, 1892-08-20
In THE ICE FIELDS.
Early Expeditions Up the Mount
ain Sides.

Indian Henry and His Career as
"A Guide-The IDIOuntaIn FOrma-
tiOn and the Result of Glacial
Action,
zone Of the most interesting characters
on Mount Rainier Tacoma" says DR..
Riley, who recently returned from
the summit of the great peak,
sis Indian Henry, an old settler,
who has lived at its base for many
years. He is thoroughly familiar with all
the trails up to the snow line, and in many
instances acts as guide. He has figured in
a number of important exploring expedi-
tions, and his general knowledge of the
great guardian of Puget Sound has been
invaluable to travellers"
Henry is a full-bloOded Indian, about 55
years of age. He lives with his squaw and
three children in the Chop range, near the
western slope, and cut the trail bearing his
name which runs along the Nesqually and
across to "the Meadows" ;" near the snow
line. Unlike his race, he has taken deep
interest in the natural resources surround
ing him, and he is looked upon as an ex-
pert miner He has mastered the English
language well and is versed in mineralogv
to an astonishing degree. The well kept
ranch on which this Indian resides is an
evidence of his thrift and industry, and he
has a natural instinct for accommodating
wealth and keeping it. In addition to his
ranch, which yields him a profitable re-
turn, the Indian has located valuable iron
claim of very line quality, which DR.. Riley
says is capable of making the finest grade
of steel
Indian Henry was the guide who led
General Kautz, now major general of the
United States army, and his twenty COM
panions, in their famous expedition in
1857. General Kautz was then in charge of
the fort at SteilacOOm, and DR.. Riley served
under him in the cavalry, The expedition
was the first to attempt the ascent of the
great mountain, and choosing the most
favorable season of the year, they started
on their journey up the western slope
After two months of hardship the snow
line was reached, $500 feet high. That was
as far as the expedition got, and the noun.
tain was pronounced inaccessible. In the
year following another attempt was made
with Henry and James LOngmire to guide
the travellers, but the peculiar Indian
superstition in relation to the mountain
brought the expedition to halt on what is
known as "the rock of Gibraltar" and
not be induced to go higher. His Obsti
macy was not through fear, but because oi
the superstition which controls all Indians
in this respect. They regard the great mass
of snow and ice as the mountain of the
gods. Above the snow line is considered
sacred ground, and all the inducements
that man and money could offer failed to
move him.
P. d. Van Trump, who resides at Yelm
first demonstrated the possibility of reach
ing the top of the mountain. With foul
companions, he went up the south slope in
1882, and explored the south east peak. He
has since made four additional trips, but
never succeeded in reaching the north
peak, which, although the lowest, is widely
isolated, and the attempt to cross the deep
valley is surrounded with the greatest dan
GER Van Trump's one ambition was to be
the first man to explore this portion of the
mountain, as he was to reach the other
two peaks, but DR.. Riley was the successful
man. Although as many as forty people
claim to have been to the top of the noun
tain, DR.. Riley says there is no evidence
that more than nine ever succeeded in
reaching that point.
With the mountain almost at our door,
there are people in Washington who know
as little about its formation as those who
never heard of it. At its base it covers an
area 15 miles in diameter, tapering at the
snow line, $500, feet to seven miles through.
From some localities it has the appearance
of being one great peak, especially from the
north and south. There are, however,
three distinct peaks rising one above an
other. The southeast is the greatest in
height the southwest next, with the north
peak, the most dangerous and the lowest.
With this arrangement the top of the
mountain has the shape of saddle. While
the southeast and southwest peaks are
comparatively easy of access, the north
peak is separated by valley running east
and west, nearly 1000 feet in depth and 1000
yards wide at the bottom. This is contin-
ually filled with snow and ice.
On the southeast peak are about 700 acres
of bare ground, covered with shale rock,
sand and volcanic ash. This area, in
many places, is uncomfortably warm to
stand on, being covered with innu-
merable steam jets, which prevents the
possibility OF snow resting there for any
length of time.
Imagine an umbrella several thousand
feet high and partly opened and you will
have fair idea of the shape of Mount
Rainier-TacOma. Numerous ribs Of
the peak and between them are
fields of ice and snow, forming
glaciers, each glacier being the source of a
river. These glaciers give origin to the
Nesqually. the Puyallup, the Cowlitz. the
Carbon and the White rivers.
The Nesqually rises in the western slope,
having its origin in five large glaciers. The
Puyallup is fed by three glaciers on the
northwestern slope, one of which is the
largest on the mountain. Directly on the
north, the Carbon finds its source from
small glaciers and vast fields of snow. The
White river rises on the east slope in the
great glacier which bears its name, this is
the longest glacier on the mountain and is
a solid mass OF ice, twelve miles in length
On the south side the Cowlitz rises. thus
giving each side of the mountain a great
river, into which flow many smaller
streams.
These glaciers are practically rivers OF
ice and snow, with extremely rough sur
faces. The crevices, which are nothing
more than simple cracks, sometimes one
or two inches wide, at others several feet
with an untathomable depth, makes it al.
most impossible to cross except perhaps.
where an immense icicle forms a natural
bridge. Travels greatly impeded by these,
and it is often necessary to follow their en-
tire length to get around them. Very often
these creYlces are filled with drifted snow
and furnish the greatest source OF danger
to mountain climbers who should happen
to step in unaware of the deception.
The water from the melting snow and ice
on the mountain forces it way down the
crevices of the glacier, and forms a stream
the deafening roar of which excludes all
other sounds. These subterranean rivers,
as they rush on their course under the ice.
eat away the sides and supports of the
glaciers, causing them to settle and slip on
their downward course, with a rumble and
roar like that of heavy artillery. One can
imagine how the surrounding earth would
tremble, with the fall of a mass of ice sew
eral miles long, a mile wide and two or
three hundred feet deep. With the fall of
the glaciers, the pressure is so great that
the rocks are forced up around the edges of
the glaciers, forming the banks or mOrains.
All the mountains IN the immediate neigh
borhoOd show the effect Of the glacial ac-
ton. That the glaciers of Rainier are
much smaller than they were a few thous-
and years ago is evidenced by the fact that
the marks on the ledges of the rocks show