Sluiskin and the summit of Takhoma

In August 1870 Sluiskin, the Yakama guide of Hazard Stevens and P. B. Van Trump, begged them not to climb Mount Rainier, warning of a demon living in a lake of fire on the summit.

1870 CE · 46.85, -121.76 · status: legend

The account

Stevens told the story in 'The Ascent of Takhoma' (Atlantic Monthly, 1876). The climbers reached the top on 17 August 1870; Sluiskin, who had begun chanting a death song for them, at first took them for ghosts when they returned.

Connections in the atlas

• Kenneth Arnold sighting

Sources

1. Mount Rainier Nature Notes (May 1934): Highlights of History, part VI
2. Wikipedia: Mount Rainier