Chapter Five

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN MT. RAINIER NATIONAL PARK

The progress of scientific research in Mt. Rainier National Park, like that of the discovery and exploration of this area, first began on a broad general plan of hasty observation in the entire northwest and gradually narrowed down to the park area itself and then to the various sciences represented in this area. Consequently we find, as far back as 1787, an Englishman named Archibald Menzies making observations of the flora and fauna along portions of the northwest coast in his capacity of surgeon and naturalist with Captain Colnett of the ship "Prince of Wales". (*) Again, in 1792, we find Menzies with Vancouver - also in the capacity of surgeon and naturalist - and as part of this memorable expedition he was one of the first white men to visit and observe the shores of Puget Sound. Menzies was probably the first man to study and collect in what is now the State of Washington and although his collections and observations were, of necessity, of a very general character the results of his work as written in his diary served as a stimulant to other scientists who came later. Menzies was essentially a botanist, as were most of the early medical practitioners who accompanied these first expeditions, for medicine and botany, on account of medicinal plants, were closely allied. Hence we find today, in the scientific name of the Spotted Pipsissewa (Chimaphila mensiessi (R.B.) Sprang), a record of this man' s prowess in his chosen science. The same is true of another plant which is also native to Mt. Rainier National Park - the Fool's Huckleberry (Menziesia ferruginea, Smith).

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(*) See Newcomb - "Menzies Journal", Archives of B. C., Mem. U. 1923.

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Captain George Vancouver, himself, made minor observations concerning the flora and fauna of the Puget Sound country, but his greatest contribution to science in this region was the very careful and accurate charts of the waters he explored. It was these well made charts that made it possible for other ships to follow in safety and which were to hasten the exploration and settlement of this section of the world.

Brief mention of other early scientific explorations should also be made. In 1804-16 Lewis and Clark made their westward journey, and they studied and collected - as per their instructions - the flora and fauna of the areas through which they passed.. While they reached the coast via the Columbia and did not penetrate the region near Mt. Rainier, they are credited with being the first to note the Nutcracker or Clark's Crow (*) which is a common bird of the Hudsonian regions about "The Mountain". Lewis' Monkey Flower (Mimulus lewisii) and Lewis' Woodpecker are also native to this park and bears the name of one of these illustrious American explorers.

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(*) Lewis and Clark first saw this bird on the north fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, August 22, 1805.

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About 1825 David Douglas explored and botanized up and down the Pacific Coast, and in his journeys he discovered many new plants. Today we have the name Douglas Fir conferred upon one of the greatest forest trees of the northwest, and in Mt. Rainier National Park one finds the giant trunks of this species in the humid forests at the base of the mountain up to 4000 feet.

The names of other famous scientists, who sought the secrets of natural history in the Pacific Northwest when this region was still young, are also applied to many of the plants and animals found in Mt. Rainier National Park. Gairdner's Woodpecker is named for Dr. Meridith Gairdner; Townsend's Solitaire, Townsend's Warbler and Townsend's Mole commemorate the memory of James K. Townsend who visited the coast in 1834; Thomas Nutthal, who collected in the northwest in 1834, 1835 and 1836, has a beautiful member of the phlox family, which is common on the dry sunny slopes of the Hudsonian zone on Mt. Rainier, named. for him (Gilia nuttallii Gray). The Western Tree Dogwood, an occasional tree in the park, also honors this man by its scientific name (Cornus nuttallii Aud.).

All these early collections and collectors preceded actual contact with the area which we now know as the park, but these men are commemorated by various species of the flora and fauna of this region which they either found in some other similar locality or which were named in their honor by other scientists who admired. their work.

It was not until 1833 that the first white man entered the region now included within the boundaries of the park and strangely enough, the purpose of the journey was that of collecting plants. Dr. William Fraser Tolmie, surgeon and naturalist in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Co., penetrated the area on a "botanizing expedition", as he styled it in his diary, presumably for the purpose of gathering herbs. On Spetember 2, 1833 he wrote:

". . . . collected a vasculum of plants at the snow, and having examined and packed them shall turn in."

Thus was the first collection of plants made in this area. Presumably it was made on or near the summit of the mountain that Tolmie had climbed that day and which is now known as Tolmie Peak. It is not improbable that the plant that bears his name was collected at that spot at that time, for Tomie's Saxifrage (Saxifraga tolmiei, Torr. and. Gr.) was first collected by this early northwest botanist, as he states, on the "northwest coast".

The next event of scientific importance relative to Mt. Rainier was the determination of the altitude of the great volcano by the U. S. Exploring Expedition (Wilkes Expedition) in 1841. This was the first determination of the altitude of Mt. Rainier. The triangulation method was used, a base line having been laid off on the prairie near Ft. Nisqually, and the elevation determined in that manner as 12,330 feet above the level of the sea.

Commander Wilkes intended to make further studies in the region of Mt. Rainier and expressed a desire to scale its summit, but the wrecking of the ship "Peacock", one of Wilkes' vessels, on the Columbia Bar forestalled any efforts of this kind. Had Wilkes' plans been consumated it is very probable that some very interesting collections and observations would have occurred as this expedition was possessed of a highly talented scientific personnell. Under Lieut. Johnson a party crossed the Cascades into Eastern Washington, collecting specimens, making observations and carrying out various scientific experiments enroute. The Cascades were crossed via Naches Pass, which is not in the park, but Mt. Rainier is mentioned several times in the account of the trip. (*)

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(*) See Meany's "Mt. Rainier - A Record of Exploration". Pages 13-33.

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Lieutenant A. V. Kautz, U. S. A., made the first attempted ascent on record in July of 1857 and while his journey was not of a scientific nature the record of this trip, written later by Kautz, notes the description of the snout of the Nisqually Glacier and identifies certain topographical features by which the Naturalist Department of the National Park Service in Mt. Rainier National Park was later to determine the approximate position of the terminus of the Nisqually for 1857. This is used in recessional measurements made annually on this glacier. The first ascent by Stevens and VanTrump was not conducive of scientific data, but in October 1870 - the same year that Stevens and VanTrump conquered Mt. Rainier - Samuel Franklin Emmons and A. D. Wilson of the U. S. Geological Survey also scaled Mt. Rainier in the interests of their work of beginning a map of the region. In this account of the work Emmons states that:

". . . . on the borders of the White River basin we found, under the lavas, outcrops of porphyritic rocks, which, together with the granite seen at the head of the Nisqually River, proved that eruptive rocks had been poured out in this region in geological periods long before the formation of the present volcano". (*)

While they measured a base line to serve for future studies to eventually evolve in a map, it is unfortunate that the work started by these men in 1870 was never completed. The matter was dropped and was not taken up until later by others.

On their ascent Emmons and Wilson carried a theodolite, an instrument for measuring horizontal and vertical angles, distances and heights, but conditions at the summit were such that it could not be used. A small collection of rocks, probably the first geological collection made on "The Mountain", was also gathered and these specimens were later examined by Hague and Iddings of the U. S. G. S. who determined from them that "Mt. Rainier is formed almost wholly of hypersthene andesite, with different conditions of ground mass". (*)

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(*) For account of Emmons' and Wilson's visit to this region see Journal of American Geographic Society. Vol. IX, 1877, pages 45-65.

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In 1883 Professor Zittell, a German geologist, visited the area about Mt. Rainier. His interest in geological matters asserted itself, and he made a very small collection of rock specimens which were later examined in Germany by Mr. K. Oebbeke of Munich who reported upon them in a European technical publication. (*) In this same year Bailey Willis (**) - as Assistant Geologist of the Northern Transcontinental Survey - explored and collected about the west and north sides of "The Mountain". He continued his association with this area for several years, and in 1896 he was placed in charge of an U. S. G. S. party which included I. C. Russell, and George Otis Smith, the purpose of the party being to make geological studies of the region. This work took the party first into the northwest corner of the park where they explored and made collections and observations in the vicinity of the snout of the Carbon Glacier (***), Mother Mountains, Spray Park, Mowich Lake and similar locations. Following these efforts the three scientists, with two of their camp assistants - Ainsworth and Williams - hiked across the north side of the mountain, crossing the Winthrop Glacier to the Wedge on July 23, 1896. From this point they started for the summit on July 24th, collected material at the crater and returned via the Gibralter route, to Paradise Valley. As far as is known this is the first time Mt. Rainier was crossed from one side to the other in this manner. The reports of these men (****) form the principal background of scientific geological knowledge for Mt. Rainier National Park. Some of their conclusions have since been disproved but their work in 1896 is still the generally accepted basis.

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(*) Neues Jahrbuch fer Min., etc. Vol. 1, 1885. pages 222-226.

(**) Bailey Willis supervised the construction of the Grindstone or "Bailey Willis Trail" in 1883 - a route that joined the Spray Park region with the areas on the southern part of the west side of the mountain, connecting the region about Fairfax with the region about Ashford. This trail was designed by the N. P. R. R. as a means of inducing interest of tourist travel in this region.

(***) Russell was the first man on record to question the recession of glaciers in this region. Data on glacial recession in this area was then unavailable and Russell's question anticipated accurate glacial recessional measurements on the Carbon Glacier begun in 1930. Russell also questioned Willis' volcanic theory of the formation of Mowich Lake.

(****) 18th Annual Report of the U. S. G. S. for 1896-97.

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The tragic death of Edgar McClure in 1897, at the point which today bears the name of McClure Rock, did not dim this man's scientific achievement in making a barometric determination of the elevation of Mt. Rainier, With the utmost care and accuracy McClure set about his work, which was carried out while on the 1897 outing of the Mazama Club, of Portland, to this region. The results of McClure's experiment were computed and tabulated by Professor E. H. McAllister of the University of Oregon and they appear in detail in Vol. 2, No. 1, October 1900 Mazama, official publication of this organization. McClure's observations set the elevation of Mt. Rainier as 14,528 feet above the level of the sea.

The years 1870-1900 seemed to have been largely conducive, scientifically speaking, to geological studies. No doubt this was due to the activity and interest of the U. S. Geological Survey in this region, but the botanical angle, though not sponsored by any particular organization, was not entirely neglected. Toward the end of the last century, Professor O. D. Allen, who had served as professor of botany on the faculty of Yale University, came west for his health and settled in the upper Nisqually Valley (*). From this point he made numerous excursions in the nearby mountains and upon the south and west flank of Mt. Rainier for the purpose of collecting plants.

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(*) The "old Allen place" still stands about two miles below the Nisqually Entrance on the highway to the park. A portion of the Allen collection may also be found in the Park Museum at Longmire - a loan from the grandson of Professor Allen. Professor Allen's son, G. F. Allen, was for many years supervisor of the Rainier National Forest (now consolidated with the Snoqualmie and Columbia National Forests) and as supervisor of this area. He also served as Acting Superintendent of the park area from 1905-1910.

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Botanical knowledge of this area was also further enriched in the early part of the 1900's due to the efforts of Charles Piper. His collections made in this area augmented his botanical record of the northwest as published in his "Flora of Washington" (**) . It was also his article in the Mazama (Vol. 2, No. 2 - April 1901 and Vol. 2, No. 4 - Dec. 1905) that was the first published work on the flora of this region.

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(**) Flora of Washington, Cont. from the U. S. National Herbarium, Vol. VI. Government Printing Office, 1906.

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The first study of the fauna of this area was made by a U. S. Biological Survey party in 1897. In the party were Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Vernon Bailey and Walter Fisher. The first two men mentioned journeyed west from North Yakima crossing the Cascades via Cowlitz Pass and entered the region now the park in the vicinity of Longmire. In addition to collections made enroute they also collected in the Paradise Park region, at which point they were joined by Fisher who had come in via the Nisqually Valley. During their sojourn in this region one hundred and eighty specimens were collected - being in addition to those collected while crossing the Cascades - and besides their work served to identify fairly accurately the limits of life zones on the south side of Mt. Rainier.

The lull in geological observations was broken momentarily in 1905 when the Sierra Club of California spent several weeks in the park. Professor Joseph N. LeConte of the University of California was a member of this group and while in the park he made a study of the downward flow of the Nisqually Glacier (*). By means of this experiment he was able to announce that the maximum downward movement was noted to be near the center of the glacier on July 20-22 (22.4 inches daily) while the minimum downward flow was found to have occurred on the west side of the ice stream on July 22-25 (5 inches daily). No further studies were made in this regard until 1930 when the combined efforts of the City of Tacoma Engineering Department, the U. S. G. S. and the National Park Service made possible a similar experiment.

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(*) Complete report in the Sierra Club Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 2, January 1907.

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While Emmons and Wilson had made a start toward a survey of the area about Mt. Rainier by laying out a base line on the east slope of "The Mountain" it was not until 1895 that any map was made of this region. This work was done by Henry A. Sarvent, for whom the Sarvent Glaciers are named. Sarvent's map, then, was the first authentic work of its kind for this area.

Several times the elevation of Mt. Rainier had been computed and as many different results were obtained, but in 1910 the U. S. G. S. again entered the area for the purpose of accurately mapping the region and ascertaining by modern methods the elevation of the crest of Mt. Rainier. Mr. F. E. Matthes (*) was in charge of the initial work - a monumental task - and during 1910 and 1911 he and his party made an accurate topographical map of a large part of the park. During this period a supplementary determination of the elevation of Rainier was also made, but it was not until 1913 when the survey was completed and the final data on the elevation of Mt. Rainier was taken. Mr. C. H. Birdseye was in charge of the party in that year, and it was by him and his able assistants W. O. Tufts, O. G. Taylor and S. E. Taylor - that the elevation of 14,408 feet was established. Thus Mt. Rainier is regarded as the third highest mountain in the United States (exclusive of Alaska.) (**) The accuracy of the work of all the men who had a part in the preparation of the topographic map of this park can be readily testified to by all who have had occasion to compare it with the actual topography of the region while hiking about the mountain on the various trails.

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(*) Author of the government publication "Glaciers of Mt. Rainier".

(**) See Meany's "Mt. Rainier - A Record of Exploration". Pages 297-301.

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The completion of the topographic map brings us to more recent happenings of a scientific character. In the field of zoology the work of greatest importance was that made in 1919 when a Biological Survey party composed of Dr. Walter Taylor and George Cantwell was assisted by Professor Wm. T. Shaw of Washington State College, J. B. Flett of the National Park Service, Mr. and Mrs. William Finley and Professor Hungate of Cheney Normal School. Mr. and Mrs. Finley and Professor Hungate accompanied the party only for a portion of the time. The results of this survey went into the government publication "Mammals and Birds of Mt. Rainier National Park", which was published by the government printing office in 1927. During their time in the field 172 bird specimens and 363 mammal specimens were collected and a life zone map was prepared. The original list of 102 species of birds and 56 species of mammals as native to the park area has been changed and enlarged by observations on the part of the National Park Service.

The best known of the more recent botanists who collected in the park is J. B. Flett who, while serving as a ranger between 1913 and 1921 made a broad study of the flora resulting in the government publication "Flora of Mt. Rainier National Park".

In the fall of 1918 recessional measurements were begun on the Nisqually Glacier by the National Park Service. This record was begun by Mr. Floyd Schmoe, who served as park naturalist from 1924-1928. This record has been continued by others. In recent years recessional data has been broadened to include the Emmons, South Tahoma, Carbon, Stevens and Paradise Glaciers. (*)

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(*) This data, to date, is compiled in the "Encyclopedia of Information of Mt. Rainier National Park."

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More recent years have resulted in compilation of data and individual studies in the fields of mycology, amphibia, the preparation of a forest type map, broader investigations in the field of botany and geology etc.

In 1930 Howard Coombs prepared his "Geology of the Southern Slope" as a thesis for his M.S. in geology which was granted by the University of Washington in 1931. Mr. Coombs had for several summers served as ranger and ranger-naturalist in the employ of the National Park Service. He later undertook a broader problem - that of the geology of Mt. Rainier National Park - as the subject for his Ph. D. thesis. This was published in 1936 by the University of Washington. Mr. Fred Warren, a graduate of Washington State College and for several summers a seasonal employee of the National Park Service, made extensive plant collections in Mt. Rainier National Park from 1926-1933. He collaborated with Dr. Harold St. John then of Washington State College. In 1930 and 1931 the City of Tacoma (Engineering Department), National Park Service and U. S. Geological Survey cooperated in a study of the downward flow of the Nisqually Glacier along the same lines as that made in 1905 by Professor LeConte of the University of California. Although this later study was more exhaustive than LeConte's the results were in general quite similar to those obtained at that earlier period. During the years 1929-1931 the writer prepared a forest type map of the area and made a study of forest types, forest conditions and ground cover (**). A later and more complete type map was prepared by the National Park Service, Division of Forestry, in 1935 and 1956.

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(**) M. S. thesis, University of Washington, 1931.

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A high place in these annals must be given to Professor James R. Slater of the College of Puget Sound who made extensive collections and studies of the amphibians of the park for several years previous to 1933. The results of his efforts along this line were graciously made available to the Naturalist Department and were included in the Encyclopedia of Mt. Rainier National Park compiled by the Naturalist Department. Nature Notes, December 1936 (Vol. XIV No. 4) deals exclusively with the amphibians of this area and was prepared from this section of the encyclopedia. Miss Elizebeth Eaton Morse must also be included among those whose original research and collections have widened our knowledge of the interesting features of the park. During the summers of 1930 and 1931 she made extensive collections in the field of mycology and later presented the park with her collections and with her list of native fungi which was based upon her work in the field.

In 1930 the Naturalist Department of Mt. Rainier National Park embarked upon a program of investigation that will eventually encompass, in detail, all phases of natural and human history, which apply to the park area. Field research has been or will be carried on in those fields in which little or no accurate data is available. Additional studies will augment information that was already at hand previous to 1930. This data is being compiled in what we know as our "Park Encyclopedia", which now numbers 10 volumns of typed loose leaf material. Carefully prepared study collections, made in the course of these field studies, are correlated with the information in the encyclopedia so that verification of our records may be readily made. This work is being largely carried on by various members of the naturalist staff. Mr. Chas. Landes, Alton A. Lindsey, Dr. E. T. Bodenberg and the writer are largely responsible for studies relative to the flowering plants of Mt. Rainier National Park. Dr. E. T. Bodenberg has for two years been engaged in studying and collecting the moss flora of this area while the writer's work upon the fern flora of the park is now relatively complete. (*) Mr. Alton A. Lindsey did the initial work upon our bird and mammal collection in 1933 which has since been developed and greatly enlarged by Mr. E. A. Kitchin, who has added ten bird species to our list of native birds, Mr. Donald Pike and Mr. Herbert Dill also aided in this phase of the work. Mr. Wayne Durston has been carrying on work relative to certain phases of the entomology of the park and glacial recession data, as already stated, is being taken annually each fall as part of the regular work of the naturalist department. Such field research, which is conducted in addition to the regular duties of the various naturalists, is being pushed forward slowly but surely. Already a considerable amount of data and material has been accumulated that aids in a better understanding of the many interesting features of Mount Rainier National Park.

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(*) See Nature Notes, Vol. XV No. 1, March 1937.

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In addition to the efforts of the naturalist staff along scientific lines, we have been fortunate in receiving the help and cooperation of several other specialists in particular fields, such as Professor Slater and Miss Elizabeth E. Morse whose work has already been noted.

Thus has the scientific knowledge of Mt. Rainier National Park grown since the first white men came into this region. Yet, in spite of the various people engaged in following out their interests in their own particular fields, there is much yet to be done before a comprehensive understanding of all phases of natural history can be considered as thoroughly developed. Many fields have as yet been untouched in this area, and even those which have been worked carefully in the past still offer possibilities for enterprising students. What has been accomplished only as a beginning of what will undoubtedly come in later years.