Page:The Selkirk mountains (1912).djvu/27

Rh possibility of getting a direct route for this great national thoroughfare depended upon the gateways that might be at the head of either of these streams.

"At the forks we decided to cache everything that would impede travel and make a hurried trip up the north fork to the summit..........In a short time we were able to cross the summit and convince ourselves that the water divided here, running east and west.

"After checking our barometer readings and mapping the course of the valleys, we decided to climb the mountains on the south side of the pass to get a better geographical idea of the country, as the timber in the valleys was very dense and obstructed the view.

"From the opening of the summit we had seen a strip of timber extending about halfway up the mountain between two snow slides, and decided to make our ascent at this point. Cutting each a good, tough, dry, fir stick and adjusting our light packs, we began to climb. Being gaunt as greyhounds, with lungs and muscles of the best, we soon reached timber-line, where the climbing became very difficult. We crawled along the ledges, getting a toe-hole here and a finger-hole there, keeping in the shade as much as possible and kicking toe-holes in the snow crust. When several hundred feet above the timber-line, we followed a narrow ledge around a point that was exposed to the sun. Four of the Indians in the lead had tied pack-straps to each other's belts in order to help over bad places. The leader had made several attempts to gain the ledge above by crawling on the soft snow, when suddenly by some awkward move he fell backward with such force as to miss the ledge upon which the other three stood, pulling them headlong after him. They fell some thirty feet straight down, striking upon a very steep incline. The snow being soft and their momentum so great, it was impossible to check their speed and they went rolling and tumbling, tangled up in their pack-straps, until they disappeared from view over another ledge;. Our hearts were in our mouths, fearing the worst might have happened to them. Dead Indians were easily buried, but men with broken legs to be carried out through such a country and with barely food enough to take us back to the Columbia River on a forced march, made a problem which even strong men feared to face. Any one who has been a mountain climber knows that there are times when going down is a great deal more dangerous and difficult than going up. Slowly descending, we had nearly reached the timber-line when one of the Indians with an exclamation pointed to four black specks moving across a snow-slide far below. Our glasses were quickly turned on them. There they were and to our great relief all were on their pins making down the mountain as fast as possible. We had lost several hours of the best part of the day for climbing, but we had started for the top, and what Major Rogers purposed, that he performed. It was late in the evening when we reached the summit, very much exhausted.

"Such a view! Never to be forgotten! Our eyesight caromed from one bold peak to another for miles in all directions. The wind blew fiercely across the ridge and scuddy clouds were whirled in the eddies behind the great towering peaks of bare rock. Everything was covered with a shroud of white, giving the whole landscape the appearance of snow-clad desolation. Far beneath us was the