Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1920-09-10


cans who visit 1t in vacation time. It should nave
a good American name. change in name, OF
course, means changing the name of Mount Raj
nier since the mountain Is one-third Of the whoie
park.
Peter the Great, on hts deathbed in 1925, de-
creed that vitus Behring, Dane IN his employ,
should cross Siberia to the unknown western sea,
build two ships and search for the tabled passage
to the Atlantic. Thus came about the Russian pos
session of Alaska and of the north Pacific coast.
Perez in 1773, and Haceta, in 1774 both Span
iards explored the Pacific coast, discovered Moot
ka sound and suspected the Columbia river from
the breakers on its bar In 1777 Capt James Cook
discovered Cooks inlet but missed both Juan de
Fuca's straits and the Columbia. Capt. Robert
Means Of the East India company discovered the
stralts y 1888 but dared not cross the Column
bias bar. : -
International jeaiousies brought about the Moot
ka Convention OF 1790. which gave the British the
right to fish and trade, provided they did no colo
nlzing.
Then IN 1902 came an American, Capt. Robert
Gray of Boston, in the Columbia the first Amer
lean ship to sail around the world 1790l. It took
this dauntless American sailor nine days to get
through the breakers the columbia's bar He
sailed 30 miles up this noble river and named 1t
after his gallant ship.
| That same year Capt. George Vancouver of the
| British navy was sent to enforce the Nootka
1 vention He explored Puget sound, but baked at
! trying TO cross the Columbia's bar He met Cap
| tain Gray, who told him of his ascent OF the river.
/ But the British commander baked at the break
ers took possession Of the country in the name
i Of his sovereign and left Lieutenant Broughton
/ in the Chatham to explore the river IL he could.
i Broughton got into the river and assembled 100
i miles by launch. He Mount Rainier. about
j 100 miles away and was struck with awe Like
i true British naval officer he named this magnifi-
cent mountain, rising 14,4Os feet almost from sea
/ level, after Rear Admiral Peter Rainier.
/ Mount Rainier Is ~ miles from Tacoma and
81 miles from Seattle. It is the sight of sights
| from either city. AS is well known, these two
cities have feud over the name. Tacoma calls
| It Tacoma and Seattle calls it Mount Rainier This
| is not to say that the controversy should be de-
| cided In favor of either city. But 1.-THE mountain
that was God" of the Indians one of the most
Impressive of earth, should have a better name
than Rainier.
Here some random extracts from the intro
ductory pages of Uncle Sans booklet:
"0f all the fire-mountains which, like beaeons
once blazed along the Pacific coast, Mount Rainier
is the noblest." wrote John Muir. "The Mountain
that Was Cod" wrote John d. Williams, giving
title to his book.
Easily king of all lis Mount Rainier" wrote
f. =. Matthes OF the United States geological sur
vey. reviewing that series on huge extinct volca.
noes towering high above the sky line OF the Cas-.
eade range. almost $50 feet higher than Mount
Shasta, its nearest rival In grandeur and ia mass
1t is overwhelmingly impressive both by the vast
ness of its glacial mantle and by the striking
sculpture of Its cliffs The total area OF its gla.
ciers amounts to no less than 48 square miles an
expanse of fee far exceeding that of any other
single peak IN the United States Many OF its
individual Ice streams are between four and six
miles long and vie In magnitude and In splendor
with the most boosted glaciers of the Alps. Cas-.
cading from the summit In all directions they
radiate like the arms OF great starfsh.''
Seen from Tacoma or Seattle the vast mountain
appears TO rise directly from level, SO insig.
nifeant seem the ridges about its base. Yet these
ridges themselves are OF no mean height They
rise 5000 TO 4OOO feet above the valleys that GU.
through them, and their crests average 5000 feet
II altitude.
But SO colossal are the proportions Of the great
Q volcano that they dwarf even mountains of this
) size and give them the appearance of mere foot
hills. In height 1t Is second ia the United States
only to Mount Whitney.
Mount Rainier stands In round numbers OOl
: feet above its immediate base is nearly thres
miles high, measured from sea level and covers
100 square miles of territory, one-third OF the