Meany persuaded the _Press_ to finance an expedition, and a party was organized, with James H. Christie, former hunter, Indian fighter, and arctic explorer, as its leader. The company started up the Elwha River in December 1889. It was believed that the mountains visible from the coast were but an outer rim within which there was a central valley, and by making a winter start the expedition hoped to be over the first range and ready for work in the valley when spring should come. This ignorance concerning the true character of the mountains might have brought a tragic ending to the expedition had the explorers not been experienced and resourceful in wilderness travel. Six months later the party emerged from the mountains at Lake Quinault, having endured severe hardships and privations without any serious mishap. They had blazed a crude trail across the heart of the unknown Olympics. They brought back photographs and a rough topographic map of the country. They reported on its plants, animals, and minerals, and they named 50 peaks, rivers, lakes, and other landmarks. Many of these names remain today. Press Valley, on the Elwha, was named for the newspaper which financed the expedition, and the Bailey Range was named for William H. Bailey, the paper’s proprietor. Mount Meany perpetuates the name of the young city editor, and Mounts Christie and Barnes honor, respectively, the leader and narrator of the expedition. The _Press_ explorers had been out of the wilderness but a few weeks when another expedition was organized. The Oregon Alpine Club furnished a scientific staff and much of the money; the Army supplied Lieutenant O’Neil to lead the party and soldiers to assist. During the summer of 1890 this expedition crossed the Olympic Mountains from Hood Canal to Lake Quinault by way of the Skokomish and Quinault Rivers. They, too, left names on many geographic features. O’Neil Pass and O’Neil Creek were named for the leader, Mount Henderson for the botanist of the party, and Mount Bretherton for the naturalist-cartographer. In his report O’Neil stated, “while the country on the outer slope of these mountains is valuable, the interior is useless for all practicable purposes. It would, however, serve admirably for a national park.” These expeditions stimulated settlement on the fringes of the Olympic Peninsula and in the river valleys. They also led to further exploration of the interior and to a realization of the vast recreational resources of this mountain fastness. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PARK Olympic Forest Reserve was established in 1897 by Executive order, and was surveyed during the next 3 years, by Messrs. Arthur Dodwell and Theodore Rixon. They produced the first accurate map and gave a detailed account of the forests.