Seven Hundred Miles on Horseback: Two Seattle Men Ride the Raw Edge of Eastern Washington

C. W. Loomis and E. D. Manning returned home on Monday after a horseback ride of 600 to 700 miles through Eastern Washington, in which they saw a great deal of the state, including some of the finest scenery. Mr. Loomis, in describing the trip, said:

"We started from here on June 17 and went to Ellensburg, where we bought our ponies and outfit. Then we rode to Wenatchee, a distance of sixty miles in one day, over the summit of the mountains bounding the Kittitas valley. This summit is 5,000 feet above the sea and commands a splendid view. From it we saw clear across the main range of the Cascades to Mount Rainier, towering above. We struck the Columbia at Moses Coulee ferry, after riding thirty miles across a sand and sagebrush desert, and reached Wenatchee in the evening. We camped there for three days waiting for H. Snowden Marshall and F. B. Loney, who were riding across by Stevens' pass. When they arrived they had a tale of woe to tell. They had much difficulty in getting through the pass, and their two guides shoveled snow for five miles on the summit. Then Mr. Marshall attempted to swim the Wenatchee and to swim his horse across, but it was so high and as cold as an ice bath, being full of snow water, that he and his horse had to be pulled back with ropes. They camped for three or four days to rest their horses, and were at that time joined by Robert McDowell.

"Mr. Loney stopped at Wenatchee and the rest of us started across the Big Bend country. We crossed the Columbia at Wenatchee and rode to Waterville, passing up a canyon seven miles long around Badger mountain. When we got to the top on the level Big Bend country we were 3,000 feet above the sea and as far as we could see was a great plateau. Though water is so scarce that the people have to haul water for their stock, the soil is very fertile and grows the finest wheat, oats and barley I ever saw. Waterville will be a nice town when it gets a railroad and has a fine system of water-works and electric lights. We left Waterville for Semple ferry, between the mouths of the Methow and Okanogan rivers, and reached there after a hard day's ride of forty miles, twenty-five of which were without water for our horses. It is a fine country for riding, for the roads are as hard as a turnpike and almost as level as a floor. Near Semple ferry I suddenly turned an unaccountable somersault off my pony's back. I got up and found the pony had gone up to the knees in a gopher hole. I was not hurt, and simply had a good laugh over it.

"Then we rode up the Okanogan and Salmon rivers to Ruby, forty miles further, through some very fine land. On Salmon river we saw some of the finest ranches in Washington. The hills are covered with trees, but there is no brush and you can ride right through — in fact, it is like riding through a park. At Ruby we were in the silver-mining district, and found things flourishing. They are putting up some fine mills, and the place is more prosperous than any town we visited outside of Wenatchee. Then we went on to Conconully, where there is some mining going on but not much development, and no mills have been established. We passed around Conconully lake, a beautiful body of water surrounded by precipitous cliffs and without inlet or outlet. The road is dug out of the bank for four miles around this lake. The Indians have a tradition that the lake is inhabited by some vast antediluvian animal, because some years ago six or seven of their tribe disappeared there. You cannot get them to camp on it or to drink its water.

"The road then runs up Similahekin coulee, which is very pretty, to Loomiston, where the gold prospects begin. You can hear the sound of blasting and of the pick for fifteen or twenty miles before you reach Loomiston, which is at the base of Mount Rainier. Lake Palmer runs along the north side of the mountain. We camped there on the night of July 3 and met Mr. Black, F. W. Dunn's brother-in-law, and Lieutenant-Governor Laughton and his wife. Loomiston is a typical mining camp, filled with horsemen, prospectors and gamblers. Just before we got there an Indian had been killed in a barroom fight, and the rest of his tribe wanted revenge. They rode through the streets flourishing their revolvers and daring any white man to come out and fight. Chief Moses quieted them, telling them to drink no more whisky, and that they would catch the man who killed the Indian, but if they did kill a few whites they would suffer for it afterwards. The man was caught next day and cleared. The races were very fine and exciting. Chief Moses rode around in his war paint with a rig valued at $1,000 and a fan of feathers.

"We stayed there about a week, rode around the mountains and visited various pretty lakes. We had some fine fishing, and had trout for dinner nearly every day. We did not locate any good claims, and found no placer mining. But the mosquitoes were so thick that it was almost impossible to live along the rivers, so Mr. Manning and I started back. Mr. Marshall and Mr. McDowell went up Mount Chopaca, and remained at Loomiston, intending to stay till the fall and wait for the opening of the [Colville] reservation. It is not legally opened yet, and will not be so until the president issues a proclamation, and it is not advisable for settlers and prospectors to enter, except to go through. At Loomiston the Indians object to prospectors entering, and in many cases have confiscated their horses and equipment and driven them out.

"We rode back light with no camping outfit, slept on the ground and turned our ponies out on the mountains. We rode through the Big Bend country by moonlight, because it was so hot in the daytime going in. We started at 11 o'clock, just as the moon was rising, and when we got clear of the hills saw the northern lights shining brightly and the moon rising over the prairie. Occasionally an owl flew between us and the moon, casting a fleeting shadow, and the stillness was only broken by the cry of the coyote. At 4 o'clock in the morning we found ourselves off the road on a hill overlooking the Columbia and had a beautiful sight. The sun was just rising and looking down over the bluffs we could see the river with Lake Chelan in the distance and could hear the roar of the falls by which the lake empties into the river fifteen miles away.

"From Wenatchee we went eighteen miles up the mouth of the Peshastin and saw work going on on the Great Northern aid line — forty teams souled to the summit to start on the switchback. We could hear the men blasting rock to make the road out of the mountain sides and it sounded like a continual cannonade. We had to cross the mountains on a difficult trail to Peshastin, which is a rich district, but slow in development. With the exception of the Cle Elum, the mining is done there with arrastras, in which you lose two-thirds of the mineral. We camped there for two days and passed a pleasant time except that our horses were bothered by gnats. Then we started for Seattle through the Snoqualmie pass, going through the Swauk country, which is a placer district except for some ledges on the benches of the mountains. The placers have been worked for fifteen or twenty years on a small scale.

"From there we went up the Swauk and Teanaway creeks, through a pretty section of country, and struck the Yakima river near Cle Elum. We went up to the head of the river to Lake Kitchel, at the summit of the passes. We fished a night in the lake and started next day through the pass on a rocky trail. It was not very bad till we reached the summit, which was in solid ice, as might be expected in such a place, but the hardships are such as a man would not want more than once. There is water and ice up to the stirrups, and we often had to lift our horses out of a creek by the heads. We reached the tollgate house, both horses and men tired out, and spent the night there. Next morning we came to North Bend.

"We reached North Bend in the afternoon, and went there to hunt bears. Next morning we left our ponies in pasture and started with two North Bend men to climb the mountain. We went through swampy country, and found the trail of a bear, but never saw it in the swamp. We went on up the trail, taking one dog, but found it all blown up as bad as ourselves, and we had to pull the dog up after us. After seven hours' hard work we got within 200 feet of the summit, to find our way blocked by waterfalls. Our clothes were in tatters, and we were worn out, and did not get back till 8 o'clock at night. Next morning we started for Seattle by a road which was said to be a short cut, but found it impassable, and had to spend the night at Redmond. On Monday we came across to Kirkland, came over on a steamer to Madison street, followed the trail to Yesler avenue and stopped at Mr. Manning's house.

The trip was not a financial success, but it was good for our health. Such a trip is a good thing for a man burdened with flesh, for I lost twenty pounds on it."