as impracticable, from the density of the forest and underbrush, and the equally great obstacle^ of windfalls, canons, and precipices.
In 1885, Lieutenant J P. O'Neil, being stationed at Fort Vancouver, was detailed by General Miles to make a reconnoissance of the "Jupiter Hills," and entered upon this duty with enthusiasm. After a month of rather perilous adventures in its execution, and losing one man, who strayed from the trail and perished, O'Neil was ordered to Fort Leavenworth, and the expedition returned to Vancouver. Concerning his part in it O'Neil remarked that "the travel was difficult, but the adventures, the beauty of the scenery, the magnificent hunting and fishing, amply repaid all hardships, and it was with regret that I left them before I had completed the work." He also said, "There must be great mineral wealth here, for gold has been found in the foot-hills, as has also coal. There are now two claims which have first class coal located near Hood's Canal. Iron ore is in some places most abundant and very pure. I also carried a specimen out which was pronounced by a learned man to be copper. The formation of these mountains seems to speak plainly of mineral wealth. . . . The day will come when the State of Washington will glory in their wealth and beauty."
In the month of July, 1890, General Gibbons sent out an expedition to make a thorough exploration of the Olympic Range, and again Lieutenant O'Neil was placed in command. Accompanying it were members of the Portland and the Washington Alpine clubs, and the expedition, which consisted of fifteen rank and file, started early in July from Union City, at the mouth of the Skokomish River, on Hood's Canal. They carried a box similar to those placed on the tops of the Oregon snow-peaks, containing a record book, to be deposited on the highest peak of the Olympics, the summit of Mount Olympus.
The trail lay by Lake Cushman, which is described as a paradise for anglers. Nestled among the foot-hills at an elevation of four hundred feet, it reflects in its placid bosom the overhanging crags and snow-peaks. The Skokomish River runs into and out of it, as the Quinault does on the other side of its lake. A trail led to some copper deposits several miles from the river, and from that point the only roads open to the explorers were the
