MOUNT RAINIER 



fading light. In the central part of the icy chamber 

 was a pinnacle of rock, from the crevices of which steam 

 was issuing with a low hissing sound. Some of the 

 steam jets were too hot to be comfortable to the un- 

 gloved hand. In this uninviting chamber we passed 

 the night. The muffled roar of the gale as it swept over 

 the mountain could be heard in our retreat and made 

 us thankful for the shelter the cavern afforded. 



The floor of our cell was too uneven and too steeply 

 inclined to admit of lying down. Throughout the 

 night we leaned against the hot rocks or tramped 

 wearily up and down holding the life line. Cold 

 blasts from the branching ice chambers swept over us. 

 Our clothes were saturated with condensed steam. 

 While one side of the body resting against the rocks 

 would be hot, the strong drafts of air with a freezing 

 temperature chilled the other side. After long hours 

 of intense darkness the dome of snow above us became 

 faintly illuminated, telling that the sun was again 

 shining. After a light breakfast and a cup of tea, 

 prepared over our alcohol lamp, we resumed our explo- 

 ration, none the worse for the exposures of the night. 



Following the inner rim of the crater so as to be 

 sheltered from the gale still blowing steadily from the 

 west, we gained its northern border and climbed to the 

 topmost pinnacle, known as Columbia's Crest. This 

 pinnacle rises about 50 feet above the general level of 

 the irregular rim of the crater, and is the highest point 

 on the mountain. Its elevation, as previously stated, 

 is 14,526 feet. 1 



The magnificent view described by former visitors 

 to this commanding station, which we had hoped would 

 reward our efforts, was concealed beneath a canopy of 

 smoke that covered all of the region about the mountain 

 to a depth of about 10,000 feet. The surface of the 

 layer of smoke was sharply defined, and appeared like 

 an undulating sea surrounding the island on which 



1 Since shown to be 14,408 feet. 

 176 



