The Cattle Drive Through Seven Feet of Snow
Defying winter, a determined group of drovers successfully pushed fifty head of cattle through the Snoqualmie Pass, a feat never before recorded this early in the year.
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.
Mr. F. Smith, with a party of two men and several Indians, arrived here the day before yesterday from the Yakima country with a drove of fifty head of cattle via the Snoqualmie Pass. The drove included eighteen head of fine large work oxen, girthing from 7 feet 4 inches to 7 feet 9 inches, and thirty-two head of beef steers in excellent condition. The party left Kittitas on the 16th inst., and after a journey of seven days arrived at Snoqualmie Prairie. Previous to starting out, Mr. Smith sent three Indians over to the Pass to ascertain whether such a journey at this season of the year were feasible. The Indians returned and reported but four feet of snow. Upon this news, the party started for Seattle, but before reaching the Pass they were overtaken by a heavy snowstorm which blocked the channel with four additional feet of snow. Nothing daunted, they pushed on. At times it was difficult to get along; Mr. Smith and his white associates followed in the rear of the herd, while the Indians went before on snowshoes and drove their cayuses ahead to break the road. The horses proceeded with much difficulty, at times becoming completely buried, and had to be shoveled out. This is the first time in the history of the country, our informant states, that a band of cattle were driven through Snoqualmie Prairie earlier than the month of May.
“The horses proceeded with much difficulty; at times were completely buried up in the snow, and had to be shoveled out.”
In 1877, Snoqualmie Pass was a perilous wilderness crossing where livestock had to be hand-shoveled through drifts. Today, the pass is the primary industrial artery of Washington, yet it remains just as susceptible to the brutal winter closures that defined the frontier era.
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