The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-09-02
SEEM T0 HANG IN MD A|R
sENSATIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN
EERS WHEN LOST IN THE
CLOUDS
sELKIRKs HARD FOR GUIDES
Experience of Party of Americans
ut the Canadian National Park
The Courage of Ig-
nOrance.

ST nate the Sell1rks," declared one of
the most experienced and widely known
mountain guides in the Canadian Rockies.
'HThe underbrush is so thick you can't tell
len feet ahead whether you're going right
over a preeipice or into a blank wall Of
solid stone. Then, on the upper lodges, a
hunter is always getting lost in the
clouds; and when there isn't the width
Of mans foot between him and eter-
nity'-the guide paused and shrugged his
shoulders expressively.
What do you do then, when you're
lost in the clouds?" came the prompter.
Keep throwing bits of rock ahead, and
going step by step as you hear the stone
knock on solid footing
'tAnd when no sound comes back?"
s'Sit still till the cloud moves off, said
the guide, laconically, with an absent
look, reminiscent, of such experiences.
But sometimes when the rock doesn't
resound there's another sound; just
the suspicion of a soft, muff1ed rush. like
the purr of a mountain torrent so far be-
low only a smothered echo comes to the
upper lodges. Then, too, We sit still till
tfe7eloud moves off, and the green chaps,
the city men on a mountain hunt for
tRef 4irst time, confess to- creepiness
down their spines. Tracking mountain
sheep, I've been caught on lodges like
those pointing to a shelving bit of rock
running round the very pinnacle of Cas-
cade mountain. 5000 feet above Banff
valley caught as I rounded some sharp
corner by rain drift that blurred out
everything an arms length away like a
sponged slate. Wet snow makes thu
rocks as slippery as ice at such heights,
but there you must stick dripping wet
and cramped with cold, till the jagged
'peaks butt through the gray mist again.
or. risk your neck by going forward,
which a green man may do. But man
horn to the mountains takes no risk
So spoke one Of the foremost mountain
guides and climbers of the Canadian
Rockies; man who preceded that wild
unrecorded era known as construction
days when an army of 5000 navvies in
vaded the mountain Businesses; and who
was, indeed. a forerunner and scout for
that same army, writes the Banff (Can-
ada correspondent of the New York
Post
CLIMBERS INCREASING
Less than ten years ago there were no
guides TO the Rockies and Selkirks, for
the simple reason that the majority Of
the peaks in these ranges had as yet been
untrodden by the white man; and it took
the prospector-as one Of them, since
turned guide expressed it-''some time
10 understand why people wanted tho
hardest mountains to climb But with
the railway came the tourist, and with
the tourist the demand for peaks that Of
fer the greatest difficulties to the climb
er; and as the explored peaks Of these
East unknown ranges may be counted
while the unknown, UNEMPLOYED, and I'M
named SUBMITS are practically legion
there is a whole world to be conquered
Ey The climber coveting alpine glories.
I. e. Wilson, Of Banff, is certainly the
father Of the guides in the Rockies On
the ground long before the coming of the
railroad he assisted the first exploring
parties in their search for passes, and
has since been guide and advisers FOR
neerly all the important expeditions
leaving Banff. Bryant, from rhfladel-
phia, of Grand Falls, Labrador,
fame; Ccley and Parker, the
climbers; ilcox, 81 Washing
ten. the mountain explorer; Thomson,
Fay and Little, Of the Boston Appala-
ctlsJh club in which Mr.. Abbot lost his
life on Jeffrey while his companions mas
tered tho self-same peak the next year
son the anniversary Of his death: Allen of
Philadelphia-these and hosts of others
HdNS SoAie 10 Nt4SOH LIT dQNlGSt, and al
ways with the relish of q connCisseur
he has some fresh lore of the mountains:
new gorge, a waterfall Or peak dis
covered on enc of his hunting trips the
year before. But he is no longer the
emily enc of mis- class in the Canadian
Alps. PrOspectors have turned guides;
and net. s,ides. as far as knowledge is
concerned, could not be had. Having had
one bad accident few years ago, some
Eastern climbers the next summer
brought Swiss guide with them. This
vas the advent of the Alpine mountaineer
in Canada Now Swiss climbers are to
be found at all points in the Selkirks and
Rockies.
FCoLHAEDiNEsS DIT AMATEURS.
To the Iayrlan the surprising thing
about the professional mountain guide is
his unvaryirg caution No matter what
he irducement ne refuses ali risks.
When 4 man takes CHARGES On these
,seakS, 1t shows he is either fool or
an ig1cranius continues: the guide, en-
phasizing his opinion 81 fooii.ardiness.
When the snaw bridge across q cTevasse
where you can hear the guTgle Of water
2 hundred feet bcioT, saga down in the
miGGi&, man who knows The mountains
always snes on to a better place, re mat
ter l2H far or long 1t takes him; but
your i:a7sreiser VIII never listen TO such
waste o. tEe. AID Charceg x across
with -ash If t;1st Stow arch happens
70 ssar hi;l ever. hos sure 70 RISK ercas-
ing on saegter and sage:er bridges tal he
encounters che gs;tfs resistance less Than