DAYS GONE BY

White River Public Camp was host to two distinguished visitors this weekend--two people connected with the early history of the mountain. The first was an elderly lady, the first woman to drive a two horse vehicle into Longmire. She recalls Mr. Longmire's greeting to her and her four girl companions, remembering distinctly his "long beard which hung down to his stomach".

The second visitor was an old gentleman who brought his son and grandson in to make the trip to Summerland. This gentleman was with Major Ingraham, for whom Ingraham Glacier is named, during much of his exploratory work about the mountain. He told of the camp in the storm on St. Elmo Pass when the St. Elmo fire ornamented their pike poles and dishes resulting in the naming of St. Elmo Pass. He recounted the two unsuccessful attempts of the Ingraham party to make the summit on the Northwest slope. He displayed scars on his hand received in an unfortunate and nearly fatal glissade which occurred near the summit of the south slope on their first successful assent 41 years ago. Fascinating are the stories of these people associated with the mountain in frontier days.

TREE SPLINTERED BY LIGHTNING

Ranger Rickard found a tree, or rather the remains of a tree, in Bear Park, in the Northeast part of the Park which had been struck by lightning. The tree, a hemlock about one foot in diameter, was almost obliterated. Splintered pieces were thrown 100 yards. Fortunately no fire was set by this strike.

When lightning strikes a tree and a fire is set, as happened several times during the electrical storm which occurred in this section of the Park a few weeks ago, even the heavy downpour which accompanied the lightning will not put out the fire. The tree is usually split to the ground and the fire set deep and low where the rain fails to penetrate until too late.

By C. W. Hickok, Ranger-Naturalist.