WALLER MOUNT RAINIER FOREST RESERVE SURVEY SD 428 M67 W3 1904aMOUNT RAINIER FOREST RESERVE SURVEY by JOHN FRANCIS WALLER A Thesis Submitted frr the Degree of BACHELOR OE SCIENCE .in Mining Engineer mg. library > V a WASHINGTON J l A T T L E. UNIVERSITY OF WASHING'!CM 1904TABLE OF CONTENTS Location of Reservation 1 Outline of work. 1 Party 2 Beginning of Wofk 2 Running the Line 3 Topography 6 Timber 7 Geology 7 Washington Forest Reservation 8 Topography 9 Geology 10LOCATION OF RESERVATION The Mount Rainier Forest Reservation was established by a proclamation of the President made February 22f 1897. The whole reservation is drained either by the Columbia River or by small streams emptying into Puget Sound. Its area is 2,146,000 acres. Beginning at the northwest comer of township 18, north range 7, east, the reservation extends east to the northeast corner of township eighteen, north, range 14 east, and south to the southeast corner of township 4 north, range nine east. It may be said roughly to consist of a rectangle extending 90 miles north and south, and 48 miles east and west. Mount Rainier is situated in the northwest corner of this rectangle, on the western slope of the Cascade mountains, and is about ten miles from the western boundary and eighteen miles from the northern. Government land surveys partly bound and fix the location of the reservation. It was for the purpose of further completing the location of these boundary lines that a party was sent out in the spring of 1903. OUTLINE OF WORK The purpose of the party was to start at the southeast corner of township 16 north, range 14 east, and run the boundary line to the northeast corner of the reservation, then west to the summit of the Cascades. Then also to run and re-run the eastern boundary of township 14 north, range14 east, checking or. corners already located. The greater part of this country is used for cattle and sheep ranges and the location of the correct boundary was necessary in order to keep the cattlemen from trespassing on th£ reservation. PARTY The party at first consisted of thirteen men as follows: Mr. S. E. Blout, head of party and transitman; two chairmen, four axmen, two flagmen, a moundman, two packers and a cooh. As this was the first work Mr. Blout had undertaken in this state, Mr. Hedge Tatum, who had spent several years in the field in this part of the country, accompanied the party for the first week to see that the work was started correctly. The pack outfit consisted of eleven mules. The surveying apparatus consisted of a Young's transit with a Smith solar attachment, and other minor apparatus. BEGINNING 07 WORK The party outfitted at North Yakima and left that place for the field May 4th, 1903. The next day the Nile river was reached, ?/here the first camp ;7as made. Leaving Yakima the route was up the Natchez River along which a good 7/agon road ran as far as Nile.3 The following n.ay was spent in oarap as it was necessary before beginning work to yet the meridian as a check and to c-u this a vie?; of the sun was needed. The next morning at 4:30 an observation on Polaris was taken. The, sun oame out about noon so it was decided to start for the section comer about four miles south of camp and begin work. The corner was found without much difficulty and one half mile of the iui« completed that day. The next day the work was continued and three and three-fourths miles more were run. This was the greatest distance cohered in any one day d'ariiig the whole trip. RUNNING THE LINE The work of running the lines was comparatively simple. The instrument was set up and a north and south line obtained by means of the solar attachment. In order to do this it v/as necessary to have the sun shining, and hence it was the duty of the flagman when finding a point, to get it if possible in such a place that the view of the sun was not obstructed by trees or other obstacles. As long a sight as possible was taken. Frequently when on top of a ridge and a good view of the ridge ahead was possible, one of the flagmen was sent over to that ridge and a point found there. Leaving a stake behind on the first ridge, the line, using the other flagman, would be roughly located between. This was done forthe benefit of the axnen and chainmen. When the ridge on which this point had been found 7/as reached, the transit was set up by means of the sun and so a backsight on the other ridge was also possible as a check. When an extra high ridge was crossed this backsight was often visible for several miles. Then a foresight was thus obtained on a ridge ahead, the line between was often run in by means of the compass. The compass was used very seldom, however, except when backsights or foresights were possible as a check afterwards. When a backsight was left or. a ridge the line would be run ahead by means of the solar transit or compass. When the top of the next ridge was reached the line would often be fo\md to be several feet off and by means of this backsight and solar transit it was an easy matter to set back on the true line. Natural objects, such as a patch of snow or a point of rock or some particularly high ridge were often used as foresights, being used as far ahead as ten miles. The length of the sights taken when using the flag, varied from a fe?7 feet up to one and one-eighth miles, which was the longest. The trees along the line in most places are plentiful and were caazed very plainly. This was done so that sheepherders and cattlemen would see where their rights stoppea. Four axmen were needed for this work. The chaining was done with a fifty-link chain. The head chain .an carried ten pins which were left to bepicked up by the rear chainman. When all ter pins had been used a tally was marked toy pulling a string out of a piece of leather carried by one of the chairmen. Fight tallies represented a half-mile. At the end of each half-mile a monument was set, to place which was the duty of the mound-man. when possible a stone about a foot square was used. This v/as marked with notches on the sides indicating the range and township. Two bearing trees were marked. When a township corner was reached four trees were blazed. The monument was lined in by the transit and then the bearing of each tree read arid noted. When it v/as impossible on account of deep snow or for other reasons to find a stone, wooden post^ were set up as monuments. These posts were cut about 2-1/2* x 6" x 6” and the township and range marked on each side. They were then set about half way in the ground. Stones were much preferred to wood as they l^st longer and are not destroyed by forest fires. Where a corner occurred in a stream or on an in sum oun table place, a witness corner vras set. very full notes were taken. The chainmen reported the top of each ridge, crossing of streams and their width, crossing of roads or trails, etc. In running the line obstacles were passed m various ways. If a tree on the line was too large to cut down, the flagman would stand behind it with a ms outstretches and be lined in. This was not very accurate but the error6 was compensating and an error like that did not affect the rest of the line when the solar transit or compass was used. Offsets were very numerous. Tr.iangulations were made only when it was impossible to chain up a cliff or across a wide stream, and where it was possible to secure a good base line. The only two strea.is that it was necessary to triangulate across were the Natchez and Tietan Rivers. On account of the time of year at which this work was done a great many difficulties were encountered. Most of the line was located with several feet of snow on the ground. Besides making the actual work harder it was impossible for the pack train to get through. Hence the men had to do their own packing and much time was lost. On Sunday, June 14, the summit of the Cascades was reached. Thirty-six miles of the line had been run from May 7 to June 14. The party then walked back to Nile, a distance of about 35 miles, making the trip in a day and a half. They then ran and re-ran the eastern boundary of township 14 north range 14 east. These IP. miles were completed by June 26 and on the 29th the party was once more back in Yakima. TOPOGRAPHY The topography of the region surveyed is bold and rugged. Around Nile it is more rolling and the tops of the ridges are wide, but outside of this region the ridges are7 sharp and the canyons deep. The canyons of the Natchez and Tieton rivers are especially deep, the depth of the latter being 2500 feet. It is very nigged, being nearly impossible to descend in the place where the line went. The highest altitude crossed by the line is Icicle Mountain which is O'^t 8000 feet high. TIMBER The timber of the country is plentiful. In same places the country ha^ been laid bare by forest fires but in each place a new growth is rapidly taking the place of the old. The principle trees are the cedar, yellow pine, spruce, hemlock and tamarack. GEOLOGY The geology is especially interesting. Leaving Yakima the foothills first encountered are of lava formation, basalt being very common. Huge boulders of conglomerate are of frequent occurrence. In and around Milk c^eek many signs of glaciers are fo^rnd. Near where t/ie line crossed is a large moraine probably 100 yards long. Pieces of flint and a petrified log are also found there. Further on, many varieties of rocks are fo'ind, including metamor-phic, slates, serpentine, calcite, mica schist, quartz, etc. Indications of coal were also found in a few places. Icicle8 mountain, which is near the nor*^east cower of the reserve, is composed of a brown and greenish igneous rock. Amygda— loids and geodes ar^ very common on it. In the geodes are found soie crystals that vow/ closely resemble Iceland spar. Water is very plentiful. The Natchej rives and its main tributary the Tleton drain this region and flow into the Columbia. Greeks and springs are very numerous. WASKI 113 POM yCR^S'11 RESERVATION Several years ago a contract was let for the survey of the southern boundary of the Washington forest Reservation. The work was about half completed when the mountains were encountered. The contractor, finding that he could not do the work for the cost anticipated, gave it up. It remained unfinished until last year, when this same party was sent there after finishing the Mount Ranier Forest Reservation Survey. They outfitted this time from Sultan and left that town on Tuesday, July 14, for the line. The line was to be taken up where left of'* and was to be run to the summit of the Cascades connecting with another party coming from the opposite direction. The makeup of the party was about the same as before with the difference that two sets of chainmen were to be used as a check on each other. The line was easily picked up and about a mile or so run when some of the difficulties that forced the other9 party to give it up were encountered. Roads consisted of only a few steep miners' trails and these seldcn ran close enough to the line to be of much assistance. The pack train was sent around to Mineral City and the packing was done by the men. It v/as about six miles from the place where the pack train left to Mineral City a>\rl Mr. Blout thought that these six miles could be run in a few days. However, it began to rain and before a mile and a half was finished the grub wsrs used up. There was no alternative but to go out after more supplies and pack them in over the hills covered with brush and without any trails. For this and various other reasons the line did not reach Mineral City till August 20th. The summit of the Cascades was reached Friday, September 20th, with about half of the party remaining. The rest had left at different times thinking that there were other places where they could earn an easier living. The . total distance covered 7/as about 25 miles, which took from July 14th to September 20th. TOPOGRAPHY The topography of this country is exceptionally rugged, making triangulations necessary very often. The canyons are very steep and deep and the tops of the ridges very sharp. Mr. Blout, who has been working for the Government for the past seven years in several different states,10 said he had found only one place, in Wyoming, where the country was as rough. The ridges would have been impossible to climb if it had not been for the brush and trees. On account of the nearness of this reservation to Puget Sound, and the Pacific ocean, the rainfall i« very plentiful, hence the growth of brush and timber is very great. GEOLOGY The rocks in this region are mostly granite, but soft conglomerates were frequently found. At the head of Troublesome creek a glacier was met. It is about 75 feet high and about 200 yards ?/ide. The streams flowing from it are colored green. A few miles above Galena is a soda spring. The water is murky and gives off bubbles of carbon dioxide. A peculiar odor prevails in the vicinity of the spring. For several feet around it the gro^md is covered with fresh deposits of iron oxides and iron hydroxide. Knowing the wages of each man in the party, the approximate cost of grub, feed for mules, etc., it was roughly calculated what the expenses of this survey were. The conclusion reached was that the cost of running each mile greatly exceeded one hundred dollars.Professor or CommitteeSD Waller. ^28 Mount Rainier Forest M6T Reserve survey. W3 i onkn K ■ /-'idcUlC/l 73 'i'Z'Dd U/11^ & 3 &5 \/p\ J i ^376 ■g? MAce. uzM Wf ^3(2^ *7tzz&> ■- 4R I § is,/ |Z- / C-h-4lr~-a.ut-*a