The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-07-24

.lued 10 risk our present situation ra,be-
| of elhpt wading the river. the depth
,n -, mn,cn we did not know. slowly the
| hiil owa crept by. Louder crashed the
| within ten feet of the tent Nv W
| now 1t frightened mel This must
a.e ueen the final effort to reach ms for
ooon 'ne seas retreated. vowed never to
lamp on sand spit again, unless it might
Puget sound. Wv" pi"oio
| morning brought little improvement in
| ne weather; it misted till near noon
| ha nen the sun showed his bright, glad face
s..t s"een rlfts In the departing clouds. At
| az mountain, a point running out into
| one yea, we left the beach and followed a
suou wagon road up, up, up, between slim
SJt aemiocks, to the summit, then
,oIe coming to the farther edge. from
, %nIcn We looked far down on the ocean
leaning against the cliff that stood mas.
Ss.Ve,orowed IN solemn CONCENTRATIONS of
uoa great mystery. The sun was setting.
snm III MS path the waves leaped like
"a Is, Inc whole west was crowd
Gu with towering pillars of gold:
uprearlng palaces haunting scarlet ban,
neIs; mystical domes and battlements
reo with wine. The temptation to camp
On TINS eminence was strong. and when
SI"asn IAN, veteran otter hunter living
nere, .old US it would be dark ere we
,IIacneo Qulnault agency. the next nearest
pace 10 pitch tent, we decided to remain
over night. On so high an elevation we
we're not alarmed about the tide. conse-
Iuehtiy mace up for sleep lost the night
before; and we'll We had a good rest, for
On descending 1.-The mountain in the
early dawn We found the beach to the
each step We sank to our shoe tons in min.
mead gravel. The tide also hindered our
progress. and We were often Obliged to
hurry around the jutting cliffs between
breakers. Near II we came 10 a place
where there were several large, dingy
buildings with messy roofs, many small
ones remarkable in construction. and mn
merous red-shirted siwashes. This was
Quinault agency. Here we stopped to rest
alter our tlresome tramp. at the house of
Dr. Huston, the reservation physician.
Not far away are Tunnel rocks, through
which person can pass only at extreme
low tide; had been told at Quiniault that
we could go through these caverns on that
evenings run out" so trudged toward
them, threading our way mid quaint vii
lagos OF stone, leaping from boulder to
BOULDER, with the roaring seas on one hand
and on the other beetling cliff rising to
an enormous height, at the base of which
are many black caves. where the mighty
waters pour in every six hours. 1t was a
wild looking place. Suddenly we came to
point impossible to pass without doing
some expert swimming, task we did not
feel equal to, so We seated ourselves and
waited for the tide to recede. Three hours
dragged by, and still we were detained.
There was no visible difference in the
height of the water at the point. but ganc-
ing down shore at the rocks over which
We had come with dry feet observed that
the waves were submerging them. This
was truly a cruel discovery. The tide was
rising, and here we were completely
walled in.
as usual, our situation would have been
perliOus indeed; but, fortunately for us, a
part of the cliff had fallen Off in ages past,
leaving a small fat spot covered with
weeds and brush. To this elevation we
slowly climbed. doubtful at times whether
or not we would gain the goal, which we
finally succeeded in doing after difficult
struggles. A level place. wet and DOGGY,
and just large enough to hold a tent, was
where We were doomed to pass the night.
A high cliff rose sheer behind US, and deep
down below ragged the ocean. We were
thirsty after our hard climb, which was
increased by the startling fact that we
could get no water to drink, although a
beautiful stream tumbled down the crags
within 100 feet of us. How tantaliZing!
Neither could We build fire, therefore to
keep warm wrapped ourselves in blankets
and ate dry bread purchased at the agency
from a half-breed kloochman. The fol-
lowing is some stuff l scrubbed while
gnawing brown crust:
Pushes the bold, strong tide high over the sheer.
rough lodges,
Stand the brave seas on the rocks all red with
the suns parting glory,
Cold, fine spray in the air fast dimming the
crag's sharp edges,
Lifting like smoke from the boom of the great
wave-cannons below.
Rises the calm, fair moon, white ruler of turbu-
lent ocean,
Bends her proud form in response to tina. far.
sounding thunder of praise,
Steps, siver-sandailed, where seas writhe in
widest commotion,
Smiles at the form shrouded waters that fol-
low her down through the days.
Safe are we here on the cliff; but all u that mad
shatter and crashing
Brings the chill tremor of fear, the short, hard,
shuddering breath,
Look, oh God, look beneath usl How fearful the
tumuit the iashing,-
Lashing of crazed, hungry pillows that cIamor
for terror aud death.
| will not dwell upon the horrors of that
night. In the gray of early morn my
watchful uncle informed us the tide was
"way out" and Immediately there was n
great scrambling to pack up. The women
folk of the party made the descent to the
beach while we rolled the blankets and
Il
were joined by three slwashes travelling
our direction. They babe US follow them.
the squaws assisting the fair portion of
the party around the slippery lodges
where a misstep meant death in the cav
erns beneath. We were guided through
wonderful arches worn smooth by the
marching, white-plumed seas; down weird,
winding aisles, among towering columns
of stone; through low, dim tunnels where
we stepped knee deep In pools of water.
When we finally emerged into the full
light of day there was straight, pebbly
beach before us, along which we Travelled
for a mile or more, then waded creek TO
our waists, after which we built ire of
driftwood, had breakfast and dried our
clothing Meantime our swarthy compan-
ions had gone ahead Another mountain
compelled us to follow the worst trah
imaginable for perhaps three hours, and
on getting To the beach again we climbed
n series of high, barren hills whose sum-
mlts were shaped like a pitch root.
1t was while resting on one OF these eie-
yations that a remarkably fat siwash, with
four shadowylooking CANNES, approached
me, introducing himself as 'Sea-Llon
linn" which name, he explained with
many gestures, was given him on account
of his wonderful ability as swimmer lie
wanted to accompany US To Rait river ana
paddle us across IN canoe, Kept there Tor
the accomm odation of travellers, which he
said would surely upset with white man
that did not understand canoeing We
arrived at the river just at dusk greatly
fatigued from the long tramp OF the day.
T4..a AZ L.