244
THE WEST SHORE.
August, 1879,
MOOT OK MT. H HAST A.
Mt. "h jU is the moit impressive peak known
to trevelen. The grand diitinguishing features
of Mt. Shasta, thuM which give it tliia pre cmi
nenoe, ire mil so much its lofty hight of 1 1, II.'
feet, hut lirl iU entire isolation from other
h Mid woonil iU majestic up hie of nearly
11,000 feet from the initial of a heavily foreateel
plain, broken here and there only by meadows
if mhuit grasses and rich cultivahle fields.
Tha plain around Shaita is oiily 3,.Vi7 fect
high, from which the magnificent double cone
anaea over iwo muei verm any, in a lineal in
clina of lew than ten.
Tha aaoeut requires a day and a half. Yuu
go Hi- lint half day to a atated camp at the
timU-r Itnr and remain for the mchL Karlv
the neit morning ynu leave horaea and climb
the ieak, arriving at the monument some time
in tha r. M. The deacent ii made, the whole
dm mcc of IN milei, l,a. k to the hotel hy sup
per time.
(In the afternoon of the 7th of July our party
of eight ilarted from the uaual hcadquartera of
tourists at Shaata Siuom' hotel, 111 Straw-1-m
valley. - were mounted on sure
footed horaci and directed hy an cxjiorieiiced
iraide. The trail lotl at tint through a thiol) -forested
even plain for three milea, then grad
ually aacendeil over rough lava and conglomer
ate hoiildi rt to an upper p.irt. rrc or hrnch eev
eral milea wide and lurrouttdiug Shaata on all
idea. II- re the common pinca, villi the white
Itr aiid linuglaa ipruce, that form the hulk of
1 'alitor man loreiU, leave off, and the iiolde lir
( A aofiifu), of liouglaa, often called frum the
color of it bark when broken "Uie red fir,"
occupies tha plateau etcluaively. Thia ia n-r-ha,
all Ihinga i-oniidered, tha moat beautiful
tree at all age. in the Writ Tie. a of .'1 feet in
diameUr and I, VI (eel high, do not depart frum
tha graceful arrangement of their apray in
youth, hut atill diaplay their mi nae, horizon-
tal, (an ahaped limfaa 111 ayinmetrical, dlmiuiah.
mg whorla to tha top. (In the upper limha,
erect and linn, atand Uie purple or yellowiah
more, clothed with long, pointed hracla that
le nd Irom between the acalea, cauaing the
. ..n. In reeeniMe owla at mat on the trea tolax.
r'nuging tha upier ailga d thia lir (ureal and
running up tha projecting rock nbs of Shaata,
a a two mora ounebatarere, (ound only no
auch eletalions in thia latitude ' nnieaaj.
lu, or 11 white (lammed pine,' and the
'era "n'.oaiai, or "ailver apruce." Both
ii-. , tnaa an olUn miscalled; the tint '..
eVjita, the other Jtiaj H'l.eimaio,,, tmt the
former name have bean aatabluheil by the
highaat Amen. n authority ail. 1 much exam
1 niton
The evening of our camp where timber and
aii.- banka mingle, waa clear and hue. inviting
to atady the aura in the brilliant canopy.
I a. 1 . altar ail were under blanketa spread
oiet puis and (ur lugha, the .old air puureal
down the aide ol Shaata lilting Idankita or
ptervieg them a. aleep waa beniehcd except frum
the tonnUitteera ..( the awty.
At the dawn ,.1 daylight we ware up and
ehivanag an hi ad a largw lire while awallowmga
halved break last, mad. laarely eatable by a tin
cap of delictual ixaffm. Then a le, ling alpeu
stocks from a sacari it hand, we tarlej up the
month hard anow Uneath which rumbled and
gmaa.1 aa uactpuail glacier, liar coaraa aa in
dloaUd by the gaide lay directly up tha deen
canton of tha broad in. lined allay on the
eoathttaat itda. There waa bo d.alfciug the
atii-ioth, lotlwJdiag, snowy sleep by any ngiag
approarttei. sn thoaaaad (oar hundred (eat of
tarltoal rtaw lovwr a mile and a quartet 1 uiuat l
aaade b about Ufa mi lea upward grade. I
al thai alatatneet ip-a. the hi an reader
Na tmaider aa law peruana atla-tnpl to seal
naaeia. aiy aiui uiraa ooaaa rsni-i are
laalatiri .1 la the boo, nreuaraxl for the nur
peaa and kepi ia a oetm of rveka near Uie
reach the top, though compoaed of itaiwart
hunters. Every aeaaon partial eaaay in vain to
, L. .... ,u .uuuii
thia year, l'unonaliy, I never had inch diffi
culty in getting a foothold in climbing enow-clad
peaks, or waa io much affected by the rarity of
the air r.vcry lew rods 1 waa obliged to drop
down on my face and rcit a few wconds, a pro.
ceoding ioou adopted by nearly all the party.
Arrived by iluw, toilsome labor to about the
upcr thinl of the clown-swooping canyon, the
teepi-r mow face, shaded from the morning inn,
waa found nearly aa hard aa ice. We had to
trike feet and pike repeatedly into the llinty
loie, in onler to make a half-inch ledge for the
ide of our nailed I100U. Not a word waa
spoken. (Questions aa to direction, were asked
of the guide, and answer returned by motiona.
Only the ring of iron-shod boota and ruaonant
pike, with the hard breathing of your nearest
companion, waa heard. The inclination waa
ataout degreei only from the vertical,
dropping to the lurface uow to reit waa impos
sible. We could only keep to the steep in
cline by carefully keeping one foot and the pike
in place. Below, the chum yawned a full mile
of threatening deacent ; above, a steeper mile
tretchud away to the iky.
Hy - r. v., we reached the hot springs in the
old crater. Theau are atill rumbling and spout
ing series of nolftitura, the vestiges of thu mon
ster crater, a mde acroas, out of which imured a
stream of lava that now overlies the plain for
Hal miles around, hut disintegrated and forming
rich anil for one of the noblest pine forests in
the State.
Lying on the interior heater! rocks to rest, wo
learned from nur guide how John Muir and
lerome ray iiaitcd a fearful nicht there in
April of Is7. roasting and freezing alternately,
an adventure which Muir subsequently so
graphically Kirtrayed in rirr' Magnunr. It
apiean mat a change to MM and storm occurred
11 tile niciit. the snow UUnm thickly noon the
advonturcn, and melting by the warmth of the
aa jeta, with no iiure heat to dry them off.
leing short of food they were forced to return
the next day though the terrific wind froze
their garmcnta stilt aa sheet iron. Arrived at
the tiaae, they found their feet so frozen that
blisters formed all along the sides, and eventu
ally they lost moat of their toe-nails. Muir
hail to keep his lied for a fortnight, but the
time was n lint to the loven of grand and
graphic deacriptiona.
Ou the way up I was deeply interested in the
diflen-nt feature! presented by the noble old vol.
cano of lasen, distant southward 70 milea, but
o distinctly seen aa to seem only 20 milea away.
Ha resta upon the eastern side of an alpine,
snow-covered idateau, 'JO milea acroas. With
those daring fnenda. Case and Ijaraen, I hail
wilh great difficulty botanized the whole of
that region, including the lofty Ijtssen. Now 1
waa enanng 3,000 feet above the monument of
thai peak while the whole plateau lay unrolled
at my feet
Arrived at theiummit of Shaata, undoubtedly
the mnt diveraiHed and extenaive landscape ia
preaentrd that ever aatoniahed human under
standing. You seem standing on a pedest.il.
rising out o( the bottom of an immense, hollow
hemisphere joining the equally eitenaive. over
arching hemisphere of the sky by an in. ;ular,
waving line at the horirui. The optical illusion
is j.eite. i You are not perched two miles above
the general earth 'a aurfiace, but only raised tin
If tta level "
It ia impoiaihle for pen to picture the detaila
of thia Ian da, ape aa we aaw it on that clear,
cool atill July day. Nol a valley or plain, not
ten a near canyon waa obscured by smoke or
dust The whole anatomy of Ine many-ribbed
Hsatra Nevada, curving its vertebra to the sua
in the aotitWal, wasduwiraed. The many par
allal coast rangas with white lipped spines rods
rank on rank in the writ lletaeen iK
ter keleU.na rapuaad tha yellow grain lields of
the .Sacramental valley Kaatward rolled wave
on wave .. noble (uraala. bmitnl at la.t La ik.
la, 1 . . .. I .1 k. - . ...
A party, preceding as by a few days. Utted te I Jintttng t ta. l.ralWnT imZ
Northward this foreat gives place to treelsas
plains, to interior, alkaline lakes and
ulo vaileya. 01 peaks the list would embrace
hundreds, including nameless now drifts glint
ing on the distant Oregon Cascades, 300 mil
away, and the well-known St Helena, Hamil
ton, Lola and Tahoe peaks as far away south
ward in central California,
A dense dark bank lying along the western
horizon beyond the coaat ranges, told where lav
the cloud-forming Pacific. Waa ever grander
clearer, more picturesque scenery vouchsafed to
mortal gaze ?
The physical features of Shiate the un.
menae, old, extinct volcano on which we stand
are past description in one newspaper article
even if I had the ability. We can but briefly
examine its double crowns of unequal highta
gaze down into their broken-aided craters
smell, hear, feel and see the hot, sulphurous
gases still escaping from the highest crater;
trace the out-cropping ribs of lava gaily itapsd
with red breccia, black mica, gray trachyte and
brown scoria, extending from crater mouth
down to timber line; follow the still living
glaciers between, in their alow, majestic march
down along the track of their mighty predeces
sors in the old ages, these glacier beds now ap
pearing like the smooth trail of monster ter
pynts aa they form the peculiar curving, steep
sided river valleys entering and hiding in the
dark, evergreen foreat on all sides; we can see
all these visions, then come away from Shasta
bearing with ua glorious, ever-recurring, price
less memories forever.
The descent of Shaata is a speedy, and in our
case, was a moat enjoyable experience. Arriv
ing at the top of the precipitous canyon, de
scribed on the way up, we prepared to slide
down on the now softened snow, by passing a
loop of baling-rope attached to a barley sack
over our nooks, allowing the sack to drop down
in front, then sitting down upon the sack, for
protection against injury to clothes aye, and
flesh, too, perhaps, if certain rocks known to be
near the surface around yonder bend should bs
exposed by this warm afternoon sun.
Sitting down on the edge of the precipice,
then removing the pike from the snow, away ws
dropped one after the other, akurrying along
and swaying from side to side, swiftly down the
long canyon. At ouoa, as soon as the leader
plunged off the precipice, he aet up a shout of
joy, which waa taken up by each follower in
turn, and anon a grand chorus of yells and
cheers resounded all along the line. Than
were several collisions and upsets, which wars
instantly rectified, and one sharply-contested
race. I- riends at the hotel, 10 miles away, hap
pened at the moment to be looking for us with
the aid of oiera glasses, and they declare that
we ahot down the whole mile and a half in lass
than half a minute.
It was noon next day before all tha Shasta
pilgrima became visible around Mrs. Siasons'
dining table, exhibiting nearly every degree of
exhaustion, blindness and suffering. Each had
a story of special adventure to relate, and of
peculiarly ecstatic enjoyment experienced, hat
the expression most often heard the one that
met with unanimous concurrence was: "I'll
never be so foolish, again, n. irr. " Bat, dear
reader, we were tired then, and so, perhaps, an
you. J. U. LtmmoH, ia tke Pacific Rural Prm.
Th MiMisiurn J arris Ki.mshuk. Capt
J. B. Kads reports, under date of July !0th, that
the greatest depth and width of channel re
quired by the Jetty Act at the mouth, and also
at the head of South Paaa, baa been secured.
The completion of the great work was eartinsd
to the Secretary of War the same day by Cast
M K. Brown, of tha United States Kugiaeers,
imuector of the work. Tha jetty channel is over
30 feet deep, and a good uavagable channel of M
(eat, measured at the lowest stage of the nsf,
exists at the head of the pisssa The benefits
te commarca likaly to now from this bnlltaat
achievement are insstimshla
I'h 1 roan who lay a by any "dual" must wad
tkrough cMiaidrraU mud.