Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-10-06
RElEH0NS
VIZ sEklGC
woNoeRs o. cnATeR MOUNTAIN.
A Descent Into the Wonderful Interior Of
an Extinct Volcano.

| n Oescent Into the WOuGerful Interior Oi
an Extinct Volcano.
Crater mountain is one of the Una.
tilla Indians great spook depots from
ancient times. Bucks that are now white
With the hoary frQsts Of many winters
recollect hanging Ia the trees tightly
strapped to th,ir puTsing boards while
their mothers roamcd the forests in
search Of game Tor the lords of creation
or wood for tilo tepee and from infancy
love to relate how the Great Spirit spoke
to them with tue awful voice of terrific
thunder in the bowels Of the earth.
Many are the stories and legends Of In
lian lore told Uf Crater mountain.
One of thc favorito ones is told Of a
! great War between the Shoshones and
Jmatillas. When the Umatillas had
conquered their foes, they proceeded to
slaughter old ard young, regardless Of
sex. One beautiful Shoshone maiden,
seeing that death was inevitable from
her pursuing foes, plunged headlong in
10 the burning orator, and Instantly the
volcanic eruption ceased, much to the
CONSERVATION Of her purSuers, who on
the following day found, on looking
down the chasln of inky darkness, a re-
splenuent light, with the form of the
Shoshone maiden in the midst Of the
apparition. They told it 70 their dusky
warriors, and to this day Crater nop1.
tain Is looked upon with reverence from
IN Indian point of view.
The following is from the diary Of
the Hon. j. a. Wright! "Crater noun.
tain is located some miles from the
camp Of Cornucopia, on the south side
of the range, whose caps are tipped with
eternal snow. Many chasms and assures
have in the misty past cleft the noun
tains and left them in the mest fantas-
tic shapes. Vegetation ceases to grow
after a certain height is reached, and
close under the base of one Of nhe great
peaks is the famous extinct volcano.
Ashes and lava are found in great pro-
fusion and in such indescribable masses
that it makes the ascent pnu OF peril
and great difficulty. However, once at
the top, a peek down into the black,
fathpnless abyss supplies the most NOR
bid mind with all the sensatioualism
necessary for lifetime A favorite
amusement was to throw rocks down
and listen to the sounds as they struck
ON the projecting sides Of the dark CHM
ney until the sounds died away, leaving
nothing but for the mystified explorer |
to guess it had reached the bottom"
Many have been the stories circulated |
of the wonderful cavern that extended |
from the sides of the great chimney. A |
stout cable was provided and basket
swung from apulley, The Hon, Joseph,
with camera and notebook, was careful |
ly lowered some S78 feet, when he no,
tioed an aperture in the side of the
chimney, and by signals agreed upon a
halt was called in his downward career,
and he crawled through cleft In the
great chimney, and the work of explo-
ration began. The first sight that met his
astonished gaze was a most stupendous
chamber, from whose mighty dome
hung stalactites of great beauty, which
was enhanced by the light of the can
die and fairly struck terror to his heart,
as the Pickering candle seemed to pos
sess the power Of some unseen hand
that made millions of the brilliant sta
lactites dance in resplendent beauty. a
great snowy owl blinked at the aston
shed Joseph.
The explorer groped his way to the
Far end Of the chamber, where he
thought he heard sounds of falling
water, nor was he mistaken, for,
squeezing himself through an opening,
ne found himself in another chamber of
great beauty, with stream of hot sui
1hur water running into the earth. The
from the sulphur water
had transformed the cavern into a
,oral like substance and left 1t in such
antastic shapes. He found in the
water some lively little lizards and
ome frogs that change color ON the
lightest proyocation and two large
ats, who eyed the explorer with Gu
iosity that seemed to bode no good,
md he longed for his little gun. Baker.
;ity (Or. Democrat.