Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1897-01-28

which all hunters recognize as no small
burden in themselves.
The camping outfit and provisions were
put on three small, but strong and sure
footed cayuses, the combined weight
being about $50 pounds. Great care was
taken to see that the packs were securely
fastened, because the shifting of pack on
narrow mountain trail not only means
lots OF extra hard work, but possibly the
loss of both animal and luggage. 1t was
not the intention OF the hunters, hardy
though they We're, to lose good stock OF
coffee, bacon, flour, bonelcss ham, sugar,
and that old standby
OVER THE MOUNTAINS.
On the evening of July "a all was ready
for the start, and the next morning wit
messed the assembling of a picturesque
party at Lake Cushman, where the gov
eminent trail has its beginning. Each
one wore the toughest of tough looking,
wide brmmed sombreros, coarse shoes
with hob nails, a pair of overalls and I'M
dershirt. In fact, each cut weight to
minimum, but still kept his outfit SER
viceable. To a person who has never
plodded through Washington forest,
or clambered up mountain sides in pur
suit of deer, it is hard to convey an ade
quate idea of the wear and tear to clothes
and foot gear. If novice becomes lost
even short distance from his friends, he
will oft-times find his clothes in shreds
before he hears response to his "whoo-
hoo. These hardy young men, who have
their homes in the Olympian foot hills,
and have followed the ridges in he exhil-
arating chase of deer, or skirted the swift
Skokomish, looking for signs of beaver,
have come to regard such matters as the
very a. b. c. of forest life, and always
clothe themselves accordingly.
AT the end of the second day the party
found itself at the head of the Skokomish
river, Twenty-Five miles from their cabins
in the bottom. Many people speak of
this place as he first div de and alt hough
the Cushmanites booked upon it RS q COM
paratiyely easy part OF the journey, tyro
would sighinBly remark: "Deliyer me
from amy barber work with this pack ON
my bacll!"
The ram came down in torren $, md
there WAS great hu7tling to make camp
and kindle the fire. Soon the coffee
pot began to boil and the bacon to sizzle;
then all gathered around and devoured
meal more distinguished for quantity
than for quality, perhaps. Each soen pro-
duced his pipe, regular old fashioned
corn cob, and pulling and thinking be-
on / hoe Af al fin bpV
talked OF their trip, of hunting i'll gen
eral, and of how eastern folk would at
first stand life in such IL jungle. They
congratulated themselves that they still
had three horses, because it was Won
der that one of them had not been
killed while it was rolling down the
mountain side.
SURPRISED CAYUSE.
If that cayuse could talk its story
would be interesting. What caused the
outbreak is still Il mystery, for without
warning the horse commenced plunging,
and a moment later cleared a four-foot
log at the side OF the trail and went roll
ing down the steep decline toward the
river, carrying with it the $50 pound
pack. Fifty feet down friendly log that
was propped slightly above the ground
stopped the cayuse in its mad flight. The
party gazed down upon conglomerate
miX-up of a big pack and little animal
that was paving air i'll Il wild manner.
With some misgivings, the hunters
worked their way to the scene of the
disaster and found it was necessary to cut
the pack loose in order to effect rescue.
Once liberated, the cayuse snorted,
jumped to its feet, and then looked as
calm as could be. How it escaped injury
was a puzzle, but truth Is stranger than
fiction. 1t was not an easy task to bring
the pack up to he trail and fasten it Sc
curely again, but the job was finally ac-
compIished and the journey resumed.
Along the river at stated points may be
found the places where the O'Neil party
camped. Each camp has a number, and
even yet the rancher5 in the Lake Cush-
man country speak of them as camps 3,
4, 5, etc. At No. s. the waters jump and
tumble over ragged rocks that form the
bottom of Il canon. From bank to bank
it is fully 100 feet, and from top to bottom
about rs much.
A log three feet in diameter spans this
chasm, making a convenient foot-path
for anyone daring to cross. Sometimes
hunters walk boldly out on the round
surface, and after reaching the middle
suddenly think of home and mother, and
make the remainder of the distance on
their stomachs. Tradition has it that
O'Neil used to drill his men on that log
In order to cure them of any disposition
to look to the right or left. But this
party had horses to get across, so all went
up stream to ford and crossed i'll safety.
Roland Hopper tried to cross that log
couple of years ago with heavy pack.
When halfway across his pack shifted,
and for moment it was a life or death
balance-act with him. Finally he made
q cOmpromiSe nv EN- braciDp the log.