The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1897-10-22

caves ana SNOW
banks, three miles
above the sea. They were hemmed In
by ice and snow, and were it not Tor
the heaviest flannels, stockings, shoes
and wraps they would have frozen to
death inside of ten hours. Mrs. j. e.
Mitchell, Miss Josie Query and Miss
Jean Mcfarland were the women who
broke the high summer residence rec
ord. They were accompanied by Mr..
Mitchell and Sergeant Hall, the latter
being a resident of Puyallup. Their
imprisonment caused their friends the
greatest anxiety, but nothing could be
done to assist them until after the
storm, which broke into a hurricane
just as they reached the summit OF the
mountain, had subsidized. But until the
storm finally did subside the two
things that kept soul and body together
on the mountain were the juice of a
few prunes and the little warmth that
came up through the core of the great
pile in the form of steam. Some of the
prunes were taken with the Mitchell
pat anu cl1 III "Si Iooha
there, having been left by the Maza-
mas. The steam is always there,
smelling of sulphur and birthstone, and
reminding those who enjoy its warmth
that Mount Tacoma was once upon a
time nothing more than a huge smoke
stack three miles high. When the
Mitchell party started for their event.
full trip the sky was clear and not I'M
til they were well up were there any
indications of the approaching storm.
1t was then too late for the party to
retreat. All the climbers could do was
to press on and on until they reached
the summit exhausted. Once over the
rim of the great crater the mountain
| GERS hurried N to the ice caves where
the steam oozes up from the interior of
the earth. The Jul was sinking low,
and darkness was coming on, but the
climbers had little fear. They expect
ed the storm to pass before morning,
and then they would descend in safe
ty. They huddled together about a
large opening where che steam came up
from below with considerable force.
There, too, they chatted and made mer-
ry. A few prunes were half cooked
over the steam. and a few bareback
crackers were softeneG by holding
them where the steam would reach
them.
This bill of fare was unchanged dur
ing their stay or the mountain, which
lasted three nights and four days. Be
fore the last day everything had been
d%evoured, and they were nearly dead
when they escaped from their icy pris-
on. On the second day the storm in
creased in violence. The men went to
the rim of the crater with the intention
of seeing if it was not possible for them
to escape by crawling down the side
of the mountain. They found the
force of the wind so great that it
rolled their bodies back off the rim
like so many straws. Gradually hun
| ger began to assert itself, and on the
third day every prune and every piece
| of bareback was devoured. The clothes
of the members of the party had be-
| come moist by contact with the steam,
! and when the moist side was turned
away from the warmth of the steam the
moisture turned to frost and ice.
Their evenings seemed to take the form
of a huge animal with great teeth that
snapped and bit every time the impris-
oned mountain climbers turned around.
| Hunger stood on n side ready to
euaw out their vitals, while on the
| other side stood Jack Frost ready to
/ sting and stiffen their limbs. After
eating their last crumb on the third day
the climbers crept to the rim Of, the
crater and looked about. The storm
was raging still on the lower levels.
Nothing could be seen of the surroNnd-
ing country but the tops of Mount
Adams, Mount Baker, Mount Hood,
Mount Jefferson and what appeared to
be Mount Shasta, could be seen. On
the fourth morning of their captivity
the Mitchell party decided to scramble
dswn the mountain side, although the
wind was blowing at the rate of fifteen
miles an hour. The women were fas-
tened to the life line and Mr.. Mitchell
cut holes in the ice for a distance Of
over a mile for the women to step in.
In that way seven and a half hours of
painful work were required to cover
the distance that had been traversed
in ascending in 40 minutes. At the
snow line the Mitchell party met a Ma
Zama rescue party that had been or
gained to rescue them.