DISCOVERY OF CAMP MUIR, 1888 



The ascent of Mount Rainier is difficult and dan- 

 gerous. Three different parties have reached the 

 summit from the south side namely, Hazard Stevens 

 and P. B. Van Trump in 1870; P. B. Van Trump, 

 James Longmire and Mr. Bailey, in 1883 ; and a party 

 of seven, of which the writer was the projector, in 

 August of the present year. A party of three from 

 Snohomish claim to have reached the summit by the 

 northeast side in the summer of 1884. Several others 

 and myself have made two attempts to reach the sum- 

 mit from that side, but came to an impassable crevasse 

 at an elevation of about 14,000 feet on both occasions. 



On the morning of the loth of last August a party of 

 eight gentlemen left Seattle for Yelm with the neces- 

 sary equipments and provisions for a two weeks' 

 sojourn among the eternal hills. At Yelm we secured 

 the necessary horses to convey our outfit to the snow 

 line on the south side. The day at Yelm was clear 

 and beautiful Mount Rainier never looked so grand 

 before. Its three peaks stood out in bold relief against 

 the sky, while its walls of ice sparkled with resplendent 

 beauty. During the morning and evening the play of 

 colors around its base, extending in graduated bands 

 far towards the zenith, made our artist groan aloud 

 because of his inability to transfer them to canvas. 

 It took us three days from the time we left Yelm to 

 reach the Longmire Mineral Springs. These springs 

 were discovered by Mr. James Longmire in 1883. 

 They number twenty-five or more, and are heavily 

 charged with carbon dioxide and other gases that 

 combine to make the water a very pleasant drink as 

 well as a health-giving beverage. Around each spring 

 is an incrustation of soda compounds deposited by the 

 water. One spring, over which a rude bath-house has 

 been constructed, pours forth a large quantity of water 

 at a temperature of 85 Fahr. A bath in this water is 

 pleasant and invigorating. The view from the springs 

 is very beautiful. On the right is the swift flowing 



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