The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1906-07-11
ORIGIN OF STORY
THAT WENT ROUNDS
ABOUT RAINIER BEING IN ERUPTION
Ralph Meyer Tells of the Fun the boys
Have Had In Camp Over
Newspaper Yarn.

Ralph Meyer prospector and min
Ing expert. came down from the noun
tains In the vicinity Of the Dumping
river, where he has discovered several
rich lodges, to spend the Fourth of
July in the city. He brought with him
some rich specimens of ore taken from
his recent findings.
Mr.. Meyer in n conversation yester-
day called attention to the wild and
misconceived statements that find their
way into the columns of some newspa-
pers; and how often little joke re-
sorted to by the jolly boys on the
range, in the hills and mining camps
are construed as facts and circulated
throughout the country.
One incident that he referred to was
the origin of the story originally pub
lished in q Yakima evening paper last
spring about Mt. Rainier throwing
forth columns OF black smoke.
In speaking of the matter Mr.. Meyer
said: IT always dislike to meet rep
resentative of the press because they
usually have such vivid imaginations
and so often fail to distinguish be-
tween a joke and facts. This is clearly
shown by an article that appeared in
n paper of this city when it printed
the story last spring about Mount
Rainier belchng forth dense clouds of
smoke. The reporter evidently got his
authority from a letter written to l.
Fl. Oils by some of the boys in the
mining camp. The Tacoma papers
next took it up. They not only had
clouds of smoke. but also showers of
dust, SCOT and other materials, as well
as people standing at the base of the
mountain sending out detailed ac-
counts of what was going on. 1t next
appeared in the Seattle papers; then in
the Portland; then in the San Fran
cisco, and finally 1t was taken up by
the eastern papers and swept like the
breath of destiny through the country.
so vivid and bloodcurdling were
the descriptions in some of the papers
that the people stood petriied with
fear expecting every moment to see
the whole top of the mountain blown
with terrific force from its lofty place
and huge streams of molten lava
running down the mountain side into
the valleys and gorges below.
Following in the trail of all these
glowing accounts the great San Fran
cisco disaster came, which spread con-
sternation throughout the length and
breadth of the country. Eastern people
read the accounts of the terrible and
appalling disaster They read the ac-
counts of smoking Rainier They
feared that the entire western Pacific
slope region was doomed to the same
Ill fate. 1t was then that immigra-
ton to the west began to drop off
Then the newspapers of the western
states began quarreling among them
selves. Each one accused the other
of publishing these smoky articles
which were hurting the development of
the western country and staying the
tide Of immigration.
Cali this was going on when the
whole story of Mount Rainier smok-
ing was only a joke started by the
boys in the mining camps 1t had its
origin in the heavy winds that pre-
vailed in the valleys in the early
spring. Clouds of dust were blown
from the Sunnyside and other valley
districts. Much of this dust fell on
the snow in the hills about ,le camp.
The curiosity of some of the tender
feet In the camp was aroused and they
wanted to know what the cause OF so
| much dust was. One of the old timers,
in way of a joke. said: Mount Rain
Ter is smoking-the top is being blown
off, AS the result of this little joke a
letter was written by Jack Campbell
to I. H. Dills telling of the smoking
mountain. The is the origin OF the
story of smoking Mount Rainier. All
the smoke that there was was con-
fined to the newspaper alone