The Washington herald., 1913-07-20
By LENox c. CHEW.

I Reclining In q large arm chair before
a window in the library of her apart
ment in the Olympia. and with half
closed eyes looking out into the far
distance, as II to obliterate the thou
\ sands of miles that separated her from
the spot where her brother, Clinton b.
| Smith. and his young wife. lost their
Helens, DIR. Cora Smith King, yester-
day. at the request Of The Washington
Herald. gave her Interpretation of the
disasterl
DIR. King, herself a noted mountain
climber and founder of the Mountain
eers' Club Of Seattle. placed herself in
her Inflated brothers position, and with
voice filled with emotion, described
what must have been the feelings of
horror that possessed the party of in
experienced adventurers when the bliz-
zard. in all of its fury. broke about
them. DR.. King, in the presence of her
husband and others. recited the story
of the tragedy.
Although DIR. King has not as yet
learned the details of the disaster, her
experience in mountain climbing made
it possible for her to piece out the story
of the tragedy from the meager news
she has received. II is doubtful IL any
light will be thrown upon the accident
lips of r. s. Carroll. and his fiancee.
Miss BERTHE Monroe. companions OF her
brother on the ascent, for her woman's
intuition and her knowledge OF the
dangers of mountain climbing make II
needless for words to retell the tragedy.
Terrible Plight for Novices.
.It is difficut.',. said DIR. King. "for one
who has never made the ascent of
perpetually snow-peaked mountain to
rave any conception. Of the terrible plight
in which group of novices would find
themselves when caught in a mountain
storm such as the one in which my
brother. Clinton. and his beautiful young
wife, Iris. lost their lives near the sum-
init Of Mount St. Helens, on July 6, and
from which their friends. Mr.. Carroll and
Miss Monroe. escaped as by miracle "
ITO begin with. we must get some ade-
ouate idea of what one Of those giant
Western mountain peaks-as Mount St
Helens-is like, Seize. for example, the
State Of Rhode Island by the center. pull
the land up to a height Of two miles, ard
you will have some idea of the area ccv-
cred. The lower slopes are covered with
tangled forests up to an elevation OF
800 feet above sea level These forests
are Of fr and cedar, with much fallen
timber and heavy undergrowth. making
lntTn lulpdSSdDlf WITHOUT d
above the tree levels rise at intervals
bare rock ridges nearly to the summit.
The spaces between these ridges are filled
with the great, snow-moving; snow-cov-
cred glaciers. On the ridges there are
hundreds of rock precipices- Running 'r-
regularly across the glaciers are the crew
asses-enorrnous cracks in the ice, any
where from six inches to fifty feet wide
and down to unknown depths" Il
Climb of Eight Miles.
ITO get from the base of the mountain
through the forest to timber line you
must often travel 20 miles or more. To
get from timber line to the summit-a
mile more in elevation-you may have
to walk and climb a distance of eight
miles This part of the mountain is
covered with eternal snow and ice. ex-
,ept where the rock ridges jut out
MANY of my friends have expressed sur |
,rise that blizzard OF rain, snow and sleet |
,ould occur upon the mild Pacific coast |
n July. But we must remember that
he weather of the valley and seacoast
md that of the mountains are two dis
inct things. You might be 1asking in
unlight in a valley and a death-dealing
blizzard be raging on a mountain peak
rot ten miles from you and Sou would
lot know it. All you would know was
hat the mountain was shrouded with
LIQUIDS and mist.
The storm comes upon you with in
redible swiftness. Suddenly a cloud
asses between you and the sur. The
Iir is struck with an appalling chill. 1t
rows ominously darker. The 'nounIain.
which seemed to have in the morning an
INVITING smile. now frowns at you. You
eem to be looking at everything through
arkened glasses. You can see the clouds
descending upon you. Suddenly you
o snow.
THE wind rises. 1t increases in We
,city. The rain turns to sleet, cutting
our face and eyes like fine whips. The
og grows thicker and thicker. The