10 



THE MOUNTAINEER. 



Mt. Rainier-Tacoma (I am certain 

 to get into trouble whichever way I 

 l)roiioimce it. Would it not be well 

 to call it the "Nameless One," the 

 "I am" of mountains) is the world's 

 grandest peak. Of course Himalayas 

 and Andes and a few Alpine peaks 

 are absolutely higher, but "globe- 

 trotters" tell us that no other single 

 isolated peak with so much elevation 

 immediately above the observer can 

 ])e seen from' sea-level. 



What Milton is to poets, what 

 Webster is to orators, what Wagner 

 is to musicians, what Hannibal is to 

 warriors, what St. Peter's is to 

 churches, what the Columbia is to 

 rivers, what Sirius is to the stars, — 

 such is our great king-peak to moun- 

 tains, the symbol of all that is ma- 

 jestic, elemental, mysterious, sublime. 



We might paraphrase Byron's fine 

 verses on Mt. Blanc thus : 



"Tahoma is monarch of mountains. 



They crowned him long ago. 

 With earthquake shock, on throne 

 of rock. 



And diadem of snow." 



Though the most elevated, most 

 difficult and dangerous of all our 

 great peaks, (unless we except the 

 special dangers of Kulshan) Rainier 

 has been often ascended and by sev- 

 eral large parties. Never but once 

 has there been a serious accident, the 

 time of the lamented death of Prof. 

 aicClure. 



Mt. Adams is a worthy brother of 

 Mt. Rainier. Though two thousand 

 feet less in height, it has one scene, 

 the great Klickitat glacier and preci- 

 pice on the east side, which cannot 

 be matched by any one scene on the 

 greater peak. Its parks and ice- 

 caves are marvelous in beauty and 

 interest. 



St. Helens is not so easily reached, 

 nor hardly so interesting when reach- 

 ed, its special charm lying in its ex- 

 quisite symmetry and beauty as seen 

 at many points on the lower Colum- 

 bia. 



The Iii'lian nnmes of Adams an 1 

 St. Helens are Klickitat and Loowit. 

 The origin of these names is found in 

 a (juaint story of the Indians as fol- 

 lows: 



Long ago there was a Tomanous 

 bridge Avhere the Cascades of the 

 Columbia now are. There a witch- 

 woman named Loowit kept the sa- 

 cred fire, commissioned for the pur- 

 pose by Sahale. Now the Indians of 

 that time had no fire and were so 

 poor and wretched that Loowit 

 greatly pitied them. She besought 

 Sahale that he would let her give 

 them some of the precious fire. He 

 granted the request and they were 

 able to cook and make huts and ca- 

 noes and bows and arrows and spears ; 

 they became happier and richer, and 

 joy reigned through all the land of 

 the Columbia. But Sahale was so 

 pleased with the faithfulness and 

 benevolence of Loowit that he told 

 her she might choose any favor and 

 he would grant it. She therefore 

 chose to be transformed from a wrin- 

 kled old witch into a beautiful young 

 girl. 



It was done. But now troubles 

 came thick and fast. All the chiefs 

 fell in love with the beautiful Loo- 

 wit. 



Dissensions followed. Loowit cared 

 for none but two, one from the south 

 of the great river named Wiyeast, 

 and the other from the north named 

 Klickitat. 



She could not decide between these 

 two. So in angry rivalry they led 

 their warriors to battle and each 

 burned the villages and canoes and 

 forests of the other. Everything was 

 wretched and miserable. Sahale was 

 sorry that he had granted the sacred 

 fire and turned Loowit into a beauti- 

 ful girl. So he lifted his heavy hand 

 and smote the Tomanous bridge so 

 that it fell into the river, and then 

 he struck dead Loowit and her two 

 lovers. So no longer could one tribe 

 or the other cross the bridge from 

 north to south and the river was 



