PREFACE 



MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK is visited annually 

 by increasing thousands of tourists. Many of them seek 

 information about the discoveries and explorations of the 

 mountain and its environs. Much of the information 

 sought, especially that about the origin of place names, has 

 never been published. The annals of discovery and ex- 

 ploration, which have been published, have often appeared 

 in books, pamphlets, or periodicals not easily accessible. 

 It is the purpose of this work to gather the essential por- 

 tions of the desired information within a compact, usable 

 form. 



During the summer of 1915, the mountain was for the 

 first time encircled by a large company of travelers. Small 

 parties, carrying their luggage and provisions on their 

 backs, had made the trip a number of times. The Moun- 

 taineers Club, in 1915, conducted a party of one hundred, 

 with fully equipped pack train and commissary, around the 

 mountain. They camped each evening at or near the 

 snow-line. At the daily campfires extracts were read from 

 the original sources of the mountain's history. The interest 

 there manifested in such records gave additional impulse to 

 the preparation of this book. 



It is natural that the chronological order should be 

 chosen in arranging the materials, beginning with the dis- 

 covery and naming of the mountain by Captain George 

 Vancouver of the British Navy. The records are then con- 

 tinued to the present time. There still remains to be done 

 much scientific work on the glaciers, snowfields, rocks, and 

 plants within the Park. It is hoped that this book may 

 stimulate such field work as well as the publication of the 

 results. 



