ON AND AROUND LAKE CHELAN. 



RALPH KROWS. 



It was late in September, and for a week 

 the weather had been every way but good. 

 The heavy clouds had hung low and had 

 twisted and circled with the cold winds 

 that swept down Railroad creek with a 

 rush. The mountains around Dumpkies 

 lake had been almost invisible from the 

 cabin, through the rain, and the mists 

 made one feel that it was a good time to 

 be out of the mountains. 



We were out of fresh meat, something 

 to be surprised at in that country. Mr. 

 CeK)l insisted it was all owing to his 

 missing that big buck and 2 does a few 

 days before. 



"Why that old buck stood there and 

 looked me in the eye. The old half maga- 

 zine snapped and I pumped in another, 

 and finally missed them all." 



There seemed to be a great deal of truth 

 in his argument, for only a few days before 

 we had tramped back and forth and com- 

 pletely around a bunch of deer that we 

 knew were on the mountain side about 2 

 miles from the cabin. There were plenty of 

 fresh tracks, made only that morning, 

 among them those of a big buck 

 that left a track like that of a cow. 

 We hunted the canyons and draws thro' 

 the devil's clubs and tag alders, and in the 

 fallen burnt timber among the fire weeds. 

 After trailing a bear that left a respectable 

 sized track, as he shuffled d<-)wn the moun- 

 tain side, we gave up in disgust and 

 headed for home, hungry as wolves, for 

 according to Mr. Cool, it foreboded bad 

 luck to take lunch along on a day's hunt. 

 The frequent mention of venison stew 

 and roasts, and visions of toasted deer 

 heart and liver did not help matters. We 

 both cast many anxious glances at the 

 little bean shooter and the half maga- 

 zine pill driver that lay on their nails 

 above and on each side of the ample fire 

 place, and wondered if they would be of 

 use to us again; if they would help us out 

 of our predicament. The cabin seemed to 

 get smaller as the rain continued. We 

 took turns going to the door and making 

 prognostications as to the weather for the 

 next day. Late in the afternoon a stray 

 beam of sunshine st^le in through the 

 cracks; the fog and clouds commenced to 

 disappear and finally swirled and parted, 

 showing the freshly snow-covered and 

 glacier-marked peaks. It was worth a 

 week of rain to catch one glimpse of that 

 grand picture. 



Packs were rearranged, the guns taken 

 down and examined, and after supper a 



good supply of dough gods were baked up. 

 Here let me say the oil from the whistling 

 marmot, who is a strict vegetarian, is an 

 excellent substitute for lard, and has a rich, 

 agreeable flavor. 



Early the next morning we were pad- 

 dling down Dumpkies lake on a raft of 

 cedar logs. The "Combination" had a 

 high sounding name, and only lacked a 

 few rapid fire guns to turn her into a for- 

 midable protected cruiser. Half way down 

 the lake you can feast your eyes on 

 scenery that is hard to equal. The South- 

 ern and Western horizon is cut by magni- 

 ficence glacier-covered mountains and jag- 

 ged peaks, and from this lake on a still 

 morning, as the sun is just rising and 

 when light, fleecy clouds are drifting 

 around the peaks, the whole makes a pic- 

 ture never to be forgotten. 



The "Combination" soon scraped gravel 

 at the foot of the lake and our tramp com- 

 menced. We took it easy just to get our 

 wind. Slabbing along Round mountain 

 we were made aware that out's would not 

 be a fruitless hunt, for with a buzz! buzz! 

 a large rattler crawled from under us. 



"Now for a bear," said Cool. "Bear and 

 rattlers always go together." The assur- 

 ance (?) of big game seemed to make our 

 packs {lighter. We crossed Dumpkiies 

 creek and crashed thro' the devil's clubs 

 and cedar thickets. By the appearance 

 of the alkali licks we passed and not see- 

 ing any fresh signs, we knew the deer were 

 still high up on the mountains. 



On the pine covered slopes of the foot- 

 hills where it was free of fallen timber, was 

 easy tramping. Some of the yellow 

 pine trees grow to be 7 or 8 feet in di- 

 ameter, and with the red cedar which 

 grows around Dumpkies lake there is 

 timber enough to make more than one 

 man rich. Through the clearings we 

 could catch sight of the peak above, and 

 we began to appreciate the hard work in 

 store for us. After a great many 5 min- 

 ute climbs with 10 minute rests, Round 

 mountain was assuming a hill like appear- 

 ance when compared with the rest of the 

 mountains, and about 12 o'clock we had 

 almost reached the highest point. The 

 grandeur of the surrounding country then 

 began to assert itself. To the Northward 

 Dumpkies lake lay at our feet, shaped 

 like an immense foot print; and farther on, 

 500 feet lower, was Lake Chelan, with 

 Moore's Point and the head of the lake 

 about 20 miles away. These had for a 

 background the snow-covered mountains, 



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