The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-11-24
THE MYSTIC MOUNTAIN.
TACOMA'S TRANSFORMED PEAK
STILL OUT OF SIGHT.
Clouds EnveIop the Summit and Make
1t Impossible to Verify the
Volcano Story-The Yarn
Discredfted.

TACOMA, Nov. 23.-It remained cloudy
ali day today and Mount Tacoma could
not be seen. Prof. P. B. Van Trump,
Yelm Prairie, 30 miles north ON the
Northern Pacific road, where q splendid
view of the mountain is obtainable
writes the Ledger to the effect that
mists rising from the mountain have
probably been mistaken for smoke.
Prof. Van Trump ia an educated gen
tlsman and high authority ON all mat.
tors pertaining to the mountain. In
1872 he made the ascent with Gen
Hazard Stevens of Boston, and since
has made numerous ascents. He has
made study of phenomena connected
with the great mountain.
Prof. Van Trump writes thus:
Daring my 81 years. acquaintance
with or knowledge of the mountain,
have known of a number of persons
who, at different periods in the past,
declared they saw columns OF smoke
issuing from the top OF the mountain,
and that afterwards they noted remark
able changes in the appearance of one
or the other OF the peaks. before noticed
by them. Had the summit really
changed ss often as some people have
imagined, there would now be little left
Of the original peaks.
Some people are almost as faneiful
about the mountains as are the Indians
in their legends about it. In one legend
is told how Tacobet once had only q
single solid peak, not triple summit as
Eow that the three peaks were the
work Of a mountain spirit, or that the
mountain itself, under the personifica-
ton OF warning giant. wrought this
change in its summit when in ang.y
conflict with other giant peaks.
persons familiar with mountain
phenomena, especially those pertaining
to this great mountain, know that
clouds or masses OF mist form very rap
idly on the mountain side or near its
base, which sometimes suddenly elon.
gate into streamers or columns and
ehoot rapidly up the mountains in the
ravines or depressions between it's rocky
ribs, and rise high above the peaks, or
one of them. Seen from the other eide
of the peak. this ascending cone of mist
(of dark or black bue when seen in q
certain light) looks exactly like smoke
issuing from the summit OF the peak.
Such phenomenon ia sometimes seen
in connection with tho north peak.
Again, the weather caps which are
thrown off from the middle peak, some.
times half dozen in rapid succession,
look very much, sometimes. like puffs
OF smoke. These caps of mist are
simply condensed mist, air or steam
from the craters and almost invariably
precede storm or change in the
weather.
"Our mountain ia a great natural bar
ometer and its predictions OF change
in the weather, in from one to three
days, by the appearance OF the weather
caps on the middle peak. are as reliable
as those OF an artificial mercurial baro.
meter. The dome OF snow and ice,
called latterly 'Colum bias Crest is go
firmly and Lurely fixed on the solid rock
which forms the common rim Of the
two crsters, that it would take a much
harder shock of earthquake to topple il
into either crater than we have ever had
in Washington, or are likely to have;
and even il, according to one theory, the
central snow of the crater had fallen in
ward, such a phenomenon would not
necessarily have resulted in the over-
turning or disappearance OF Columbia's
crest. Such throe OF the old mpuntai
as would produce such wonderful
change in it's appearance, viewed go
miles away and plainly visible, would
have caused such violent trem bling of
mother earth for 100 miles from the
mountain, az would have convinced not
few but every man, woman and child
within that radius, that something
startlingly strange and phenomenal had
occurred"