VAGABOND – OLYMPIC PENINSULA

[Music] so whoever you are wherever you may be this is a story for you for all those endowed with the spirit of a vagabond there's a little bit of england where we're going to travel to it's the original land of the totem pole too situated in the great natural environment of the canadian northwest there's enjoyment to be found here for everyone from the scenic lover to the sportsman also as a fitting and dramatic climax to our program we're going to fly to mount olympus where we'll visit with four people who are dedicating a year of their lives to science join us then as we fly high in the sky glide over glaciers on our trip to british columbia and the olympic peninsula [Music] hi everybody welcome to our show bill byrd speaking our neighbor to the north canada is a very fascinating a very large country our people are friendly and they're well they're different in many ways than the people of the united states and the fact that they they think a bit differently because they're part of the british commonwealth now i'd like to show you where we're going actually by taking a look at our map over here we're going to start up in in victoria and of course victoria is a fascinating and a beautiful city then we're going to cross the strait of juan de fuca then finally arrive back in the united states again an olympic national park where then we will take a plane that's equipped with skis and we will land on the top of mount olympus and visit four people with a very unusual occupation i'm sure you're going to enjoy every minute of our story our champagne flight on western airlines combines speed with luxury we take off from international airport in los angeles and within a matter of hours land at the city of victoria in the canadian province of british columbia carved out of the evergreen forest the coast mountains and the pacific ocean victoria is a busy commercial center which retains much of its original english atmosphere prior to the gold rush of 1858 less than 500 people call it their home today it has some sixty thousand residents the city derives its name experienced this greatest boom during the reign of queen victoria the thriving metropolis also serves as the capital of british columbia this is the famous parliament building well another touch of merry old england to tally ho an old-fashioned horse-drawn cart which for only a dollar and a quarter takes us on an enjoyable leisurely two-hour drive around the city one of the most impressive landmarks is the empress hotel owned and operated by the canadian pacific railway almost like a fairyland along the way we pass numerous castles [Music] another prominent landmark still bustling with the sea stories of old salts is the maritime building a great natural harbor situated in the strategic position victoria has long been the home port of some of the world's most daring seamen an expert in these matters is captain mcfarland who points out the significance of the old figureheads used on the 19th century sailing ships victoria is also world famous for its small shops which specialize in china and handmade woolens especially silverware the silversmiths here take great justifiable pride in their work [Music] some of the silverware is made right here other pieces were brought from england generations ago all of its unique and quite valuable and although half the globe separates these people from the islands of great britain the atmosphere of a typical english town is unmistakable and self-evident wherever you go the english are not the only people who left their mark upon this land long before the english came the red man called this his home to perpetuate the memory of the many tribes who lived in this region particularly those who originated the totem pole thunderbird park was created in 1940 the thunderbird the most powerful creature of indian mythology lightning flashed from its eyes with its belted harpooned whales [Music] thunder flapped from its wings a grotesque but highly sophisticated art the totem pole became the most predominant part of their artistic culture and eventually one of the great primitive art styles of the world the collection here at thunderbird park is generally recognized as a finest group of totem poles in existence [Music] the children at the park have fun by uh posing as a live totem pole of course in modern times many of us may look upon these wooden carvings as being ludicrous sometimes a little silly but to the ancient tribes the totem pole was a serious business and it is today with mongol martin the chief carver at thunderbird park a master carver and painter mungo martin is a native of the quakituto tribe and one of the few surviving authorities of his people's ancient culture his biggest project to date is a special carving for queen elizabeth for canada's centennial celebration each part of martin's totem pole symbolizes a certain phase of his people's history to make his work even more authentic martin uses the same tools some of them hundreds of years old which his ancestors worked with [Applause] assisting in the work are the two younger carvers david martin mungo's son and henry hunt they are now accomplished craftsmen besides their artistic appeal the poles have a useful function some supported the main beams of houses others formed part of a framed doorway these were used as interiors to to decorate the home out front they displayed the crest of the family and at death they were used as grave markers an art that thankfully has not been forgotten another exhibit of great interest in thunderbird park is the famous indian dugout canoe called the tilikum beginning in may 1901 captain j.c voss fulfilled a lifetime ambition by being the first man to pilot an indian canoe over 40 000 miles he crossed the pacific the indian and south atlantic oceans and arrived at margate england a dangerous voyage ours of course is not quite as dangerous or taking quite as long but in some ways it's just as gratifying especially when we stop at the bouchard gardens located 13 miles from victoria the gardens cover 25 acres and constitute one of the outstanding showplaces of the pacific northwest it's difficult to believe now looking at the bountiful display of moss and flowers and shrubs and trees but this same spot was once and for which flowers and plants and buildings were imported from all over the world one of the real delights visiting here is to have tea in the late afternoon it's quiet restful air is filled with a fragrance of flowers and the heart with the joy of springtime [Music] well after our tour of victoria and british columbia we're getting ready to go by ship across the canadian border to port angeles in the state of washington the ride across juan de fuca strait on the ferry takes about an hour and a half in marked contrast to so many other border lines you're hardly aware of the fact that you're crossing from one nation to another and after a pleasant voyage we soon see port angeles where we'll continue our journey [Music] well we hope you enjoyed our visit into canada later on in our series we'll be seeing other places in that wonderful country that lies to the north of the united states i might add that the canadian tourist bureau certainly welcomes people who visit this country of theirs they make special pains to make sure that they have lots of maps and things for the tourists when they come into the country and of course it is a beautiful country to see whatever parts you visit now in the second half of our program we're actually going to return to the united states then we're going to fly as i said before to the very top of mount olympus we're getting ready to embark from port angeles on the olympic peninsula in northern washington port angeles is well known as a timber and logging center and is a port of entry from canada to the united states and they also have more than their share of some great sports fishing and that's what our party is heading for now with cliff our guide hooking up some special mineral bait our host for the trip is the operator of aggies restaurant in port angeles for him it's an ideal way to combine a little business with pleasure by bringing home some nice fresh fish for his customers well we'll find out pretty soon whether or not they're biting today [Music] reel him in nice and slow and as soon as they can almost see mr salmon eye to eye cliff nets him brings him aboard looks like charlotte's landing herself a nice eight pounder she's pleased with her first hookup and she has every right to be oh i've had days when i couldn't catch a fish in an aquarium [Music] well after leaving port angeles we now head south and enter one of the great natural wonderlands on the american continent the snow-capped olympic mountains [Music] olympic national park is a unique wilderness of rugged mountains rain forests wildlife glaciers and lakes streams and seascapes altogether it covers some three-quarters of a million acres that ranks as the fifth in size in our national park system men such as chief ranger stanley mcgowan men of integrity and character and men who love nature as a father loves his children guide and protect these forests throughout the year and those who look at these mountains for the first time can experience the same sensation that captain john mears did in 1788 was a myth that focused into reality a fit home for the gods and thus he called the highest peak mount olympus through the years the name remained the same on maps and in the minds of the thousands who flock here each year [Music] sunshine to streak through the trees and upon the special nature paths the young lady with our group incidentally attends vassar college each year she comes here to supervise a group of children who volunteer their services for making the special gravel pathways [Music] all about us well what do we have here definitely a change of scenery and certainly an increase in activity well in his own way this boy along with dozens of others is digging for treasure not for gold though but clams razor clams which are found in great abundance here on the pacific coastline all of this playground along the coast is still part of the olympic national park making it diversified enough for every taste while uh on the beach chatting with our young clam diggers we discovered there are two types of razor clams some of them one-edged others two-edged wonder if anyone has dug up an electric razor clam we may have to bury our writer for that line well in addition to digging clams gathering drift [Music] [Applause] [Music] at dawn the following day we take off from the airport at port angeles in a specially constructed plane our destination is the top of mount olympus our cameraman gene mccabe is the first man who's ever been granted permission by the park department to photograph this dramatic story while flying over the precipice canyons the shining glaciers and the vast snow fields i might explain that we're on our way to visit four men and a woman dedicated scientists who are living on top of mount olympus gathering invaluable material in conjunction with a geophysical year [Music] now if you watch closely you can just barely see the group as we quickly pass over them their main headquarters located right on the top of mount olympus slowly and carefully our pilot build fairchild makes the approach to the glacier [Music] the usual rubber wheels would be impossible to land on this kind of terrain so the plane is equipped with a special pair of skis controlled by a hydraulic jack [Music] because of the tricky air currents in this high altitude it's always a thrill and relief to make a happy landing mount olympus itself 7 900 feet high in name and in reality a mountain for the gods for in this world of snow and ice and rugged cliffs man seems like an uninvited guest needless to say the scientists who live alone up here are only too glad to have an occasional visitor the men are looking for girls who'd like a steady job as a matter of fact but so far they've had no applicants the only woman in the party is mrs noel gardner who has her hands full taking care of the household chores for her husband and his three companions what do these men do up here well their work is is tedious and technical as jim hawkins explains it involves such things as taking daily readings of wind velocity information never gathered before and which when compiled and evaluated in future years will add immeasurably to man's knowledge of the earth during a geophysical year scientists throughout the world gather material and compile statistics which they hope will solve many of the mysteries of our planet mount olympus is of particular interest to the scientists because here for hundreds thousands even millions of years the wind snow have written their history on the permanent pages of the rocks and the glaciers as part of their routine the men go out on daily patrols [Music] these men all of them attached to the department of meteorology at the university of washington keep busy seven days a week while on patrol they always travel in groups they can never be too cautious one mistake one wrong step could easily be their last even though they take the same trails over and over again they can never be certain of the icy surface upon which they're walking when there's any doubt at all then one man goes forward while the other man acts as an anchorman with a rope attached to his waist but these are dedicated men as in war when a man really believes in what he's fighting for he respects danger but has no fear of it and these men in their way are fighting a war a war against ignorance [Music] another part of the men's daily activity involves the inspection of the crevasses in the glaciers no gardener is going to do that right now and this is extremely dangerous [Music] the cracks in these icy canyons enable the men to examine the exact amount of snowfall which occurred during a certain period in history [Music] you have to remember that these glaciers because of the high altitude have remained intact since the ice age they've guarded their secrets carefully for many many years only now at great personal risk are these men finding out facts by their year-long study and daily measurements which no one has ever known [Music] before the biggest obstacle the men have to overcome is not the elements but loneliness however their love of science urges them on and their faith in man makes this mountain more than ever a mountain of the gods well visiting with these men has been like taking a trip to another world a cold white world and as we leave zooming down the site of the glacier in spectacular fashion our own world becomes warmer and brighter because we know the search for truth and beauty still goes on [Music] you know it's quite a story the people who are spending their lives or at least a couple of years out of their lives on the top of mount olympus in a very isolated wilderness as a matter of fact we've had the pleasure of running into other members of the international geophysical year teams throughout the the world doing and performing their various jobs it's amazing that these scientists not only of the united states but of other countries in the world working together to discover the secrets of mother earth and also of the space we got to talking actually after meeting these people up there and thinking that when the day comes that they do conquer space and they reach the moon we got to thinking are they really going to find anything any better than there is right here on earth anything more beautiful than we saw on top of mount olympus i rather doubt it well if you've enjoyed seeing our story enjoyed meeting those very interesting people that you have the true spirit of adventure [Music] you