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The Press Expedition - Part II

© Jerri Brooker

Mystified that the Press Expedition Party took off in the winter of 1889, I knew there had to be a reason. I learned The Seattle Press newspaper said the party was starting in winter "in order to be over the first ranges and into the central valley ready for work when spring should open." But the fact be known: they were trying to gain the distinction of being the first crossing the mountains. Since the press, lots of men were anxious to do the deed.

The Press Party left Seattle December 8 on a steamer to Port Angeles; they soon began to build a boat to carry their supplies up the Elwha River. Wagon teams brought their supplies to their first outpost, Philip Meagher's ranch. They bought two mules, Jennie and Dollie, from a settler to aid in the trek.

They built their boat. Little did they realize their trek up the Elwha would take them four months out of the six allotted for the expedition. Unrelenting rain and snow, "boiling waters of the rapids," logs they had to cut out of the way and unexpected mishaps were the norm.

Their method of movement was to tow the boat from the shore. The snow repeatedly got in the way as they traversed the shore and sometimes they'd sink out of sight between large boulders. One day they couldn't find satisfactory toeholds, so they had to plunge in the water to drag the boat.

"The air registered 16 degrees," noted Christie. "The sensation of having feet and legs as ours was a very peculiar one. They were utterly devoid of sensation; so much so that we could scarcely preserve our balance to stand upright. We might have stuck a pin an inch or two in our legs without feeling it."

After a tough day, their beds were Douglas fir boughs. They affirmed they had the method down to make a comfortable bed. Warm pipes or cigars around a fire which also dried their clothes helped refresh their spirits after a particularly difficult day. Most of the time they ate beans and biscuits with coffee and tea but did have bacon and when they were lucky, lots of game (deer, elk, bear). There were times they ate flour and water, their only provisions.

Once they could no longer traverse the river they had to find another way to carry their supplies. They tried to build carry alls to alleviate the load on the mules when they traveled on without the boat, but none of their contrapations did the job; they had to do some of their own packing.

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