DISCOVERY OF CAMP MUIR, 1888 



to the dwellers on Puget Sound. There are other 

 peaks that command our attention, but it is to the 

 old monarch that we turn with unfeigned pride and 

 exclaim, "Behold a masterpiece!" 



The height of Mount Rainier, as estimated by tri- 

 angulation, is 14,444 feet. This height was verified 

 by barometer in the hands of one party that reached 

 the summit in the month of August of the present year. 

 From many points of view it appears a single peak ; 

 but in reality it is composed of three peaks of nearly 

 the same height. These peaks may be designated as 

 northern, crater and southern. They are not in direct 

 line, but occupy apexes of an obtuse-angled triangle. 

 The northern peak is a cone, with its apex about two 

 miles from the summit of crater peak ; the southern 

 peak is somewhat flattened on top, and is about one 

 and one-half miles from crater peak. Crater peak, 

 as the name suggests, has two large craters, with well- 

 defined rims one sloping slightly towards the north- 

 east, and the other towards the southwest. The cul- 

 minating point of this peak is a sugarloaf-shape mass 

 of pure snow, about one hundred feet above all adja- 

 cent points. The northern and southern peaks are 

 inaccessible, except from crater peak, owing to the 

 precipitous condition of their sides, which are so steep 

 that snow will not cling to them except in small 

 patches. Down these sides, during some seasons of 

 the year, avalanches go thundering almost hourly with 

 a roar that makes the tourist shudder with fear. 



The volcanic condition of Mount Rainier is every- 

 where apparent. For miles before the base is reached 

 vast quantities of ashes, forming the greater part of 

 the soil of that region, plainly tell of extensive erup- 

 tions ; the immediate foothills are covered with masses 

 of red and black lava ; while pumice is found in great 

 abundance upon some of the ridges. All these evi- 

 dences suggest that, long ages ago, Rainier was the 

 scene of volcanic activity of immense magnitude. 



