North Cascades

EARLY IMPRESSIONS: EURO-AMERICAN EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS

EXPLORATIONS

Alexander Ross (1814)

After completing construction of the post the traders explored the surrounding country searching for new river drainages and better overland routes that could expedite travel and the trading of goods. In 1814 Alexander Ross set out to uncover the mysteries of the North Cascades; he would later refer to this journey as "a project of discovery," for Ross claimed that no other Euro-American had ever attempted the undertaking. He planned "to penetrate across land from Okanogan, due west, to the Pacific, on foot, a distance supposed not to exceed 200 miles." Ross was "anxious to see it explored" because, as a fur trader, he believed that part of the country "held out a good prospect for extending the [fur] trade." [32]

Ross' travels are known today because of the daily journal in which he recorded his daily progress and observations in some detail. Unfortunately, he often was not specific in his descriptions of land forms and features viewed along the way and as a result there is much confusion regarding his actual route. Some scholars believe that Ross traveled up the Methow River, crossed over Twisp Pass, headed up Bridge Creek to Rainy Pass, and then dropped down to Granite and Ruby Creeks, eventually meeting the Skagit River. A more widely-held theory is that Ross traveled the Methow River crossing over Twisp Pass, then headed down Bridge Creek to the Stehekin River. From here he headed upriver, crossing Cascade Pass and traveling down the Cascade River to the Skagit River. [33]

On July 24, 1814, Alexander Ross departed Fort Okanogan with a white guide and two Indian assistants, and traveled west to the Methow River. Unable to follow the Methow because of its rocky sides and serpentine course, they struck off up Squaw Creek maintaining a due west course. [34] By the fifth day the Ross party was over Copper Pass and headed in a southerly direction down Bridge Creek. The surrounding country with its almost impenetrable forests remained gloomy, and Ross noted: "A more difficult route to travel never fell to man's lot." [35]

On the sixth day the party ascended a ridge from which the view to the east revealed steep and abrupt land and a watercourse flowing in the opposite direction. Those who believe Ross traversed the mountains through Cascade Pass conclude that he reached the pass at this point. [36]

When the party's guide fell sick Ross was forced to continue the journey with one companion. On the fifth of August he and his companion traveled "through a delightful country, of hill and dale, wood and plains" and observed "a good many beaver lodges along the little river [Skagit River]," some small lakes, and grazing deer in "herds like domestic cattle." [37] This was Ross' last journal entry describing the region. The following day he was forced to retreat after his companion deserted him. Retracing his steps he found his assistant at the ill guide's encampment. Despite efforts to rally his fellow travelers to resume the journey, Ross was unsuccessful and the hungry, fatigued, and disappointed explorers ". . . turned [their] faces towards home," arriving at Fort Okanogan thirty days later. Only after the party returned home did Ross' guide inform him that had he continued on from "point turn-around," he would have reached the Pacific Ocean in four days. [38]

Nearly half a century after Ross made his intrepid crossing of the North Cascades, the mountains were again subject to scrutiny, this time by the federal government. During the years 1857 and 1859, the international boundary between Great Britain (now Canada) and the United States was surveyed along the 49th parallel from the Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. The boundary was established when Great Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Washington in 1846. The terms of this treaty were clear, specifying the 49th parallel as the official dividing line. Extending across rugged and precipitous mountains, the boundary was marked through country still virtually unknown. Today, this international boundary marks the northern limits of North Cascades National Park.