The Lamar register., 1897-10-16

banks. three miles
above the sea They were hemmed in
by ice and snow. and were 1t not for
the heaviest nannels. 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 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 subslde the two
things that kept soul and body together
on the mountain were the juice of
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
party and some of them were found
! 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 huge smoke
stack three miles high. When the
| Mitchell party started for their event
ful trip the sky was clear and not un-
/ I'll they were well up were there any
indications Of the approaching storm.
II 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 on to the ice caves where
the steam oozes up from the interior Of
the earth. The sun 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 the 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 hard-tack
crackers were softened by holding
them where the steam would reach
them
Thls Dill OF rare was unchanged dur
Ing their stay on the mountain, which
lasted three nights and four days. Be-
| fore the last day everything had been
devoured, 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
1 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 1t
rolled their bodies back of the rim
like so many straws. Gradually hun
ger began to assert itself, and on the
| third day every prune and every piece
\ of hardtack 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.
I 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
J Hunger stood on one side ready to
gnaw out their vitals, while on the