LEGEND OF THREE MOUNTAINS

VIEW THE LEGEND FROM COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE
One of hiking’s best kept secrets is Sherrard Point on Larch Mountain in the Columbia River Gorge.  From this vantage on a clear day, be prepared to be amazed.  The views include Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Rainier and the legendary three mountains, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams.  Long before the arrival of explorers and settlers, Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest watched eruptions of Mt. St. Helens and other Cascade volcanoes. These phenomena required explanations, which developed into legends and while many tribes had their own variations on some of the details, the common thread in all the legends is power, love and jealousy.

The Klickitat people told the Bridge of the Gods legend. In this tale, the chief of all the gods, Tyee Sahale, and his two sons, Pahto (also called Klickitat) and Wy’east, traveled down the Columbia River from the far north in search of a suitable place to live.

They came to an area now known as The Dalles and thought they had never seen a land so beautiful and that it would be quite a fitting place for gods to dwell.  But, the sons fought over the land so the father stepped in to solve the problem.  He shot two arrows from his bow, one to the north and one to the south. Pahto followed the arrow to the north and settled there, and Wy’east did the same for the arrow to the south.

The chief of the gods then built the Bridge of the Gods, so his family could meet periodically.  In the center of the bridge burned the only fire in the world and people came from all over to get embers from the fire to bring back to their villages so they would have fire.

The fire tender was “an ugly old hag” named Loowitlatkla which means “lady of fire.”  She lived in the center of the arch and was so faithful in her task and kind to the Indians who came for the fire that Sahale noticed her.  He decided to give Loowit a very special gift…eternal life.  However, Loowit wept because she did not want to live forever as an old woman.  Sahale could not take back his gift but he granted her one wish.  Her wish was to be young and beautiful.

One day, Wy’east came from the land of the Multnomahs in the south to see this woman he’d heard about.  As fate would have it, his brother Klickitat came down from the north for the same reason.  Both brothers fell in love with Loowit but she was not able to choose between them.

The brothers fought viciously over Loowit, burning villages and entire forests.  Sahale watched and became very angry.  In his anger, he destroyed the Bridge of the Gods which fell into the river and formed the Columbia River Gorge.

Then, his anger turned on the three lovers and he destroyed them.  In spite of the fact that his sons were a constant source of frustration and adding to their volatile relationship the indecisive Loowit, he still loved the three.  As a memorial to each, where they fell he raised up three very distinct mountains.

Because Loowit was beautiful,her mountain (St. Helens) was a symmetrical cone, dazzling white.

As Mount Adams, Klickitat bends his head in sorrow, seeing the beautiful maiden Loowit wrapped in snow.

Wyeast’s mountain (Mount Hood), displays his confidence and a bit of arrogance, and he still lifts his head in pride.

But the story doesn’t end here. Remember, the legend says that Sahale, the “chief” of all the gods gave Loowit the “gift of eternal life.”

Perhaps, Loowit was not very happy living eternally as a mountain, able to see in the distance the loves of her life, frozen forever in time.

Perhaps sadness turned to frustration and grew to an explosive anger which finally blew on May 18, 1980.

Now, that is not part of the legend, just a theory.

Let’s not forget Harry Randall Truman and his amazing story of power, love and jealousy. He was jealously attached to and protective of his mountain after spending over 50 years living in its shadow. He owned and operated Mount St. Helens Lodge at Spirit Lake.

In an excerpt from “Mountain With a Death Wish,” by Rowe Findley, Truman gave an interview during the weeks prior to the eruption and published in an August 2017 National Geographic Magazine.

Truman loved his whiskey and his mountain and was not at all shy about using quite colorful language.  “I’m going to stay right here because, I’ll tell you why: my home and my (expletive) life’s here.  My wife and I, we both vowed years and years ago that we’d never leave Spirit Lake.  We loved it.  It’s part of me and I’m part of that (expletive) mountain.  And if it took my place and I got out of here, I wouldn’t live a week anyway; I wouldn’t live a day, not a (expletive) day.  By God, my wife went down that (expletive) road (expletive) feet first and that’s the way I’m gonna’ go or I’m not gonna’ go.”

“The mountain Harry Truman elected to never leave rewarded him with an eternal embrace, a cataclysmic burial of a magnitude befitting deity more than man, an extravaganza befitting even Harry’s gift for vocal brimstone.”

The photo shown here is Mt. St. Helens today, growing greener every day.

Wildlife have returned and Loowit appears to have mellowed a bit.  The ash that blew that day traveled more than 230 miles.  The distance from Mt. St. Helens to Mt. Adams is 34 miles and 156 miles to Mt. Hood.  Apparently, Loowit still could not decide and drifted to both mountains and probably is resting peacefully with both Wy’east and Klickitat.

A visit to one of the  many visitors centers and viewing areas most likely will fill in some of the blanks and provide more facts as opposed to legend and theory. However, there is always a place in our busy lives for legend and theory, power, love jealousy…and romance!