The Ascent of Chief Mountain 



the late moon, rising from the prairie ocean 

 behind us, had turned the dark, threatening 

 wall to cheering silver, we thought again of 

 the old warrior's steadfastness and longed to 

 make his example ours. 



The Doctor's thermometer marked 20 de- 

 grees Fahrenheit when Fox called us, and the 

 morning bucket which he dashed over us was 

 flavored with more of the spirit of duty than 

 usual. But otherwise the weather had been 

 made for us. Yesterday's storm had beaten 

 down the smoke from Washington forest fires, 

 which had clouded everything for the past 

 month, and the Sweet Grass Hills twinkled 

 across one hundred miles of prairie as if at 

 our feet ; and yet there was hardly a breath 

 of wind. Under the lee of the wall itself ab- 

 solute stillness brooded over ledges which even 

 a moderate breeze could have made dangerous. 

 We did not make an early start. The thing 

 could be done quickly if it could be done at 

 all, for there was only 1,500 feet of cliff. 



Our men did not give the attempt to reach 

 the summit from this, the eastern side, even 

 the scant compliment of a doubt; in their 

 minds its failure was certain, but they were 



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