The Sunday Oregonian., September 04, 1921, Magazine Section, Image 77

VOL. XL,
PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 4, 1921
NO. 3G
! PackTrairv Mesring Mi Jefferson.
I Noted AvkhorViewsWonders of Hi dwrvLand
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I'hnto -)priuhled . by. 1''., II. -KUrr
BY De WITT HAHRT.
THE printed "woTd spreads fame
these days to an extent never
before realized. Noted American
Authors each have their following who
search out the monthly publications
for the latest stories and the publish
ers' lists also are -watched for new
books. The Pacific coast has pro
duced Its share of great writers, but
many of them have their homes and
do their writing In the east. It is to
these men that Oregon should be in
troduced, and they are gradually com
ing to know this state and the north
Pacific Just this . past season we
have been honored by having several
of these men and women of national
reputation taking their initial trips
through our mountains. Soon the rest
of America will know, from their
pens, what they saw here.
Irvin Cobb visited the lava fields of
eastern Oregon, having a noted hunter
and guide for his companion. Mary
Roberts Rinehart spent several weeks
In the state. Steward Edward "White
was another who absorbed great
quantities of atmosphere. Walter
Prichard Eaton came to pregon as the
guest of Fred Kiser and sat on the
backbone of the continent as he
counted the vertebrae. All these and
many more havr come, seen and been
conquered, the majority of them for
their first visit, and they have gone
home to tell their followers of their
impressions, vowing that they will re
turn, foe their appetites have been
whetted by the first course and they
would dine further on scenery and ex
periences of Oregon flavor.
Treasure of Material Found,
To the square mile" this vast state
offers these people who are skilled
in putting their impressions on paper
more than any other section of the
country. They are united on this point
and determined to return for more
material., Their spreading of, the story
' of Oregon to- their millions of readers
HfUL-Aa more -for-the. -state, than nyj
amount of publicity that has been oti
tained in the past. Then this handful
of writers, who have come, though
they are among the foremost pen
names in the country, by no means
comprise the entire guild. ; Their vis
its will undoubtedly lead, to others.
The boosters for the state, the lovers
of her mountains and scenery who
were responsible for their-- coming,'
take front rank among .those who
have the Interest of the state at heart,
It serves to emphasize the fact that
Oregon is Just on the verge of the
greatest invasion in the history of any
section of the globe.
Tourists came to European 'coun
tries and famed cities as the reputa
tion of these places spread by the
written word. ' They were used as the
setting for descriptive pieces, for ro
mances, and for stirring tales of ad
venture. It was an easy task to allow
the- imagination to run riot in a place
well known to- the rest of the world.
The many visitors relished this,, the
readers who had been there could re
call the locations and get themselves
into the atmosphere.' It was adver
tising of the greatest pulling force,
for all manner of peoples, nearly any
one who could read, resolved . to go
there in search of some similar expe
rience. The descriptive tales aroused
the feeling that, one must see for
himself what the place was like. Few
of us have failed to experience this
longing to see the Alps, the Canadian
Rockies, Alaska, the castles on the
Rhine, the shores of -the Mediterra
nean, the fjords of Norway, the wind
mills of Holland, and now the rest of
the world is beginning to long for a
sight of the majestlcvmountains.. the
romance and adventure of life In the
Oregon country and its broad rivers
and fertile valleys. -It will be the mis
sion of the great writers to .. arouse
this feeling until it; is an insatiable
ache -that canionly.be assuaged by a
personal visit on -the part of their
fetched to see this day coming in the
near distance.
Seed of Desire Sown.
Four years ago Fred Kiser, one of
the most intimate friends of scenic
Oregon, went to Glacier National park
on a mission for Louis W. Hill, who
is known as the father of that coun
try of natural miracles. Hill at this
time sent his private car to Massa
chusetts for Walter Prichard Eaton,
who ranks as one of the greatest de
scriptive writers. Riser's "role was as
guide and searcher out of the natural
advantages of the park for the writer,
a task in which the Oregon-expert is
admitted to have few if any equals.
It was the occasion of the forming of
a close friendship, and Kiser im
proved every opportunity cf impress
ing on Eaton the fact that his life
would be wasted if he did not visit
Oregon. . Indeed Kiser is said to have
painted such a set of glowing pictures
of what this state had to offer that he
nearly frightened the easterner away.
It was just a continual repetition
of the phrase, "you ain't seen nothin'
yet," in the many Kiser letters since
that date until Eaton decided to come
to Oregon this spring. That Kiser
is 'some little writer himself is ap
parent when we face- the fact that
his - descriptive letters managed to
draw Eaton several thousand miles
west. Eaton came- this -spring, saw
and experienced,, and fell' under the
spell, is now one of the slaves of
Oregon,, vows that he will come again
and again, that he will write his best
under the sway of what he saw and
can tell, but admits that even his
facile pen will have much to do to do
the state justice. He went into the
Cascades and saw the strong back
bone that runs the length of the con
tinent, ' tramped for . himself through
the countless wonders, had his first
experience , at conquering. ' a - snow
peak, sat on top of America several
miles in the ar and went .home. filled
with the romance of it and pledged
readers. - It does--mot -seem- too- laj--to--do his-bst 0 send others--out to
see what he had. It is just this ele
ment that seems to promise so much
for Oregon's future, most of the vis
itors go away determined to come
again, and their stories are so im
pregnated with their realization oi
the wonders that they saw as to
serve, to send their friends out here.
It is an endless chain with innumer
able and growing links.
- Scores of Stories Found.
" The Kiser-Eaton expedition was
not the result of the activity of any
of the publicity organizations of the
Btate, but due to Fred Kiser alone.
As the direct result of this trip Eaton
writes' to friends that he now has
ten articles on Oregon in prepara
tion as well as one of his famed Boy
Scout books. He has also made ar
rangements to screen several of his
adventures. The stories are to ap
pear in Country Life,- American,
Scribner's," Harper's, My Garden, the
New York Times and other national
publications. . His book will likely be
similar to the others of the same type
that he has written, a story woven
about the adventures of a party of
Boy Scouts who visit the same coun
try and have many adventures. These
books are unique in that fully as
many grownups as children delight
in them. Of the, Kiser-Eaton trip to
Glacier park, Eaton wrote one of
these books that enjoyed a record
sale. He says that he expects his
Oregon book to prove even more
' popular.
The Kiser-Eaton party got under
way early in July and were among
the first to visit Crater lake this sea
son. They got there when the snow
was yet on the ground, four and five
feet deep right-on the rim of the
crater., Here Eaton witnessed' one
of the unique sights of 'his trip, hun
dreds of Californians getting cooled
off. The visiters from the south
were having the time of their lives.
The, forest service crews worked .with
dynamite blasting the snow from the
roads and the cars followed as closely
as they could. The Bear staters made
camp each night near the fields of
white comfort and luxuriated in It,
placing their tents where they could
reach .. out from under flaps and
gather handfuls of snow. Here Kiser
put a lifeline out from the crater's
edge over 'the snow and took Eaton
on the bosom- of this most unique
lake visiting the phantom ship and
other islands. At this time the coun
try, where the, snow had melted was
ablaze .with color, fields of white
snow alternating with fields of wild
flowers, the glowing blossoms cling
ing to the solid rock of the crater in
a way not -. duplicated elsewhere.
Eaton then felt the. first surge of
that spirit that must permeate his
writings of Oregon, for he told his
companions, with, bated breath, that
it was the most beautiful sight he
had ever seen, and he is a man who
has traveled much and given to a
keen analysis of his feelings.
Author Meets Perpetual . Snow. , .
This trip comprised 1500 miles by
automobile, with many long journeys
by pack train. They took 17 horses at
Three Sisters and went in to explore
the country about Mount Jefferson,
Marion ' lake and MInto mountain.
One of their first camps was on the
crest of Minto mountain, and here
the eastern Oregon wild flower gar
den was at its prime a sight that
must be" seen to be appreciated.' On
the rim ' of Hunts' cove they began
to experience their first real snow
field difficulties, altogether a novelty
for Eaton. It took them four and a
half hours to get down into the cove
to a small campground on a bench
that was .clear enough to give, their
horses some feed. Here they made
their headquarters for the climb up
Mount Jefferson,, a peak 10,523 feet
high. It was Baton's first snow peak.
and a real one, for it is a hard climb.
outside of Mount Baker ranking as
one of the. most difficult to conquer,
and being even harder than Mount
Rainier, The,, picture ahown oa this a
page is of the Kiser-Eaton pack train
nearing thajr headquarters for the
climb.
They started their climb at 3 A M.
and reached camp on their return at
9 P. M. Eaton afterwards admitted
that it was the grand experience of
his life. They worked around a new
route, one that Kiser had charted out,
leading over rock slides with much
evidence of recent avalanches on the
transverses. From the time they hit
the snow line" to the crest it was a
continual series of ice steps, Kiser
acting as guide. On the descent they
couldn't slide at any point, nad to re
trace their steps one by one, and it
took over four hours to come back.
The great glacial moraines had left
huge piles of debris high on the
mountain side which had to be sur
mounted, end at some points the
united rock and ice slopes were fully
55 and 60 per cent grades. Looking
back in the afternoon light it had the
appearance to the climbers of an
overhang, and it se,emed nearly im
possible that men-could have been
where they had. It would have hardly
seemed possible if they could not
have recognized certain landmarks hi
proof.
Appetites Whetted for More.'
This climb alone did more to arouse
the latent enthusiasm in the author
than any other experience they had
on the trip. Remember it was his
first snow peak, you mountaineers.
and bis first Initiation had been care
fully planned with all manner of lit
tle hors d'oeuvres until his appetite
had been whetted, for the principal
dish. Now he vows that be will come
again and again for more feasts of
the same nature, and he has to come
to Oregon, for he can be satisfied no
place else. He will tell his friends
and readers and they, too, will begin
to suffer from an aroused appetite
until they' must come and get a sam
ple. " The universal' tale ' from then
on has been, that none ever grow,
satiated. ' They get out and see what
they have been-told' exists, some of
them in a skeptical mood, and after
the proving do not. need coaxing to
return, it is' of their own, accord.
With Eaton and most of ,the rost of
the writers who fell Into' the proper
bands there is. a further urge in the
wealth of material they found, for
this Is their stock in trade. Tbey
comb the world for Inspiration, and,
when they find It rife in' Oregon it
is the place to which they' will return.
Inoculation with the Oregon spirit
produces a virulent surge of deter
mination to see the whole thing, and
then there is generally so much of it
that .they come for dose after dose
and finally stay. This Oregon spirit
lo Just beginning to enter on new
phases of more than ordinary inter
est. It used to be that Oregonlans,
in common with residents of other
sections of the country but sparsely
endowed with scenery, planned to go
away for vacation and sightseeing
trips. The result was that, at a great
expense, they viewed natural won
ders that could hardly be classed, in
many instances, with those so near
to their homes. Of recent years the
realization of this fact Is coming
home to Oregonlans. and they are
seeing their own state, and thus Is
being born the new Oregon spirit. At
that it 1 too dormant, but being
aroused. There Is nothing destined
to awaken appreciation better than
having people from far away pay
fulsome tribute to what they see. It
acts as a great eye-opener to the
person who has his home in the cen
ter of natural wonders having enough
virtue to act as a magnet for the
peoples of the globe. Others appre
ciate it, why shouldn't we?
Boulevard In Skies Shaping.
Now the Mate is beginning to de
velop her scenic appeal. In the
region where Kiser took Eaton there
exist natural beauties past the poa-
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