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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (May 15, 1902)
ft1 9 Conservative * with the assurance that the whole of the mountain to its summit was covered with loose sand and gravel ; so that , though many attempts had been made by the Indians and by hunters to ascend it , none had ever proved successful. We passed several of these tracts , not with out some apprehension for our lives ; MS there was danger , when the foothold ! was once lost , of sliding down , and be ing thrown over precipices. After labor ing with extreme fatigue over about two miles , in which several of these dangerous places occurred , we halted about sunset in a small cluster of fir trees. Wo could not , however , find a piece of even ground large enough to lie down upon , and were under the neces sity of securing ourselves from rolling into a brook near which we encamped , by means of a pole placed against two trees. In this situation we passed an uneasy night ; and though the mercury fell only to 54 ° , felt some inconvenience from cold. "On the morning of the 14th , as soon as daylight appeared , having suspended in a tree our blankets , all our provisions , except about three pounds of bison's flesh , and whatever articles of clothing could be dispensed with , we continued the ascent , hoping to be ' able to reach the summit of the peakaud return to the same camp in the evening. After pass ing about half a mile of rugged and dif ficult traveling , like that of the preced ing day , we crossed a deep chasm , open ing towards the bed of the small stream we had hitherto ascended , and following the summit of the ridge between these , found the way less difficult and danger ous. "Having passed a level tract of sever al acres covered with aspen , poplar , a few birches and pines , we arrived at a small stream running towards the south , nearly parallel to the base of the conic part of the' mountain which forms the summit of the peak. From this spot we could distinctly see almost the whole of the peak ; its lower half thinly clad with pines , junipers , and other ever green trees ; the upper , a naked conic pile of yellowish rocks , surmounted hero and there with broad patches of snow. But the summit appeared so distant , and the ascent so steep , that we began to de spair of accomplishing the ascent and returning on the same day. "The day was bright , and the air nearly calm. As we ascended rapidly wo could perceive a manifest change of temperature ; and before wo reached the outskirts of the timber , a little wind was felt from the north-east. On this part of the mountain is frequently seen the yellow-flowered stoneorop , almost the only herbaceous plant which occurs in the most closely wooded parts of the mountain. Wo found the trees of a smaller size , and more scattered in pro portion to the elevation at which they grew ; and arrived at about twelve o'clock at the limit above which none are found. This is a defined line , en circling the peak in a part which , when seen from the plain , appeared near the summit ; but when we arrived at it , a greater part of the whole elevation of the mountain seemed still before us. Above the timber the ascent is steeper , but less difficult than below ; the surface being so highly inclined that the large masses , when loosened , roll down , meet ing no obstruction until they arrive at the commencement of the timber. The red cedar , and the flexible pine , are the trees which appear at the greatest eleva tion. Those are small , having thick and extremely rigid trunks ; and near the commencement of the naked part of the mountain , they have neither limbs nor bark on that side which is exposed to the descending masses of rook. It may appear a contradiction to assert that trees have grown in a situation so exposed as to be unable to produce or retain bark or limbs on one side ; yet of the fact that they are now standing and living in such a situation there can be no doubt. It is , perhaps , probable the timber may formerly have extended tea a greater elevation on the sides of this peak than at present , so that those trees which are now on the outskirts of the forest were formerly protected by their more exposed neighbors. "A few trees were seen above the commencement of snow ; but these are very small , and entirely procum bent , being sheltered in the crevices and fissures of the rock. There are also the roots of trees to bo seen at some distance above the part where they are now standing. ' ' A little above the point where the timber disappears entirely , com mences a region of astonishing beauty , and of great interest on ac count of its productions. The in tervals of soil are sometimes exten sive , and covered with a carpet of low but brilliantly-flowering alpine plants. Most of these have either matted procumbent-stems , or such as , including the flower , rarely rise more than an inch in height. In many of them the flower is the most con spicuous and the largest part of the plant , and in all the colouring is astonishingly brilliant. "At about two o'clock wo found ourselves so much exhausted as to render a halt necessary. Mr. Wilson , [ Zachariah Wilson , baggage master to the expedition ] who had accompanied us as a volunteer , had been loft behind - hind some time since , and could not now bo seen in any direction. As wo felt some anxiety on his account , wo halted , and endeavored to apprize him of our situation ; but repeated calls and the discharging of the rifleman's piece , produced no answer , Wo therefore determined to wait some time to rest , and to eat the provision wo had brought , hoping , in the meantime , ho would over take us. "Wo halted at.a place about a mile above the edge of the timber. The stream by which wo wore sitt ing we could perceive to fall immedi ately from a largo body of snow , which filled a deep ravine on the southeastern side of the peak. Below - low us , on the right , wore two or throe extensive patches of snow ; and ice could bo soon everywhere in the crevices of the rocks. "Here , as wo wore sitting at our' dinner , wo observed several small animals , nearly of the size of the common gray squirrel ; but shorter , and more clumsily built. They wore of a darK gray colour , inclining to brown , with a short thick head , and erect rounded ears. In habits and appearance , they resemble the prairie dog , and arc believed to bo u species of the same genus. The mouth of their burrow is usually placed under the projection of a rock ; and near these the party afterwards saw sev eral of the little animals watching their approach and uttering all the time a shrill note , somewhat like that of the ground squirrel. Several attempts wore made to secure a speci men of this animal , but always with out success , as we had no guns but such as carried a heavy ball. "After sitting about half an hour , wo found ourselves somewhat re freshed , but much benumbed with cold. We now found it would bo impossible to reach the summit of the mountain , and return to our camp of the preceding night , during that part of the day which remained ; but as wo could not persuade ourselves to turn back , after having so nearly ac complished the ascent , wo resolved to take our chauoo of spending the night on whatever part of the moun tain it might overtake us. Wilson had not yet been soon ; but as no time could bo lost , wo resolved to go as soon as possible to the top of the peak , and look for him on our return. We met , as wo proceeded , an oh numbers of unknown and interesting plants , as to occasion much delay in collecting ; and wore under the mor tifying necessity of passing by num bers we saw in situations difficult of access. "As wo approached the summit , those became loss frequent , and at length ceased entirely. Few crypto- gamous plants are seen about any part of the mountain ; and neither those nor any others , occur frequently on the top of the peak. There is an area of ton or fifteen acres , form ing the summit , which is nearly level ; and on this part scarce a lichen was to bo soon. It is covered to a great depth with largo splintery
