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1. The Great Rainier Climbing Debate

   A classic Pacific Northwest squabble over who actually reached the summit of Mount Rainier first.

   Jun 22, 1888The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTacoma Hotel, Tacoma, Pierce CountyStrange But True

2. A Weather Station on the Roof of the Cascades

   A scientist's proposal imagined a summit hut on Mount Rainier, heated by volcanic steam and measuring what might be the windiest place on earth.

   Apr 6, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

3. Surveying the Glaciers and Gold of the Cascades

   A local explorer returns from a trek near the summit of the Cascade range, scouting mineral wealth and future rail routes.

   Aug 14, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerLake Chelan, Chelan, Chelan CountyBoom & Bust

4. A Winter Expedition Saw Steam on Rainier—and Asked if the Mountain Was Awake

   In December 1895, a Post-Intelligencer party climbed to 9,000 feet, reported smoke and steam from the summit, and left the public demanding proof that Washington's sentinel was an active volcano.

   Jan 18, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

5. The Iron Road Blasts Through the Cascades

   A traveler describes the relentless, army-like advance of the Great Northern Railway as it carves a path of dynamite and steam through the rugged Skykomish River wilderness.

   Apr 21, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSultan, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

6. Carrier Pigeons and a Cougar on Rainier

   A Puyallup party pushes toward the summit, sending dispatches by carrier pigeon and shooting a cougar for its skin.

   Apr 9, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

7. The Wild Frontier of the Great Northern Railroad

   Construction along the Great Northern line brings a chaotic boom to mountain settlements, featuring lawless towns, massive snowslides, and precarious tobogganing.

   Mar 23, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerLeavenworth, Chelan CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

8. Mount Rainier Was Smoking, and Olympia Noticed

   In January 1895, a correspondent watching through a glass saw great volumes rising from the summit — and wondered whether the mountain had awakened.

   Jan 31, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerOlympia, Thurston CountyStrange But True

9. The Fight to Turn Snoqualmie Pass Into a State Highway

   Seattle and King County boosters petition Olympia to convert the old toll road from North Bend over the Cascades into a first-class route for cattle, crops and travel.

   Feb 15, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerNorth Bend, King CountyBoom & Bust · City Hall

10. The Mysterious Vanishing Snow of Mount Rainier

    A Wallula newspaper reports a strange, massive slide that left a mile-wide track across the face of the mountain.

    Apr 21, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

11. The Steam-Heated Ice Caves of Mount Rainier

    A mountaineering party discovers the natural comfort of volcanic heat at 14,000 feet, sleeping in ice chambers kept warm by the mountain's own breath.

    Apr 24, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerRainier, Thurston CountyStrange But True

12. Sixteen Seattleites Climb Rainier, With Carrier Pigeons and a Night on the Crater

    Two members of a Seattle climbing party return from Mount Rainier after the rest push on to the summit, where they plan to camp amid volcanic steam and signal the city with bonfires.

    Jul 21, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

13. Capturing the Wild Great Northern Route

    A photographer describes the thrill of documenting the newly opened Great Northern railway path, from the roaring falls of Spokane to the desolate, ghost-haunted ruins of McCartysville.

    Jun 25, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSkykomish, King CountyBoom & Bust

14. The Boom on the Heights: How Seattle’s Real Estate Hype Reached for the Sky in 1888

    Long before today's high-rise fever, ambitious developers were betting on the future of Seattle's hillsides with promises of a 'Queen City' rising from the sound.

    Jul 15, 1888The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

15. The Mountain That Watched: Fire on Mount Rainier’s Peak

    As Seattle and Portland celebrated the Fourth of July with parades and speeches, a mysterious signal fire blazed atop Mount Rainier, drawing thousands of eyes to the sky.

    Jul 5, 1888The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

16. They Climbed Rainier First—and Slept in a Sulphur-Scented Ice Cave

    In 1870, Hazard Stevens and P. B. Van Trump reached Mount Rainier's summit after a brutal 10½-hour climb, then spent a freezing night beside volcanic steam vents.

    Jan 6, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

17. The Night They Slept in Rainier's Ice Caves

    A Seattle climbing party returns from Mount Rainier after a storm-bound night in the summit ice caves—and Tacoma greets them like a circus.

    Jul 25, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

18. A Seattle Expedition Sets Out to Map Mount Rainier's Glaciers—and Find a Hidden Volcano

    Major Ingraham's party leaves Seattle for three weeks on the mountain, hoping to name glaciers, test mineral springs, and locate a smoking volcano seen from the foothills.

    Jul 13, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

19. The Lead Plate on Rainier's North Peak

    A letter from Yelm corrects the record: five people had already stood atop Mount Rainier's north peak, and two had left a lead plate and tin reflector on the rock.

    Jul 24, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

20. Power Struggle: Rebuilding the City's Light

    Following a devastating fire, the city's electric light plant scrambles to rebuild its capacity while equipment remains delayed in transit.

    Jul 15, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust · Disasters

21. The Slate Creek Boom Shrinks to 500 Miners

    Two Fairhaven men return from the North Cascades with word that the stampede to Slate Creek was far smaller than reported — and that snow, unpaid bonds, and a half-built trail are cooling the rush.

    Jun 23, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSlate CreekBoom & Bust

22. The Trail Into the Slate Creek Gold Camp

    Miners were shoveling snow off high Cascade claims while a volunteer crew, bankrolled in part by Seattle merchants, pushed a pack trail up the Skagit.

    May 26, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMarblemount, Skagit CountyBoom & Bust

23. The End of the Snoqualmie Toll

    After years of litigation, King County settled a dispute with a private wagon road company, finally opening the Snoqualmie Pass route to the public for free.

    Aug 17, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerNorth Bend, King CountyFollow the Money

24. The Navy Yard That Built a County

    Twenty-nine dry-dock workers were laid off, but Port Orchard's naval station was planning barracks, a railroad and a boom for Kitsap County.

    Apr 9, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPuget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Kitsap CountyBoom & Bust

25. Fortifying the Mountain Pass

    Great Northern Railroad crews race against time to shield the Cascade division from winter avalanches.

    Sep 19, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSkykomish, King CountyWork & Pay

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