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[Illustration: G. O. Shields]
CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES.
A NARRATIVE OF
Travel, Exploration, Amateur Photography, Hunting, and Fishing,
WITH SPECIAL CHAPTERS ON
HUNTING THE GRIZZLY BEAR, THE BUFFALO, ELK, ANTELOPE, ROCKY MOUNTAIN
GOAT, AND DEER; ALSO ON TROUTING IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS; ON A MONTANA
ROUND-UP; LIFE AMONG THE COWBOYS, ETC.
BY G. O. SHIELDS,
("COQUINA")
AUTHOR OF
"RUSTLINGS IN THE ROCKIES,"
"HUNTING IN THE GREAT WEST,"
"THE BATTLE OF THE BIG HOLE," ETC.
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK:
RAND, MCNALLY & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.
1889.
COPYRIGHT, 1889, BY RAND, MCNALLY & CO.
The articles herein on Elk, Bear, and Antelope Hunting are reprinted by
the courtesy of Messrs. Harper & Brothers, in whose Magazine they were
first published; and those on Buffalo Hunting and Trouting are
reproduced from "Outing" Magazine, in which they first appeared.
"Come live with me and be my love.
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
Woods or steepy mountains, yield."
--_Marlowe._
"Earth has built the great watch-towers of the mountains, and they
lift their heads far up into the sky, and gaze ever upward and
around to see if the Judge of the World comes not."
--_Longfellow._
PREFACE.
And now, how can I suitably apologize for having inflicted another book
on the reading public? I would not attempt it but that it is the custom
among authors. And, come to think of it, I guess I won't attempt it
anyway. I will merely say, by way of excuse, that my former literary
efforts, especially my "Rustlings in the Rockies," have brought me in
sundry dollars, in good and lawful money, which I have found very useful
things to have about the house. If this volume shall meet with an
equally kind reception at the hands of book buyers, I shall feel that,
after all, I am not to blame for having written it.
THE AUTHOR.
CHICAGO, MARCH, 1889.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
The Benefits, Mental and Physical, of Mountain Climbing--A
Never-failing Means of Obtaining Sound Sleep and a Good
Appetite--The Work to be in Proportion to the Strength of the
Climber--People Who Would Like to See, but are Too Lazy to
Climb--How the Photograph Camera May Enhance the Pleasures and
Benefits of Mountain Climbing--Valuable Souvenirs of Each
Ascent--How "These Things are Done in Europe"--An Effective Cure
for Egotism.
CHAPTER II.
The Cascade Mountains Compared with the Rockies--Characteristics
and Landmarks of the Former--The Proper Season for Cruising in
the Cascades--Grand Scenery of the Columbia--Viewing Mount
Tacoma from the City of Tacoma--Men Who Have Ascended this
Mysterious Peak--Indian Legends Concerning the Mountain--Evil
Spirits, Who Dwell in Yawning Caverns--The View from the
Mountain--Crater Lake and the Glaciers--Nine Water-falls in
Sight from One Point.
CHAPTER III.
The City of Seattle--A Booming Western Town--Lumbering and Salmon
Canning--Extensive Hop Ranches--Rich Coal and Iron Mines--Timber
Resources of Puget Sound--Giant Firs and Cedars--A Hollow Tree
for a House--Big Timber Shipped to England--A Million Feet of
Lumber from an Acre of Land--Novel Method of Logging--No Snow in
Theirs--A World's Supply of Timber for a Thousand Years.
CHAPTER IV.
Length, Breadth, and Depth of Puget Sound--Natural Resources of
the Surrounding Country--Flora and Fauna of the Region--Great
Variety of Game Birds and Animals--Large Variety of Game and
Food Fishes--A Paradise for Sportsman or Naturalist--A Sail
Through the Sound--Grand Mountains in Every Direction--The Home
of the Elk, Bear, Deer, and Salmon--Sea Gulls as Fellow
Passengers--Photographed on the Wing--Wild Cattle on Whidby
Island--Deception Pass; its Fierce Current and Wierd
Surroundings--Victoria, B. C.--A Quaint Old, English-looking
Town.
CHAPTER V.
Through English Bay--Water Fowls that Seem Never to Have Been
Hunted--Rifle Practice that was Soon Interrupted--Peculiarities
of Burrard Inlet--Vancouver and Port Moody--A Stage Ride to
Westminster--A Stranger in a Strange Land--Hunting for a
Guide--"Douglass Bill" Found and Employed--An Indian Funeral
Delays the Expedition.
CHAPTER VI.
The Voyage up the Frazier--Delicious Peaches Growing in Sight of
Glaciers--The Detective Camera Again to the Front--Good Views
from the Moving Steamer--A Night in an Indian Hut--The Sleeping
Bag a Refuge from Vermin--The Indian as a Stamping Ground for
Insects--He Heeds Not Their Ravages.
CHAPTER VII.
A Breakfast with the Bachelor--Up Harrison River in a Canoe--Dead
Salmon Everywhere--Their Stench Nauseating--The Water Poisoned
with Carrion--A Good Goose Spoiled with an Express
Bullet--Lively Salmon on the Falls--Strange Instinct of this
Noble Fish--Life Sacrificed in the Effort to Reach its Spawning
Grounds--Ranchmen Fishing with Pitchforks, and Indians with
Sharp Sticks--Salmon Fed to Hogs, and Used as Fertilizers; the
Prey of Bears, Cougars, Wild Cats, Lynxes, Minks, Martins,
Hawks, and Eagles.
CHAPTER VIII.
The River Above the Rapids--A Lake Within Basaltic Walls--Many
Beautiful Waterfalls--Mount Douglas and its Glaciers--A Trading
Post of the Hudson Bay Fur Company--The Hot Springs; an Ancient
Indian Sanitarium--Anxiously Waiting for "Douglass Bill"--Novel
Method of Photographing Big Trees.
CHAPTER IX.
An Early Morning Climb--A Thousand Feet Above the Lake--Fresh
Deer Signs in Sight of the Hotel--Three Indians Bring in Three
Deer--"Douglass Bill" Proves as Big a Liar as Other
Indians--Heading off a Flock of Canvas Backs--A Goodly Bag of
these Toothsome Birds--A Siwash Hut--A Revolting Picture of
Dirt, Filth, Nakedness, and Decayed Fish--Another Guide
Employed--Ready on Short Notice--Off for the Mountain.
CHAPTER X.
Characteristics of the Flathead Indians--Canoeists and Packers by
Birth and Education--A Skillful Canoe Builder--Freighting
Canoes--Fishing Canoes--Traveling Canoes--Two Cords of Wood for
a Cargo, and Four Tons of Merchandise for Another--Dress of the
Coast Indians.
CHAPTER XI.
Climbing the Mountain in a Rainstorm-Pean's Dirty Blankets--His
Careful Treatment of His Old Musket--A Novel Charge for Big
Game--The Chatter of the Pine Squirrel--A Shot Through the
Brush--Venison for Supper--A Lame Conversation: English on the
One Side, Chinook on the Other--The Winchester Express Staggers
the Natives--Peculiarities of the Columbia Black Tail Deer.
CHAPTER XII.
The Chinook Jargon; an Odd Conglomeration of Words; the Court
Language of the Northwest; a Specimen Conversation--A Camp on
the Mountain Side--How the Indian Tried to Sleep Warm--The
Importance of a Good Bed when Camping--Pean is taken Ill--His
Fall Down a Mountain--Unable to go Further, We Turn Back--Bitter
Disappointment
CHAPTER XIII.
The Return to the Village--Two New Guides Employed--Off for the
Mountains Once More--The Tramp up Ski-ik-kul Creek Through
Jungles, Gulches, and Canyons--And Still it Rains--Ravages of
Forest Fires--A Bed of Mountain Feathers--Description of a
Sleeping Bag; an Indispensable Luxury in Camp Life; an Indian
Opinion of It
CHAPTER XIV.
Meditations by a Camp Fire--Suspicions as to the Honesty of My
Guides; at Their Mercy in Case of Stealthy Attack--A Frightful
Fall--Broken Bones and Intense Suffering--A Painful and Tedious
Journey Home--A Painful Surgical Operation--A Happy Denouement
CHAPTER XV.
The Beauties of Ski-ik-kul Creek; a Raging Mountain Torrent;
Rapids and Waterfalls Everywhere; Picturesque Tributaries--Above
the Tree Tops--The Pleasure of Quenching Thirst--A Novel
Spear--A Fifteen-Pound Salmon for Supper--The Indians' Midnight
Lunch--A Grand Camp Fire--At Peace with All Men
CHAPTER XVI.
Seymour Advises a Late Start for Goat Hunting; but His Council is
Disregarded--We Start at Sunrise--A Queer Craft--Navigating
Ski-ik-kul Lake--A "Straight-up" Shot at a Goat--Both Horns
Broken Off in the Fall--More Rain and Less Fun--A Doe and
Kid--Successful Trout Fishing--Peculiarities of the Skowlitz
Tongue; Grunts, Groans and Whistles--John has
Traveled--Seymour's Pretended Ignorance of English
CHAPTER XVII.
En Route to the Village Again--A Water-Soaked Country--"Oh, What
a Fall was There, My Countrymen!"--Walking on Slippery
Logs--More Rain--Wet Indians--"Semo He Spile de Grouse"--A
Frugal Breakfast--High Living at Home--A Bear He did a Fishing
Go; but He was Caught Instead of the Fish, and His Skin is
Bartered to the Unwashed Siwashes.
CHAPTER XVIII.
John and His Family "At Home"--An Interesting Picture of Domestic
Economy--Rifle Practice on Gulls and Grebes--Puzzled
Natives--"Phwat Kind of Burds is Them?"--A day on the
Columbia--The Pallisades from a Steamer--Photographing Bad Lands
from a Moving Train.
CHAPTER XIX.
Deer Hunting at Spokane Falls--Ruin Wrought by an Overloaded
Shotgun: A Tattered Vest and a Wrecked Watch--Billy's Bear
Story--The Poorest Hunter Makes the Biggest Score--A Claw in
Evidence--A Disgusted Party.
CHAPTER XX.
A Fusilade on the Mule Deer--Two Does as the Result--A Good Shot
Spoiled--View from the Top of Blue Grouse Mountain--A Grand
Panorama; Lakes, Mountains, Prairies and Forests--Johnston's
Story--Rounding Up Wild Hogs--A Trick on the Dutchman--A Bucking
Mule and a Balky Cayuse--Falls of the Spokane River.
CHAPTER XXI.
Hunting the Grizzly Bear--Habitat and Characteristics--A Camp
Kettle as a Weapon of Defense--To the Rescue with a
Winchester--Best Localities for Hunting the Grizzly--Baiting and
Still-Hunting--A Surprise Party in the Trail--Two Bulls-eyes and
a Miss--Fresh Meat and Revelry in Camp.
CHAPTER XXII.
Elk Hunting in the Rocky Mountains--Characteristics of the
Elk--His Mode of Travel--A Stampede in a Thicket--The Whistle of
the Elk, the Hunter's Sweetest Music--Measurements of a Pair of
Antlers--Saved by Following an Elk Trail--The Work of
Exterminators--The Elk Doomed.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Antelope Hunting in Montana--A Red Letter Day on Flat
Willow--Initiating a Pilgrim--Sample Shots--Flagging and
Fanning--Catching Wounded Antelopes on Horseback--Four
Mule-Loads of Meat.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Buffalo Hunting on the Texas Plains--A "Bull Train" Loaded with
Skins--A Sensation in Fort Worth--En Route to the Range--Red
River Frank's Mission--A Stand on the Herd--Deluged with Buffalo
Blood--A Wild Run by Indians--Tossed into the Air and Trampled
into the Earth.
CHAPTER XXV.
Hunting the Rocky Mountain Goat--Technical Description of the
Animal--Its Limited Range--Dangers Incurred in Hunting It--An
Army Officer's Experience--A Perilous Shot--A Long and Dangerous
Pursuit--Successful at Last--Carrying the Trophies to
Camp--Wading up Lost Horse Creek--Numerous Baths in Icy
Water--An Indian's Fatal Fall--Horses Stampeded by a Bear--Seven
Days on Foot and Alone--Home at Last.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Trouting in the Mountains--Gameness of the Mountain Trout--A Red
Letter Day on the Bitter Root--Frontier Tackle and Orthodox
Bait--How a Private Soldier Gets to the Front as an Angler--A
Coot Interrupts the Sport, and a Rock Interrupts the
Coot--Colonel Gibson takes a Nine-Pounder--A Native Fly
Fisherman--Grand Sport on Big Spring Creek--How Captain Hathaway
does the Honors--Where Grand Sport may be Found.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Deer Hunting in Northern Wisconsin--On the Range at Daylight--The
Woods Full of Game--Missing a Standing "Broadside" at Thirty
Yards--Several Easy Shots in Rapid Succession; the only Fruits
Shame and Chagrin--Nervousness and Excitement Finally Give Way
to Coolness and Deliberation--A Big Buck at Long Range--A Steady
Aim and a Ruptured Throat--A Blind Run Through Brush and Fallen
Trees--Down at Last--A Noble Specimen--His Head as a Trophy
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Among the Pines--A Picture of Autumnal Loveliness--Cordial
Welcome to a Logging Camp--A Successful Shot--The Music of the
Dinner Horn--A Throat Cut and a Leg Broken--A Stump for a
Watch-Tower--The Raven Homeward Bound--A Suspicious Buck--A
Mysterious Presence--Dead Beside His Mate--Three Shots and Three
Deer
CHAPTER XXIX.
A Typical Woodsman--Model Home in the Great Pine Forest--A
Lifetime in the Wilderness--A Deer in a Natural
Trap--Disappointment and Despondency--"What, You Killed a
Buck!"--Sunrise in the Woods--An Unexpected Shot--A Free Circus
and a Small Audience--A Buck as a Bucker--More Venison
CHAPTER XXX.
Cowboy Life--The Boys that Become Good Range Riders--Peculiar
Tastes and Talents Required for the Ranch--Wages Paid to
Cowboys--Abuse and Misrepresentation to which They are
Subjected--The "Fresh Kid," and the Long-Haired "Greaser"--The
Stranger Always Welcome at the Ranch--A Dude Insulted--A Plaid
Ulster, a Green Umbrella, and a Cranky Disposition--Making a
Train Crew Dance--An Uncomplimentary Concert--No Sneak Thieves
on the Plains--Leather Breeches, Big Spurs, and a Six-Shooter in
a Sleeping Car--Fear Gives Way to Admiration--The Slang of the
Range--The "Bucker," and the "Buster"--The Good
Cow-Horse--Roping for Prizes--Snaking a Bear with a Lariat--A
Good School for Boys--Communion with Nature Makes Honest
CHAPTER XXXI.
A Montana Roundup--Ranges and Ranches on Powder River; Once the
Home of the Buffalo, the Elk, the Antelope; now the Home of the
Texas Steer and the Cowboy--The Great Plains in Spring Attire--A
Gathering of Rustlers--"Chuck Outfits" to the Front--Early
Risers--Taming an "Alecky" Steer--A Red-Hot Device--Branding and
Slitting--The Run on the Mess Wagon--"Cutting Out" and "Throwing
Over"--A Cruel Process.
CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES.
CHAPTER I.
"Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery."
--RUSKIN.
For anyone who has the courage, the hardihood, and the physical strength
to endure the exercise, there is no form of recreation or amusement
known to mankind that can yield such grand results as mountain climbing.
I mean from a mental as well as from a physical standpoint; and, in
fact, it is the mind that receives the greater benefit. The exertion of
the muscular forces in climbing a high mountain is necessarily severe;
in fact, it is more than most persons unused to it can readily endure;
and were it not for the inspiration which the mind derives from the
experience when the ascent is made it would be better that the subject
should essay some milder form of exercise. But if one's strength be
sufficient to endure the labor of ascending a grand mountain peak, that
extends to or above timber line, to the regions of perpetual snow and
ice, or even to a height that gives a general view of the surrounding
country, the compensation must be ample if one have an eye for the
beauties of nature, or any appreciation of the grandeur of the Creator's
greatest works.
[Illustration: MOUNT HOOD.]
Vain, self-loving man is wont to consider himself the noblest work of
God, but let him go to the top of one of these lofty mountains,
surrounded by other towering peaks, and if he be a sane man he will soon
be convinced that his place in the scale of creation is far from the
top. Let him stand, for instance, on the summit of Mount Hood, Mount
Tacoma, or Mount Baker, thousands of feet above all surrounding peaks,
hills, and valleys, where he may gaze into space hundreds of miles in
every direction, with naught to obstruct his view, face to face with his
Creator, and if he have aught of the love of nature in his soul, or of
appreciation of the sublime in his mental composition, he will be moved
to exclaim with the Apostle, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him,
or the son of man that Thou visitest him?" He will feel his littleness,
his insignificance, his utter lack of importance, more forcibly perhaps
than ever before. It seems almost incredible that there should be men in
the world who could care so little for the grandest, the sublimest
sights their native land affords, as to be unwilling to perform the
labor necessary to see them to the best possible advantage; and yet it
is so, for I have frequently heard them say:
"I should like very much to see these grand sights you describe, but I
never could afford to climb those high mountains for that pleasure; it
is too hard work for me."
And, after all, the benefits to be derived from mountain climbing are
not wholly of an intellectual character; the physical system may be
benefited by it as well. It is a kind of exercise that in turn brings
into use almost every muscle in the body, those of the legs being of
course taxed most severely, but those of the back do their full share of
the work, while the arms are called into action almost constantly, as
the climber grasps bushes or rocks by which to aid himself in the
ascent. The lungs expand and contract like bellows as they inhale and
exhale the rarified atmosphere, and the heart beats like a trip-hammer
as it pumps the invigorated blood through the system. The liver is
shaken loose from the ribs to which it has perchance grown fast, and the
stomach is aroused to such a state of activity as it has probably not
experienced for years. Let any man, especially one of sedentary habits,
climb a mountain 5,000 feet high, on a bright, pleasant day, when
"Night's candles are burnt out and jocund day
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops."
[Illustration: MOUNT TACOMA.]
There let him breathe the rare, pure atmosphere, fresh from the portals
of heaven, and my word for it he will have a better appetite, will eat
heartier, sleep sounder, and awake next morning feeling more refreshed
than since the days of his boyhood.
Although the labor be severe it can and should be modulated to the
strength and capabilities of the person undertaking the task. No one
should climb faster than is compatible with his strength, and halts
should be made every five or ten minutes, if need be, to allow the
system ample rest. In this manner a vast amount of work may be
accomplished in a day, even by one who has had no previous experience
in climbing.
[Illustration: ON THE COLUMBIA.]
The benefits and pleasures of mountain climbing are much better
understood and appreciated in Europe than in this country. Nearly every
city of England, France, Spain, Germany, and other European countries
has an Alpine, Pyrenese, or Himalayan club. The members of these clubs
spend their summer outings in scaling the great peaks of the mountains
after which the societies are named, or other ranges, and the winter
evenings in recounting to each other their experiences; and many a man,
by his association with the clubs and by indulgence in this invigorating
pastime develops from a delicate youth into a muscular, sturdy, athletic
man in a few years.
The possible value of mountain climbing as a recreation and as a means
of gaining knowledge, has been greatly enhanced, of late years, by the
introduction of the dry-plate system in photography, and since the
small, light, compact cameras have been constructed, which may be easily
and conveniently carried wherever a man can pack his blankets and a
day's supply of food. With one of these instruments fine views can be
taken of all interesting objects and bits of scenery on the mountain,
and of the surrounding country. The views are interesting and
instructive to friends and to the public in general, and as souvenirs
are invaluable to the author. And from the negatives thus secured
lantern slides may be made, and from these, by the aid of the calcium
light, pictures projected on a screen that can only be excelled in their
beauty and attractiveness by nature herself.
[Illustration: GLACIERS ON MOUNT TACOMA.]