponderance towards the animals as
judged by the relative signs. Mountain
goats were seen on the high southern
cliffs ut noon. An animal with palat-
able meat would have been very accept
able just then, but this goat meat was
a little too high for us. Three miles of
comparatively good walking over q
beach closed the days record at twelve
miles, Il most gratifying result under
the circumstances. From this camp
(56) the prospect ahead was dubious.
Enormous precipices flanked the
stream that wound back and forth from
one wall to another, forcing us to cross
1t every mile or two or play mountain
goat over the tremendous spurs. After
emerging from under the glacier the
great river rapidly spread to nearly q
mile in width, but abated not q jot in
its swiftness. My diary of Aug. 2,
starts with II look on this rs the de-
termining day rs to whether we shall
get out SOON" Once out of the spruce
woods in which we had camped, we
saw that the river concentrated into
one impossible channel cut into ver-
teal cliff, on our side 800 to 1000 feet
high, about a mile ahead. AS the river
great many channels, we started across
for the west bank, reaching it after al
most two hours perilous work, being
compelled to turn back from q number
OF the worst channels and often Oh
liged to use pole for the party to fight
the swift current as whole. While
crossing we could see high snow-clnd
mountains far ahead, a most discourage
ing sight. Their great distance was
the most solacing part, as it was known
the upper Copper river tributaries were
enclosed in q great interior basin and
the main stream broke through this
rim Of mountains near the Pacific coast.
Glacial rivers were now coming in from
both sides, but the glaciers themselves
were farther back in the side valleys as
we descended, whereat we heartily con-
graduated ourselves that the mo-
raines and other difficulties were prob
ably being left behind forever. The
river often forced us from the gravel
beaches back into the timber where it's
intricate underbush and the boulders
thrown down from the high slopes pre-
sented tho usual distractions, but as
they were on the level they were at
least passable at the rate Of half mile
an hour with severe labor. Early in the
afternoon. however, we came to the
straw-staclk that snapped the camel's
vertebra, and that forced new version
into the history of the N. Y. Ledger
Expedition. A great bluff before us
Overhung the river for some two miles
but we thought we could make along
Its steep wooded tatus to the apparently
open country beyond. will not use the
necessary strong adjectives to properly
describe that two miles of misery but
will condense its many hours Of mort al
agony into u minutes description by
saying it took us until dark to get along
1t some six to eight hours. 1t was so
absolutely necessary to reach level land
before dark, or roost in the trees with
the birds, that not over half dozen
rests of a minute or two each were
taken on the trip. mere gasping spells
when utterly breathless. In one place
the moss carpeting growing over a pros
trate log, leaning along the steep slope,
gave way, limbs and all. under my
heavy weight and l disappeared from
sight, my pack catching on a huge limb
that alone stopped me. My feet dan
gled among shale and single gravel
below that, thus stirred up, started to
slide down as small avalanche, which
accumulating, threatened to toboggan
the log, explorer, moss and
mountain into the surg:n9 rapids
below. objected to the
second item being lost, SO after much
struggling l managed to crawl out,
having lost the AK off my pack, which
I had TO regain at a peril l would not
have risked for q whole AK factory un-
der any other circumstances. That
nights camp looked gloomy; the rain
had been falling all afternoon and all
Of the party had been doing the same
thing along the slope until tired, tat
tered, torn. dirty and detected and in