MOUNT RAINIER 



the mountain ; the forest was so thick, however, that 

 this was next to an impossibility. We were not loth 

 to go down into ravines in the hope of finding some 

 water, for we needed it greatly. It was a long time, 

 and we met with many disappointments, before we 

 could find enough to quench our thirst. Our progress 

 was exceedingly slow on account of the undergrowth. 

 At sundown we camped in the grand old forest, the 

 location being chosen on account of some water in a 

 partially dry ravine. The distance passed over from 

 Mishawl Prairie we estimated at about ten or eleven 

 miles. On good roads thirty miles would have wearied 

 us much less. 



We started early the next morning, and for a time 

 tried to keep the high ground, but found it so difficult 

 that we finally turned down to the right, and came 

 upon the Nesqually River about the middle of the 

 afternoon. There was no material difference in the 

 undergrowth, but there was an advantage gained in 

 having plenty of water to quench our thirst. We 

 made about ten miles this day, and camped about sun- 

 down. There seemed nothing but forest before us ; 

 dark, gloomy forest, remarkable for large trees, and 

 its terrible solitude. But few living things were to 

 be seen. The Nesqually is a very wide muddy tor- 

 rent, fordable in places where the stream is much 

 divided by islands. 



We already here began to suffer from the loss of 

 appetite, which was to us such a difficulty throughout 

 the entire trip. Even the four crackers and two ounces 

 of dried beef, which was our daily limit, we found 

 ourselves unable to master, and yet so much was 

 necessary to keep up our strength. I have never 

 been able to settle in my mind whether this was due 

 to the sameness of the food or the great fatigue we 

 underwent. 



The third morning we made an early start, and 

 followed up the stream in almost a due east direction 



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