The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-10-25

mfntS On the rocHs IN pouring 91-E flo
rrsclpices and CLUTCHES accompanied by
clouds Of snow. Sita soEztsE leas resogrd-
Ing report Here fo< SIX years ne kss
cwsit. Tor he last tarss years being en-
tirelY alone during the winter. His cid
cabin - small. .ow-rco.-1. bur solid. well
asse 10 Dear a2 the a3gs weight Of snow in
which rhs frost xing 1s.riss - Bot se has
lately completed q large. new cabin OF
suaootn-nex1 legs. ;No s.oriss nign, with
doors and windows Of spiit cellar boards
and floors Is smooth as tnozgh they were
made Of dressed l-m5sr from \ sa~rnill-
Here he keeps his xins.r's stores and en-
PERTAINS the rare visitors who eek shelter
with him. but. wnen asone, he .zfsbitS
the old cabin. wnsca he finds warmer ami
more comfortable. In sumner he dces tho
assessment work IN the mining Gains
which ne has held with t,nE,s.g through
the hardest Of the hard 4 aes. ard N NIn-
ter he goes through the mountains trap
ping ma-sen, mink ana ota-- far-bssssLg
animals. Tno1ya % years old. this re-
ciase OF the mountains Is strong and active
and can spend a whole day in climbing the
mountains without fns asas, sign OF IA
tigue. He has spent IS years Of his ..fe IN
mining and has wandered through the
wisds from ALASKA Ear 20 the southwark.
Cold and hunger and all manner of priva-
lions are familiar to him and. though not
cweiIers Ia cities, he Is wise In the wisdom
Of the woods. for he has studied in ma
lures book and learned his lessons thor
o1ghly. The periis and adventures he has
experienced. tod with dramatic effect.
would thrill the soul OF the schooiboy who
delights In reading OF the wilds. He 10 .
typical pioneer. fertile Of resource for ev-
cry emergency and skilled In many
trades. n a rec.use. who must depend on
be. Though living alone. he Is
sociable and hospftabie. and makes
travellers welcome. SO that "Gil-
osr-s camp is landmark in the mount
aims known to all travellers. Men such as
he have b,azed the way for those indus
trial armie~ which win the victories OF
peace. no less renowned than those OF war
the victories by which civilization con-
qaers the wilderness.
Beauties Of Gilbert Bnsin.
In point Of scenery. Gifbsrt's basin.
named after its lone inhabstant, yields
nothing to the innumerab;e other basins
from which the streams Of the Cascade
range spring. 1t has all the rugged grand
eur OF tall cliffs and pinnacles towering
above broad glaciers, guiches OF awful
gloom. pree4pices which no man can scale.
beneath which the. forest forms Its silent
aisIes OF dark columns.
The best general view Of the basin Il OBJ
tanned from the famous Boston mine, OF
which the opening is 6,soo feet above sea
level on the left hand side OF the valley.
To this point of vantage the writer climbed
under the guidance Of Mr.. Landre. making
an ascent Of 400 feet In about four miles.
The day opened with mist yelling the
submits, but towards noon 1t rolled away
and the sun poured down his beams from
= clear sky. his radiance softAsng the as
pect OF the scene. while making Its details
stand out In vivid distinctness. The val
ley around the cabin IL thickly clothed
with brush wearing Its grand autumn
dress and through this the trail winds up
towards the pass. crossing the unbrtdged
creek. Half q mile up the Boston trail
turns OF to the left, leaving the state
tran TO climb the basin to the pass. which
crosses the summit Among high pinnacies
standing like sentinel to right and left OF
It. Then ii zigzags through heavy timber
on = precipitous slope and suddenly
emerges on a barren waste Of boul0ers and
gravel, amid which streams course from
the glacier above. Skirting along the
mountain and rending Upward, the trail
crosses a bar OF these bouiders which was
piled I'D ages ago by the glacier into the
moraine OF the same material. Indian ira
di;ion says that the glacier once covered
this whole area and was as high as the
tops OF the OARS difSduy nehkaVAcA, uHb
has gradually broken and melted away.
leaving these bars. 80 feet high. at each
side and the terminal moraine Of the same
character strewn far down the slope. Mr..
Landre says that when he first saw 1t n
1889, Ii extended 500 feet further down ths
mountain. The boulders are OF every size
and have been worn round and smooth by
the grinding process Of the superincum-
bent mass OF ice. The glacier Is a huge
- Ia Of In .haa
OF fresh snow and riven by crevasses, Its
glistening surface fiinging back the SUMS
rays with binding effect. Above 1t Is a
line OF sawteeth. through which the great
Boston ledge cuts. curving TO the SOUTH
ward around the Gilbert basin and down
it's further side The trail crosses the
moraine below the foot OF the glacier.
among piles OF slide rock and boulders.
crosses the bar at the further side and
then switches back and forth over
meadow OF tender green glacier grass.
strewn with rocks and darkened here and
there by patches OF heather, on which the
snow grows deeper as you mount higher.
though the increasing heat as day adj
vaEces is fast melting It. A fat rock among
the grass offers a comfortable seat from
which to cast the eye TO right, over the
broad landscape OF mountain and valley
spread around you.
Up higher and to the right two smaller
glaciers slope down from beneath the saw
teeth, great waste Of boulders below
them showing how far down they once ex-
tended. All these glaciers are gradually
diminishing, for Mr.. Iandre remembers
that six years ago they covered ground
which is now hare. The climate Is ifnper-
cepttbly growing warmer and these relics
OF the great Ice age are steadily passing
.E.s rs 81 avx
penetrates these mountains their SUBMITS
may be bare OF Ice. Below the most north
erly glacier. the extreme point of the high
est belt OF timber darkens the slope, grad
uaily broadening and growing thicker and
taller as IL extends down 30 the valley 400
feet below. The view OF the mountain
further north Is cut or iIr line OF cliffs.
split into high, narrow caves A roar and
rattle draws your attention 10 the noun
tain opposite, where every gulch between
the unsuitable sawteeth Is flied with a
narrow. tunsbling stream Of tee. broken
into huge waves. The roar is caused by
the failing OF blocks OF ice from the tail OF
one OF these glaciers. TO be shattered on
the rocks beneath and pour In a white
cascade, with an accompanying shower OF
snow. over the precfpice beneath. The
cliffs overhanginE these minor glaciers
break down by degrees towards the south
west unui they meet the timber on the
downward curysng crest of the ridge
Towering above this ridge - a far higher
mountain. its broad SUNNI. shlrnmsrfnS
white with glaciers divided ey black rocky
rps, Big creek. one OF the southern trsbu-
taries Of the Cascade, having It's source
there. Following the horizon onward to
tha right you see mountains o, slightly
less elevation. some shltened with patches
OF snow aud one clothed with an ice cap
while in the foreground a ;Imbered ridge
sweeps down into the valley from each