The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-05-05
"BILLr" sTILLwELL's Low PASS.
Prospeefor Describes It-Mr. seErry
SAYS 1t as Discovered Before.

The Chelan Falls Leader says that Frank
lin P. Burkhardt, of Che!an. claims to
know the pass which Billy 6tillwell
wanted 10 sell TO the Great Northern rail
road for si5.0o1. 1t says:
Mr. BuEkh4rdt ssys il 10 located some
twenty miles east Of the sksgis pass sud
IL about twenty-five miles from the hesd
OF Lake Cheiau. There is natural
railroad route with an easy grade ell the way
from the lake To the pass. by way of Bridge
creek. Ar. Barkhardt Travelled over the
route and through tee pass last August and Sep
TENDER. following closely On the trail Of still
wells party. He says TIE ascent and entrance
% the psEzs was 30 gradual that he hsrdly knew
when be reached the summit, only By the
vstera nowing 10 the westward The pass itself
is Faiie wide and Is 6 bsautiiGi park
meadow. TIE descent 20 the westward. unlike
that Of the skxgit IL not abrupt and Mr.. Burk-
bardt thinks the grade would not exceed ] per
cant
II has been named Rainy pass because II is 50
low that lie climate is very like iha, Of Pagei
sound. whose rapors and breezes readily pass TO
the eastward through it, tits believed that
railroad choosing this pass would undoubtedly
get the lowest grade 10 be found anywhere an
this sfnpead0us chsin Of mountains, and by
building via Lake cheiAn and Bridge creek.
would avoid the necessity Of tunnel alto
gesher There has b zen some talk OF building
road via the Me;how valley and the Twisp, and
no doubt Rainy pass could Do reached from that
direction, but not without expensive tanreling
scross from the he&dvzters OF the Twisp
k would appear strange that 50 important
pass in the range should have been overlooked,
II IL has been overlooked, by railroad surveyors,
and yet very little is actually known OF that
portion Of the district No one would think Of
finding IL BY wsy Of Bridge creek unless they
ga.s -
which Nj Burkharct claims be did, as the
stream hows . long distance to the eastward
from the pass and thea makes big curve, aow-
Ing into the stehexin little west Of south
John g. seurry, one of the pioneer rail-
road engineers Of this section, is skeptical
a 20 the discovery Of new passes He said
10 PosT-lArELLIGEScER reporter when
shown the above article:
EyeEy pass in these mountains has been dis
covered over and over again. When the North
err Pacific engineers were surveying the route
they went all through the mountains, though
they probably did no; 90 as far north as this
Rainy G'ass. aud they have maps in the chief en-
r.nseF's oe4es showing all tie passes FOR some
dis,Huee 70 the north aud south oil the stampede
Ba. they keep their information to themselves
fg II cost thousands Of dollars 10 &c, IL. so
when the Great Northern engineers went out
they explored the mountains over again, and
discovered the pass which they have named the
Stevens pas. But Mr. stevens aid not really
discover il, ior Il known sears ago that there
Was pass there
frospectoFs aad explorers have been all
through tacse mountains for years back and,
when zn engineers parry starts out, all the in
formation possible Is collected from everybody
VITO knows nFiaing about the section 10 be
;raYefsea DO not believe there is aay pas q
via enc per cent gfs3e on the approaches
When man waiGs W bill like thsI (y0lntlng
up James street from second be may think IL 5
pretty easy grade, but, whea "a comes 10 taking
measurements he ands cut how steep j; really
s.. EgeE i he pass Is low the approaches may
not he practicable