The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-08-04
IN LASTING MEMORY
SCENE OF PROF. M.CLrRE.s DEATH
To BE MARKED.
Fl. L. Pittock Removes Some Nfsap-
prehensiou. Regarding the wan
ncr Of His v.,,-s~ve-al other Ac-
rfdent~ Marred the Trip-ine
Party Was Too Large.

Special Dispatch 10 the pcss-Tnteiligencer.
TACOMA, Avg. 3-The most lnrid &C
count yet given Of he death Of f'rof- NC
Ciure. which occurred while descenashs
Mount Rainier one week ago ionlshs' "ss
gwen 20 the PoSf-futelilgenesr coi.Ssp"il"-
emf this evening by Hear. i. Fttiee.S, 'nsn-
agsr OF the Portland O-egoEian, WIZ NlN.1
his daughters and atoat thirty 1--we etheEs'
returned today from The mountain iesi,i.e
the SD ending Of the expedition. WIN
shortened tie stay Of the AaZaihas' n,-
Pittock is enthusiastic over the trip. when
he describes "a one Of grandeur and recre-
alton. During his stay he acquired rich.
brown color. ard Incidentally oo'hef>oiho
sore or his iip
The newspaper accounts Of the death OF
our lalnenIed brother Prof. Mcclure, hSse
been slightly il error said M ritlocA-
This was no doubt due 10 an incorrect
description OF the place where the accident
happened, which is not an uncommon
thing when people are In a hurry and at
the same time nervous from The strain IN
descending the mountain from the danger
Gus places near Gibraltar many iaeAna-
tons are noted in the snow. person misat
feel his way along and pick out a route
which ne thinks is perfectly smooth, oue
which. On Investigation. may lead him TO
the crest Of a sharp depression. These
slopes or grades can &c seen plainly III the
daytime, but at night ii is Impossible 10
sc them. The place where Prof.. Mcclure
met his death Is an especially dangerous
one al night, as the grade extends dis
lance of about 800 feet a. 80 per cent. an
gle. Once a person steps of the trail and
onto the crest il Is hard 10 stop, as the
snow at that hour or the night Is very slip
perry Prof. Mcclure. Who was IN company
with Miss Mcbride, of Portland, DR.. Con-
nell and others. stepped onto this grade
while looking for the path. Miss Mcbrice
says that some one started towards him.
but the professor warned him not 10 come
near him. as it WAS too steep.
These We're the last words he ever utter
ed, as he evidently lost his balance and
crumoling sound was heard were evidently
oyerdrawn. as II would be impossible 10
hear anything for distance of 800 feet.
lie surely could not have made any noise
sliding over the snow. Had he gore down
the grade fifteen feet farther east, he
would nave missed the rocks and escaped
death.
The next morning We found his body
wedged in among the rocks On the rocks
were pieces OF hair. and on one corner Of
a boulder l remember distinctly having
noticed small spinters from the alpen-
stock that were driven into the rock, SO
hard was the contact
Before breaking camp we built two mon.
uynents marking the spot where the pro-
fessor met his death ana next year plate
with proper inscription VIII be placed on
the rocks, to remain as long as the mount
ain stands. We also changed the name OF
Camp Misery, where Professor Mcclure
spent the night before the ascent. to Camp
Mcclure. l considered the professor our
best and most valued member, besides be-
ing noble fellow and brilliant young edu.
Gator. His sudden death cast a gloom over
the camp that could not be dispeiled, so We
cut the trip Short
Il made the trip to the summit along
with Professor Mcclure and made the de-
scent as far as Muir camo, where l stop
ped for the night. Prof Mcclure and the
others had left the camp before / got in,
as / was the last one 10 let so the life line
at the dangerous point near Gibraltar.
which gave the others an opportunity.
From Muir camp the fire in Paradise park
could be seen plainly. This, no doubt.
caused those who went on ahead 10 start
for camp at night, which, to my thinking.
was a very hazardous undertaking. be-
cause of the different inclInations In the
SHOWS surface, OF which / have spoken.
Before leaving camp in Paradise park ev-
cry member of the expedition agreed TO
follow out the directions of our leader. MIR.
Curtis. which, might say. were excellent.
These instructions We followed to the letter
during the ascent. with the result that ey-
erything went along finely. In making the
descent everything went along in fine form
until Camp Muir was reached. Prof Nc
Clure. who had spent the night before on
the crest Of Gibraltar and had worked
hard all day, was no doubt anxious TO
reach camp in Paradise park. where he
could get something palatable to eat and
a good bed, and concluded to push on in
the night. being an experienced and care
full mountain climber.
Il am of the opinion that too many
made the ascent at one time. there being
ilfty-six in our party With so large
crowd much time is lost both In ascend
ing and descending. consequently the tims
on the summit is lessened unless you in
tend to pass the night in the crater, which
Is not the pleasantest thing in the world
with the wind blowing fifty miles an hour
and cold enough to freeze you, should you
accidentally expose yourself.
THE trip all the way through was
frausht with accidents. The next day
after our arrival at camp Prof. Brown, OF
Stanford. insisted on making explorations.
which resulted in his getting lost. An ex-
ploring party found him after quite n
search between some rocks leading to-
wards CowiItz glacier. He had lost the
points of the compass entirely. aad had
he not been discovered. would probably
have strayed away and died from the cold
and hunger Next cana the awful death
of Prof. Mcclure and the accident TO
Messrs. Ainslee and Rogers, OF Portland.
These young men miraculously escaped
death. They also made an attempt to
reach camp by travelling at night.
The iaX which " q hynHa rSfEn. sun
day. was the pleasantest we experienced
during the trip. At Longm.re's We passed
number Of people going in"