FIRST SUCCESSFUL ASCENT, 1870 



the bank of the river, passing around logs, following 

 old, dry beds of the river and its lateral sloughs, ankle- 

 deep in loose sand, and forcing our way through dense 

 jungles of vine-maple. The trail was scarcely visible, 

 and much obstructed by fallen trees and underbrush, 

 and its difficulties were aggravated by the bewildering 

 tracks of Indians who had lately wandered about the 

 bottom in search -of berries or rushes. We repeatedly 

 missed the trail, and lost hours in retracing our steps 

 and searching for the right course. The weather was 

 hot and sultry, and rendered more oppressive by the 

 dense foliage ; myriads of gnats and mosquitoes tor- 

 mented us and drove our poor animals almost frantic ; 

 and our thirst, aggravated by the severe and unaccus- 

 tomed toil, seemed quenchless. At length we reached 

 the ford of the Nisqually. Directly opposite, a perpen- 

 dicular bluff of sand and gravel in alternate strata 

 rose to the height of two hundred and fifty feet, its base 

 washed by the river and its top crowned with firs. The 

 stream was a hundred yards wide, waist-deep, and very 

 rapid. Its waters were icy cold, and of a milk-white hue. 

 This color is the characteristic of glacial rivers. The 

 impalpable powder of thousands of tons of solid rocks 

 ground up beneath the vast weight and resistless though 

 imperceptible flow of huge glaciers, remains in solution 

 in these streams, and colors them milk-white to the sea. 

 Leading the animals down the bank and over a wide, 

 dry bar of cobblestones, we stood at the brink of the 

 swift, turbulent river, and prepared to essay its pas- 

 sage. Coleman mounted behind Van Trump on the 

 little saddle-mule, his long legs dangling nearly to the 

 ground, one hand grasping his Alpine staff, the other 

 the neck-rope of the pack-mule, which Longmire be- 

 strode. Longmire led in turn the pack-horse, behind 

 whose bulky load was perched the other member of the 

 party. The cavalcade, linked together in this order, 

 had but just entered the stream when Coleman dropped 

 the neckrope he was holding. The mule, bewildered 



