Why the Cascade Mountains Have a 'Stampede'
A swarm of mosquitoes once sent railroad engineers fleeing in a panic that gave a famous mountain pass its permanent name.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The question is often asked why the Northern Pacific pass and tunnel through the Cascade mountains were named 'Stampede,' and has never been answered to the satisfaction of the Herald, until the other evening, when Captain J. T. Kingsbury said that in the fall of 1881 he was encamped with his party of engineers at the point now known as Easton, and V. G. Bogue with his party were on the west side at the present Weston. At that time, President Garfield was hovering between life and death, and Bogue and Kingsbury, after consultation, decided on naming the pass Garfield. But General Anderson, the chief engineer, coming along and camping with his two assistants on the bank of the lake situated on the summit, was told of the decision. Anderson didn’t look favorably on the name. He said, 'Hasn’t Garfield suffered enough? You have White’s pass, Sheet’s pass, et cetera; now where are Bogue and Kingsbury passes?' That evening the mammoth mosquitoes from the lake pounced down on the party and stampeded horses and engineers, and from that incident the lake, pass and tunnel received their names.
“That evening the mammoth mosquitoes from the lake pounced down on the party and stampeded horses and engineers, and from that incident the lake, pass and tunnel received their names.”
Today, Stampede Pass is a recognized historical landmark of the Northern Pacific Railway route. The story serves as a humorous reminder of the grueling and often absurd conditions early surveyors faced while mapping the rugged terrain of the Washington Cascades.
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