IN THE OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS. 



93 



Olympics, that I was filled with 

 awe at every turn of the way. 



We remained at "Camp Look- 

 about " over a week, and took short 

 exploring- trips in every direction. 

 On one of these trips I saw my first 



whistling marmot. 



This little ani- 



A NARROW BRIDGE. 



mal, though some larger, reminded 

 me very much of the ground-hog of 

 the East. There are thousands of 

 them in this region, and their sharp, 

 shrill whistle is quite musical. 



Mr. Hopper, the hunter of our 

 party, kept our table supplied with 

 grouse, and they served as an agree- 



able change from bacon, ham, and 

 corn-beef. While on our short trips 

 from Camp Lookabout we saw no 

 big game, but indications of their 

 presence were plentiful. 



The last few days spent at the first 

 divide were rendered disagreeable 

 by a drizzling rain. This served 

 to dampen our spirits, and we de- 

 cided to break camp and proceed 

 to the main divide, the watershed 

 between Puget sound and the Pa- 

 cific ocean. 



The loss of one pack-horse and 

 the disabling of another, made it 

 necessary for each member of the 

 party to shoulder a pack of over 50 

 pounds. 



Under the most favorable cir- 

 cumstances the 2 days' journey to 

 Lake Marmot, on the main divide, 

 is an arduous one, but to plod on, 

 through the rain, loaded as we 

 were, made us realize that there 

 might be more agreeable pastimes 

 than exploring the wilds of Wash- 

 ington. 



As we traveled over park-like 

 meadows, down small streams, 

 across snow fields, and then made 

 the actual descent, down a steep zig- 

 zag trail, into the Duckabush val- 

 ley, we saw much to make us ex- 

 claim, despite our difficulties, "How 

 grand!" To the right as we de- 

 scended, stood, in bold relief, a tow- 

 ering perpendicular cliff. To the 

 left were many beautiful waterfalls. 

 In one stream 4 picturesque falls 

 could be seen. Before us lay the 

 Duckabush valley. 



We had crossed and recrossed 

 streams, tramped up and down, 

 climbed over and under logs, 

 crossed gulches, and walked cau- 

 tiously over snowbridges, beneath 

 which the stream had worn great 

 tunnels. 



We were very weary, but our fa- 

 tigue did not prevent our enjoyment 

 of the view, when for the first time 

 we beheld the basin in which is lo- 

 cated Lake Marmot. This little 



