10
TIIE , SUNDAY- OREGOXTAN. PORTIAXD. FEBRUARY 9, 1S13.
HEROIC RESCUE OF MAN INJURED ON
ST. HELENS TO BE COMMEMORATED
Glacier Where Accident Occurs to Have Name of Leader of Party of Eescners Who Carry Helpless Laborer Miles
Over Mountain, if Mazanas' Flans Materialize.
mm
rvon.rta.ecx sso tin coin
Climber- wa- tt? of 27
. J4arfCtrt S?oncta27 ftarson, J!koo .
ill
II 2iM
.-a -irvfc
BT JOHN II. WILLIAMS.
Author of "The Mountain That Was 'God "
and "The Guardians of the Columbia."
MEDALS. Carnegie Fund award.,
legislative resolutions, apprecia
tion more lasting than bronze
all these are within the merit of a lit
tle band of men who, five years ago,
performed an almost unparalleled serv
ice on one of the great mountains or
Washington. yet this epic battle
against a snow peak for the prize of a
man's life is known to few outside of
the modest actors In it- Uncommemo
rated. it Is today in danger of being
forgotten.
The most boautifl thing in the world
Is the saving of a human life. It mat
ters not whether it be a great life, a
friend's life, or the life of a stranger.
This is a story of the rescue, at terri
ble risk to the rescuers of an unknown
backwoodsman. Deeds like this in Eng
land win the Victoria Cross.
I am chary with the superlative. The
tinsel with which it covers mediocrity
soon betrays the shoddy beneath. But 1
do not fear to bestow it upon real
worth. There Is too little whole-souled
praise In the world. It Is easier to as
sume that the heroes are all dead.
Let me say. then, that the finest ad
venture in American mountaineering
and the finest bit of mountaineering In
all the annals of American adventure
was the saving of John Anderson,
"lumber Ja.k." on Mount St. Helens,
in August. 10S. In this rescue, young
Washington has a page of history that
no sister commonwealth can match. But
It is a page that few have read. anC
the state, officially, has ignored It.
Even the Washington organization of
mountain climbers, which should have
been the first to honor so notable a
service, has done nothing to have It
commemorated.
Peak Volcanic Center.
Our mountain drama opens at Spirit
Lake, five miles from the snow line, on
the north side of Mount St. Helens.
This lake, buried in the virgin forest.
50 miles from a railway, mirrors on Its
calm surface one of the moat graceful
and imposing of American peaks.
St. Helens, to which the Geological
Survey gives the height of 10.000 feet.
3a, of course, not a very high mountain,
a snow peaks go: but in beauty and
Interest It ranks higher than in alti
tude. It is the youngest of our extinct
volcanoes. Its vast lava sheets and
pumice slopes, strewn with bombs, still
tell vividly of the. mountain's fierce
'5
til
lii
.-:,---V-y-.--."'l.
... " . I .
4 of
birth throes. Its symmetry is as yet
unspoiled by the glaciers, those mighty
tools with which the sun. greatest ot
sculptors, has torn and carved its vet
eran neighbors. Mounts Hood and
Adams and, most of all ancient Tach-ho-mah.
Seen from a distance, the peak
Is a perfect cone. A rather trite com
parison calls It the American Fujiyama.
Only when one draws near is the rug
gedness of St. Helens realized. Then
the mountain no longer seems a smooth
pimple on the earth's face. Young as It
is. Its lower slopes and the wild fields
of lava that surround It are already
deeply canyoncd. Above the snow line,
the glaciers have their worlt of de
struction well in hand. Sinking their
beds deeper yenr by year, they are
building obstacles to the climber in
the ice falls to their descent, the cliffs
and chines which they have left, and
increasing the steepness of the slope.
Thus the peak offers real Alpine climb
ing. Its ascent is no holiday jaunt for
a tenderfoot.
Mnsamaa Cllmk Peak.
To this region of eruption and ero
sion came in 190S some 50 Mazamas,
members of the famous Portland moun
taineering club. From their camp on
Spirit Lake, they explored the neigh
borhood, with Its canyons, waterfalls
and smaller mountains. Such try-outs
hardened them for the conquest of the
alluring ice cone itself, which was to
be the climax of their annual outing.
Of that memorable climb 1 have told
the story elsewhere how. they found
the steep north side unexpectedly dif
ficult; how all day long they struggled
over soft snowflelds, clambered in In
dian file up the sharp aretes, and dodgec
a cannonade of stones which the hot
sun rolled down upon them; how it
waB almost dusk when they reached the
top; how the slow descent with a sin
gle rope In the dark, first over the sheer
Ice collar around the summit and then
over snow slopes of 50 degrees, now
hard and treacherous, imperilled ever
man and woman In the party; and how.
well toward dawn, they regained their
camp, exhausted, but blessing the for
tune that had brought thorn whole out
of such a misadventure
Appalling as was this experience, it
was not the climax of the St. Hel
ens outing.
While the Maxamas rested one eve-
i- : -4 , - . ,
ill I .vP- ! I I
v II 4 jTV-- VH !
.ill 1 I ? " ... ' a. i'f
ll W 'V lie I
nlng about their campflre. a weary,
haggard man dragged himself from
the forest, and gasped out a Btory
that electrified them to action. He
was a Swedish saw-mill worker. That
mnrtiln? he Knid. he and two COmnan-
' ions had passed the Mazama post be
j fore daybreak, to cross the mountain.
They had climbed the north side, and
were starting down the south when a
loosened rock, plunging zigzag from
the rim of the crater, struck one of
the trio. John Anderson, and broke his
right leg. His friends, after strapping
the broken leg to the sound one, had
gotten him as best they could down
the three-mile slope to the timber line.
Here one of them watched by their
helpless comrade, while the other
tramped around the mountain to Spirit
Lake. His trailless route led across a
dozen miles of wilderness.
Forsyth Heads Rescue Party.
A party was at once organized. The
leader was Charles E. Forsyth, of
Castle Rock, Wash., a man then well
past 50, but hard as a fir knot by
reason of his outdoor activities. With
out bis strength, courage and knowl.
edge of the peak, this story might
never have been written. His fellows
were the Hev. W. J. Douglass and
Herman E. Doering. of Portland: Ray
mond Casebeer, of Castle Rock; H.
Luther Dickens. Tacoma: Carlos A.
fennington, Seattle, and E. G. Wil
liams, the plucky one-armed guide at
Spirit Lake. No one seems to have
foreseen the struggle before them.
They carried only a little food for the
wounded man and a sleeping bag. One
of the rescuers wore a pair of light
Summer shoes.
Throughout the night Forsyth and
bis men followed the route by which
the messenger had brought the call
for help. They fought their way
through thickets and across deep ra
vines. They waded Icy torrents and
climbed lava ridges. Shortly before
daybreak, they saw. on a distant cliff,
a signal fire that had been built by
two young 'Mazamas from Portland. C
W. Whittlesey and Francis Benefleld.
These adventurers. It happened, had
also climbed St. Helens the day before.
On reaching the crater, they had seen
footprints pointing down the south
slope. These they had followed, be
lieving they would bring them to a
camp. When they found the trail lead
ing to the stricken man at the edge
of the timber, they at once assumed
I an Important part In the rescue. Go
ing eastward to a Sign wooaea nage
they built a monster fire, which they
fed during the night.-
Rescnera S offer Hardships.
With Whittlesey and Benetield as
guides, the Forsyth party soon found
the sufferer. What to do with him was
now the problem- They could not
carry the heavy man back . the way
they had come. It would be almost
as difficult to bear him down to .the
nearest house at the Peterson ranch. It
miles below on Lewis River, for be
tween lay a tangle of canyons and
.ava dikes impassible for sm:h an ex
pedition. Above them, the slope,
though steep, stretched upward com
paratively smooth. That way lay the
shortest route to their camp.
Quickly the unprecedented decision
was taken. Making a litter of the
canvas sleeping bag and alpenstocks,
they placed their charge upon lv and
started for the distant summit.
The story of that terrible day and
the still more awful night was first
told me by Frank 3. Riley, of Port
land, former secretary of the Mazamas.
Riley was a member of the second re
lief party, which next morning went
out from the Mazama camp to rescue
the rescuers. Graphic as they are. his
words only faintly picture the hard
ships of that ascent, with such a
burden, for more than a mile or alti
tude, and of the following descent.
in the face of a bitter wind, on the
steeper ice-covered north slope.
Mr. Riley writes:
"The day dawned and grew old, and
still these men crawled upward in
frightful, body-breaking struggle.
Twelve hours passed, and they had no
food and no sleep, save as they fell
unconscious downward In the snow, as
they did many times, from fatigue
and lack of nourishment. At 4 o'clock,
Anderson was again on the summit.
Then, without rest, came the descent
to the north. Down precipitous cliff.'
of ice they lowered him, as tenderly as
might be; down snow-slopes seared
with crevasses, shielding him from the
falling rocks; over ridges of ragged
lava, until in the deepening of the
second night they found themselves
again at timber. But in the network
of canyons they had selected the
wrong one, and were lost. Here, at 3
o'clock, they were found by a second
relief party, and guided over a pain
ful five-mile Journey home.
"We'd Do It for a Slwoah." '
Luther Dickers, of Tacoma, had
added some details of his own. Mr.
Dickens was the young man who left
camp In thin shoes. He made the trip
across the mountain, as one of Andei
..... I....... mWK Vila foot wruntiBlf 1
such articles of clothing as his com
panions could spare. It was his first
ascent of a snow-peak. Clearly, his
impressions about th-Job of carryin
POINCARE REQUESTS THAT BRIAND
ORGANIZE NEW FRENCH CABINET
. s
Uncle Sam Company of Oklahoma Makes Charges Against Standard Oil Company Involving Men of Prominence.
New Senator From Rhode Island-Has Brother at Head of Corporation Sculptor Gets Haytian Commission.
10.000-footJ
170-nound man over
llillUllLU.ll AAV 111131111..
"Wo never could have come through
It alive Wltnout r orsyin, asserts oiujv
ens. "He is the bravest, most resource
ful mountaineer I ever knew or heard
of. He'd walk across a 70 per cent Ice
slopo as lightly as if it were a rock
stairway. There was a high wind on
the mountain, and in the afternoon it
became very cold. But when anybody
talked of danger. Forsyth laughed at
him. Someone said such a thing had
never been lone before. "Nonsense,
boys; this isn't anything much," For
syth answered. "We'd do this for a
Stwash.' Thus he kept us up to the
Job. Nobody wanted to quit after that."
The rest Is soon told. Day came be
fore the Mazama camp was reached.
There an emergency hospital had been
improvised, and a young surgeon. Dr.
Otis F. Akin, assisted by a trained
nurse. Miss Emma Harding, both Port
land Mazamas, quickly set tha broken
bones,
Man's Lear Felt "Fine."
That it may be understood that the
man was worth saving. Mr. Riley re
ntes that Anderson, with splendid
nerve, through his 40 hours of agony,
had allowed no groan to escape his
drawn lips. On the long climb up and
down the mountain, he had spoken
only words of cheer. And now, on the
operating table, when his face quivered
1,1 ..!.i .M.l V. r. n ii run ,rTaupH her
W 1 1 11 n 1 11, aim vuv " ,
sympathy, the stout-hearted Swede re
plied, smiling: on. oon t mica me. Ay
ban all right. The leg feels fine."
rrl.- ...n 1 1 i nr, AnmnletMl thev sent
him off to the railway at Castle Rock
and to a Portland nospiiai. as ine
wagon was starting, ho looked his
thanks into tho faces of the men who
had eaved him, and said:
"Ay don't want to forget how you
look, you who have done all this yust
for me."
know how John Anderson leu.
Nearly SO years ago, I was one of a
dozen climbers caught in a midden
storm of late Summer on the Jungfrau.
Crawling slowly down in tne oeepen
ing snow and biting wind, more than
AmHAr. tf tliot rntnnanv must
have perished but for the rescuers who
came up to meet us. bringing food and
dry clothes, and carrying us, stiff and
exhausted, to the shelter of an Alpine
t house, one 01 tnese rescuers
hand and foot by freezing. One of
k. AioA lotAr In an isrlum.
uT,r.- tn tho men who risk their lives
to lessen the mountain perils. -
"Forsyth Glacier" Proposed. i
In "The Guardians of the Columbia"
I suggested that the service of For
syth and his party might fittingly be
honored by giving the name "For-
svth Glacier" to the beautiful ice-
stream on the north slope of .uount oi
Helons. Last July, after climbing
l IT nnrl ITS tallrM? t)lP matter OVPT
inuuu. "u ... ,
around the Mazama camp fire at Cloud
Cap. The proposea nmo o v ( i .
wltn a cneer. i nw i tnum i.-" j, -i
-v.. -inh'. t-MintAAH wan sent to the
United States Geographic Board.
Here we struck a snagi.
At first sight, I dare say, none of
my readers wouio expect upiiuaumu
from Washington, D. C, to a proposal
... i Vn Vi nroc t
which concerned oniy mo
:nd related to an unnameo gincicr
distant, unsurveyed mountain, and
which sought to commemorate an in
cident that ought particularly on every
account to be oontire m muuu"
nomenclature. But the board declined
to act, pro or con- w ny :
. .- i I . r .aii, T 1 r- Hpnri' (,gn.
un v t i-i u, i , umi ' -
nett. chairman of the Geographic Board,
wrote me as follows:
"I will put up your suggestion oi
'Forsyth Glacier" to the Geographic
t", i. n..t Tn fti i n c if. in the
U'JII'l i L i-i " " . - - -
meantime, Mr. Forsyth would oblig
ingly die, there wouio do no uuuui i
the acceptance of your suggestion, but
(ho Knoril dislikes to adopt the names
of persons still living."
Two montna later, on
Dr. Gannett again wrote, saying:
.i i . . . f it rt tho ftensrr&nhic
At mtj iii"un0 - -
Board held this forenoon, I brought up
the matter of Forsyth Glacier, but the
board would not consider it, probably
for the reason suggested u m-
letter. This, however, is not a rejec
tion, but simply no action at aii. i
would suggest that you go ahead and
get the name into use-"
The objection to naming landmarks
after the living is. of course, well
founded, but it has not been, and should
not be, a rule without exceptions.
The Geographic Board passes upon
the place names in the maps compiled
by the Government departments- In
-i w i-.md a.nji Mount Hood
quadrangle maps recently issued, and
presumably approver uy iv.iu.
glaciers are named for living men. All
. i Viti a hnnnrnl are Brood men
and true, and I hope their names will
remain on the glaciers; out aii ui umin
together have rendered no such serv
i nMTififnnpritiir in America as
that of Forsyth and his companions.
!w: " X I r: itf il t l v. iiT x
tfnattd. r ' Wi?w Je&arcaz 'Cb&.
tfcs &pss? I lllr w- i k -mil s"" j- sJ mi
nr 7" a J t ( im
NEW YORK, Feb. S. Special.)
Aristide Briand. has been asked by
President-elect Poincare to organ,
ze a new Cabinet. Immediately on his
election as President, Poincare ceased to
be Premier, and all the members of the
Cabinet resigned with him. Briand will
-hoose the members of the Cabinet to
serve under Poincare beginning a
lonth hence. They will serve aa an ad
Interim Cabinet under Fallleres and
when tho new president takes his seat
they will be thoroughly familiar with
their work. v
In Its charges of Interference with its
business by the Standard Oil Company
'he Uncle Sam Companj', of Oklahoma,
'ias involved David W. Mulvane, the Re
publican National committeeman from
that state. -It charges that Mulvane
held it no for a fee of J2500, with the-
ild of the Postoffice Department in the I
matter of a fraud order issued against
It. This is one of a series of charges
brought against the Interior Depart
ment, the Postoffice Denartment and
others by the Uncle Sam Company in its
fight against Standard Oil. Three Fed
eral Judges are Involved.
Judge LeBaron Colt, Senator from
Rhode Island, is a native of Dedham,
Mass. He was graduated from Yale
and took a course at Columbia Uni
versity. He holds honorary degrees
from other universities. He was ad
mitted to the bar in 1S70 and practiced
first at Chicago. Then he removed to
Bristol. R. L He has been a member
of the Rhode Island Legislature. United
States District Jtidare and United States
Circuit Judge. He Is a brother of Sam
uel Pomeroy Colt, head of the United
States Rubber Company.
JFeszry Crejazez.
Henry Crenier has 3ust received the
commission to execute the sculptures
to decorate the new palace of the Pres
ident of Haj-ti. He is a welt-known
New York scu'ptor. L&Kt yeBr he won
i prize of $1000 In competition for a
nonument to be erected at Geneva by
the International Telegraph Union.
The conference between the Attortiey
General and Frank A. Vanderiip regard
ing the Southern and Union Pacifio
matters which was to have taken place
has been pottioned. The conference
will likely take place within the next
10 days, but no definite time has been
set.
Mr. Vanderiip Is a railroad authorltr.
As a union Pacific director he will
represent that road In the conference.
He is connected with several other
railroad systems and financial corpora
tions, x
General J. S. Coxey is head of tho
good roads movement In Ohio. This ia
the same General Coxey who led the
famous "Coxey's Army" on its memor
able march to Washington in 1894.
MADAME BERNHARDT'S LETTERS
ON LIFE TO AMERICAN WOMEN
(CO.MIM'ED FROM PAGE 9.)
throes he had (lanced about and flung
the gold around. His last words, writ
ten on the piece of paper, were:
"I am rich. I eat gold and drink
blood." ,
The unhappy boy had died of hunger
in a heap of gold.
Visits Big Fi.hzry
A HI HOW I have been amused! What
a delightful day it has been! A
radiant sky! A beautiful sun! I spent
the day in the company of two million
aires who made their millions in the
salmon fisheries. We went to chosen
spots on the lake where immense nets
were spread between piles. Little huts
stood at distant Intervals allowing
watchers to hide and observe the fish.
In little boats were the beaters who
chased the fish toward the nets, and
. . . .1 II J, 1 . V. ..m.a1aVoS?A
tnese neia iinu uy nun uiiu,-.,. ..
rapidity.. They are sometimes so full
that the struggling salmon throw the
late comers out of the water and over
the net. They are fortunate for the
moment at least, and if one is sure of
catching them again later they have to
be more cautious, my millionaire friend
says.
The beaters are sometimes unskillful
and drive too itiny salmon into the
same net. .One which was full of sal
mon was pulled up for me to see. It
was raised with immense windlasses
and I noticed they lifted the great load
with difficulty. There were enormous
numbers of salmon of which some im
mense snes Jumped out of the nets
unon the banks of the lake. One of
them knocked over a little 4-year-old
irirl who was looking on.
The heads are immediately cut off
and used for fertilization of land, I be
lieve:, or as bait to catch other fish.
Found One Who Had Returned.
Suddenly one of tho millionaires
Jumped forward, seized .a magnificer
salmon and said something in Lnglish,
but he spoke so rapidly to his com
panion that 1 did not understand what
be said. His Joy was so great tnat i
asked him the reason of it. "Excuse
me," he said, and turninjr to a China
man who was putting t!fe fish into J
basket he gave the order:
"Put this one into the automobile."
Turning to me again he said: "I will
give you the explanation of my Joy in
the breeding-bouse."
We got into the auto while they
began filling other nets and passed
groups of Chinese washing salmon and
other groups stacking them in heaps.
Arrived at tne breeoing-nouse my mu
llonaires showed me salmon eggs which
would hatch out in a few days, also lit
tle salmon one day old and others that
had reached their 90th day of existence.
The latter were about to be placed in
a special reservoir filled with rrosn
water, after that they would be taken
to the lake where they would linger
voluntarily for some time before seek
ing liberty in the open seas.
Queer Trait of Salmon Puzzling.
As I was about to ask a question he
. , m-. Intanllnn nrH mfllftllir 9
sign for the fish that had given him so
much pleasure, to be brought to him
he said: "You will see now why they
come backC Do you see this mark cut
on the salmon's flank V
"Yes," I said, "I see it.
"Wftii thn. look at those little sal
mon 90 days old, they are. marked in
the same way and they will return in
four years to tne place wnere we toon
this one. Meantime, they will frolic in
the Pacific Ocean, and no doubt will
a v'it to ahHn; Strait. They
will all return." I was stupefied with,
astonishment and am still bewildered.
Maple Sugar Candy.
Exchange.
Break a pound of maple sugar Into
small pieces, put it into a double boiler
with a pint of milk and cook until the
sugar melts. When this stage la
reached set the Inner vessel of the
double boiler directly on the stove and
cook, stirring sttadily until a little of
tlie candy forms a hard ball when
dropped into water. Add a tablespoon
ful of butter, turn the syrup into
greased pans and cut into squares as
it cools.
"HE itching, burning, suf
fering and loss of sleep of
eczemas, rashes and irri
tations of the skin and scalp arc
at once relieved and permanent
skin health restored in most
cases by warm baths with
CuticuraSoap
followed by gentle applications
of Cuticura Ointment when all
else fails. To know this and
not to send postal immediately
for Free Samples and 32-p. Skin
Book is to fail in your duty to
yourself and family. .
Address "Cuticura," Dept. 16, Boston. Cuticura Soap and Ofnfc.
meat are sold throughout the world. Depots in all world centen.