UNION Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/columbiariverOObarr oiumDia UNION PACIFIC THE LIBRARY 8f THE APR 1 4 IS?? R iver rie e mi o By {Benjamin H. {Barrows \SSUedL / 5 i/ J asjenger £D Tzion czci/ie cii/roacf oznpazn/ fna/icz, e£rcLS/td. Copyrighted for Union Pacific Railroad Company by E. L. LOMAX, G. P. A,, Omaha, Neb., 1QIO The Columbia River A wall of terrible breakers marks the mouth of the Columbia, Achilles of rivers. Other mighty streams may swim feebly away seaward, may sink into foul marshes, may trickle through the ditches of an oozy delta, may scatter among sand bars the cur- rents that once moved majestic and united. But to this heroic flood was destined a short life and a glorious one — a life all one strong, victorious struggle, from the mountains to the sea. It has no infancy, the two great branches collect its waters up and down the continent. They join and the Columbia is born to full manhood. It rushes forward, jubilant, through its magnificent chasm, and leaps to its death in the Pacific. (See Note A, page 93.) — Theodore Winthrop (1853) 8 S 4254 THE COLUMBIA RIVER WHY THE SPANIARDS CAME HE oft repeated story of those spacious times when Spain was in her glory and at the height of power and con- quest, acknowledging but one rival as mis- tress of the seas, possesses a charm which still holds and fascinates. Familiar as it is to students and scholars, our interest in those stirring scenes is fresh and vital, and there are few pages of history so filled with romance, adventure and daring. For we. who are of the race of pioneers, never tire of the record of man’s conquest of the wi id erness. The year 1492, which signalized the crowning triumph of Columbus, also witnessed the election of Pope Alexander VI. Following the d iscovery of the New World, Portugal and Spain in a few years became involved in bitter dispute over territory discovered and acquired by one or the other. The hardy sailors of each kingdom had ventured boldly into unknown seas, and jealousy regarding ownership, even by right of discovery, soon develope d. The Pope was recognized by the Christian world of that day as the undisputed arbiter in international quarrels, and the contending principals called upon him to adjust and settle their claims. The Pontiff, in 1493, solved the vexing problem, by tracing a line on the map, Spain in her glory In dispute with Portugal Pope recognized as arbiter Three Th e Columbia River Dividing line established which disposed of three-fourths of the human race, and more than th ree-fourths of the world of land and water; thus giving the two greatest maritime powers in Europe each one half of the pagan world. The Portuguese were, under this extraordinary grant, to enjoy and possess the exclusive right of discovery, trade, conquest and dominion in all the seas and territories not previously belonging to a Christian prince or people east of a meridian line passing three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands; and the Spaniards were to possess all seas and pagan lands West of that line. Under the sanction and guarantee of the highest power in Europe the two continued with renewed vigor the search for the passage to India. And thus it chanced that so much of discovery and ex- ploration in America fell to the Spaniard; he came by right of authoritative appointment to an assigned territory. The Portuguese colonized in Southern Africa, Asia and Brazil; the Spaniards planted col- onies in the West Indies, examined the coasts of the adjacent great continent, and persevered in ex- ploration, the natives always assuring them of the existence of a great sea to the westward. Balboa THE FORERUNNERS It was in 1513 that Vasco Nunez de Balboa first saw the majestic Pacific, from a point near the pres- ent site of Panama, and from that time on events in the historic drama of this continent moved rapidly. Four The Columbia River In 1520, Fernando Magellan sailed through the strait which bears his name; M exico was discovered by Cortez in 1518, and the Spaniards immediately after its conquest turned their attention to the American northwest coast, still seeking the north- west passage to India. This quest was prosecuted with great vigor by Cortez and his successors; hence the conquest and settlement of the Pacific Coast, the explorations far into the interior, the founding of the missions, and the laying of those founda- tions of Spanish power which held sway through so many changing scenes and slow revolving years. This activity continued until about the beginning of the seventeenth century, and then ceased almost entirely for a hundred years, th e weak and selfish policy of Spain preventing even her own subjects from energetic exploration, and her exclusive do- minion acting as a bar to men of other nations. It is curious to note that the Panama canal proj- ect was under discussion as far back as the time of Philip II of Spain, and two Flemish engineers were sent out with instructions to examine and report. They found such overwhelming obstacles, and such dangers to the kingdom, that the King ordered that, in future, no one should attempt or even propose this undertaking, on penalty of death. Le ss than thirty years after the fourth voyage of Columbus, in which he explored the coasts of Cen- tral America, plans were prepared by Spanish trav- elers for Charles V, King of Spain, for the construc- tion of. aTanah across the Isthmus, which would give Magellan Cortez Conquest of Pacific Coast and founding of missions Panama Canal an early project Five Captain Gray, with chart in hand, conversing with one of his officers Th e Columbia River the ships of Spain an easy passage in their search for “the wealth of Indian commerce.” Charles’s son and successor, Philip II of Spain, in his fear of the growth of English sea power, which had destroyed his great Armada, not only abandoned plans for a canal, but forbade them on the ground that it wou Id be an impious violation of “the Divine Will to unite two oceans which the Creator of the world had sepa- rated.” During the century following th is curious edict speculations concerning an Isthmian Canal were intermittent, but in 1694, a f ew years before the par- liamentary union of England and Scotland, the Scotch Parliament incorporated “The Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies,” one of th e purposes of which was to construct a Central American canal which would shorten the route to China, Japan, and the East Indies. With the failure of this enterprise, definite plans for an Isthmian canal slumbered for another hundred years; but, in the early part of the nineteenth century, canal explorations began again in serious earnest. Alexander von Humboldt, the great German scientist and explorer, planned and mapped six different routes for a canal to connect the Atlan- tic and the Pacific; and, in 1827, Goethe, the poet and scientist, commenting upon Humboldt’s plans, made some significant and interesting prophecies regarding the project as affecting the future of the United States. Renewed activity in exploration of the North- west Pacific Coast began with Russia, and the voy- ages of Behring and others in 1 7 28, 1 7 29, and 1741 led Russia explores Northwest Coast Seven The Columbia River to a more exact knowledge of that region. In 1774 and 17 79, three expeditions were sent out by Spain, and the entire west coast was examined as far north as the sixtieth degree of latitude. In the dawning days of discovery on the Northwest Pacific Coast, the navigators were of diverse nationalities; from Spain came Bodega, Cabrillo, Viscaino, Perez and Hecata; from England Drake, Vancouver, Cook and M eares; Vitus Behring was a Dane in Russian employ; Gray and Kendrick were Americans. Juan de Fuca was a Greek sailor who claimed to have sailed through what were then the fabled Straits of Anian, in 1592, and Meares recognized his title to discov- ery when he entered those waters, in 1788, and confirme a th e name of the Straits o f Fu ca, which it retains to this day; and Vancouver also gave per- functory assent. 1 he most eminent geographers now agree that de Fuca’s story of his discovery was pure fabrication, and that he never saw the straits which bear his name. THE FIRST VISITOR The second of these Spanish voyages was com- manded by Captain Bruno Hecata. He records that, on August 15, 17 75, he arrived opposite an opening in the coast, in latitude 46 1 7 \ from which a current rushed seaward so strongly that his ship was unable to enter. He was certain that it was Spaniard mouth of some great river, and for another day first cruised in the vicinity hoping to effect an entrance; visitor but failing so to do, in spite of strenuous endeavor, Eight The Columbia River he renewed his voyage toward the south. Hecata was undoubtedly the first navigator who saw the mouth of the Columbia. 1 he opening he called “Ensenada de Asuncion” or Assumption Inlet, and named the point on its north side Cape San Roque, and that on the south side Cape Frondoso, or Leafy Cape. The charts of this expedition were pub- lished in Mexico shortly after the termination of the voyage, and the entrance is called Ensenada de Hecata or Hecata’s Inlet, and the river Rio de San Roque or River of Saint Roc. That this was the Columbia, the great river of the western side of America, first entered seventeen years later by an American sailor commanding an American ship, is unquestioned, and to Hecata belongs the honor of being the first visitor, on August 15, 1775. While the old Spanish navigator was cruising up and down the Pacific Coast, the colonies of the young United States were busy with troubles of their own, and not devoting any time to exploration; their best energies being directed to repelling invaders and achieving their independence. At th e close of th e war the power of Spain in the N ew World had dwindled to small proportions, in comparison with her former position of supremacy, and the Pacific was open territory to the adventurous sailors of all nations. English, French and American explorers pushed discoveries vigorously, adding immeasurably to a knowledge of both the coast and the interior. The results of Captain Cook’s voyage, in 17 76, gave England a strong advantage in the fur traffic Hecata’s Inlet English secure advantage Nine $ Medal struck to commemorate the departure of the Columbia and the Washington to the Northwest on a fur-trading expedition sent out by six Boston merchants The Columbia River between the Pacific Coast of America and China. Captain Meares of the East India Company, in 1788, endeavored to find Hecata’s Inlet but failed, and thereafter denied emphatically the existence of the so-called river San Roque. He found and gave name to Deception Bay and Cape Disappointment — names which they still bear. THE DISCOVERER It was in the summer of 1787 that two American ships were fitted out in Boston, to engage in trade on the Pacific Northwest Coast: the Columbia, whereof John Kendrick was master, and the sloop Washington, commanded by Robert Gray. The six Boston merchants who owned and outfitted these vessels believed that, in combining the fur trade of that coast wi th the silk and tea trade of China, a fortune was assure d. As one of the most noted ships that ever sailed under the American flag, a short description of the Columbia may be of interest. She was built, in 1773, by James Briggs at Hobart’s Land- ing, and was a full rigged ship 83 feet long and of 2 1 2 tons burden. She had two decks, a figurehead, and a square stern and was mounted with ten guns — a war- like armament which often proved useful even on her peaceful trading voyages. The officers and men of the Columbia were Americans through and through — the hardy stock o f the N ew England sea- board — and every man an able seaman. The sturdy carpenter of the ship was Samuel Yendell of the old North End of Boston. He had, when a boy, seen The fur and tea trade The ship Columbia Samuel Yendell Eleven The Columbia in a squall The Columbia River service in the old frigate Tartar, and he had helped to build the Constitution. He was the last sur- vivor of the famous crew of the Columbia and died, in 1861, at the great age of 92 — respected as an honest, upright man. William Eustis Russe i], i ate governor of Massachusetts, was his great-grandson. On its first voyage to the Northwest Coast, in August, 1 7 88, while near the 46th degree of latitude, the Washington was well nigh destroyed while endeavoring to enter an opening, and this was, in all probability, the mouth of the Columbia, afterwards discovered by her commander. The ship grounded, and Captain Gray went on shore, where he was violently attacked by Indians, one seaman being killed and the mate wounded, and the gallant sailor gladly escaped from this inhospitable shore. Gray made trading, coasting and exploring voyages dur- ing I 7 88-89, and, in the latter part of the year I 7 89, took command of the Columbia and sailed to China, where he arrived on November 16, 1789. The hardy American sailor of a century ago knew full well the perils of the great deep. And, when we consider the kind of craft wherein he ventured to far lands through well-nigh unknown seas, we no longer wonder at the gravely-worded documents so often used by the mercantile marine of those days. Here is a copy of the bill of lading covering the cargo of the Columbia on her homeward voyage. Shaw & Randall, two Boston men recently established at Canton, were agents for the ship; they also acted as consular agents for the Government: The Washington in peril Thirteen The Columbia River Quaint old document “Shipped by the grace of God, in good order and condition, by Shaw & Randall, in and upon the good ship called the Columbia, whereof is master under God for this present voyage Robert Gray, and now riding at anchor at Wampoak, and by God’s grace bound for Boston in America, to say, 220 chests bohea tea, 170 half chests do., 144 quarter chests do., to be delivered unto Samuel Parkman, Esq., or to his assigns — and so God send the good ship to her desired port in safety — amen. Dated in Canton, Feby. 3, 1790. (Signed) ROBERT GRAY.” Sailed around the world Kendrick pioneer navigator Gray and Vancouver It was not a good trading season and the thousand sea otter skins Gray brought were so Id at a sacrifice in Canton, and the ship’s repairs were expensive. From Canton, Gray sailed around the Cape of Good H ope and arrived in Boston, August 10, 1790 — the good ship Columbia had carried the Stars and Stripes for the first time around the world! Captain Kendrick, who succeeded Gray in com- mand of the Washington, made a thorough examina- tion of the Northwest Coast, and is probably the pio- neer navigator, belonging to a civilized nation, who sailed entirely through the Straits of Fuca — named after the old Greek pilot, who said he discovered them in 1592. Captain Gray, still master of the Columbia, and bearing a sea letter signed by President Washing- ton, sailed from Boston, September 28, 1790, and arrived at the Straits of Fuca, June 5, 1791. H e remained there trading and exploring to the north, until the early months of 1792, when he sailed Fourteen The Columbia River south. On the 29th of April he fell in with the % English navigator, Vancouver, near the Straits of Fuca, and the two sailors talked over many th ings. Among the matters touched on, during this visit of the two commanders, there was one incident which deeply impressed Gray. In the course of conver- sation, he told Vancouver of his ineffectual attempt to enter the mouth of a river in latitude 46° 17 and that he stood off for nine days trying to make an entrance through those terrible breakers, but without success. Now Vancouver, one of the best and most experienced sailors afloat, scheming and jealous withal, had just finished a most thorough and exhaustive survey of the coast from Cape Men- docino to the Straits of Fuca; he had noted Meares Deception Bay in 46° 19, and remarked that the sea changed from natural to river-colored water; did not stop to make further examination — in fact did not deem it worth while. The open and apparent fact of a mighty wall of breakers across this real or imaginary mouth of a river was, in his opinion, proof positive of one thing at least, namely, that the fierce line of resistance made the place inaccessible. Vancouver went still farther and stated his emphatic belief that no safe port or large river could be found anywhere along that coast of many perils. So the two rivals parted, in, perhaps, no amicable fashion, each doggedly adhering to his own theory. Gray, irritated by Vancouver’s doubts, sailed to the south, more determined than ever to find that river, where he nearly lost the Washington. Reaching Vancouver’s survey and schemes Gray determines to find river Fifteen Th e Columbia River his destination in two weeks, he anchored in the safe security of that piece of water which we now call Gray’s Harbor. His seamanship and judgment were not at fault, for Gray’s Harbor and Shoalwater Bay are, at the present time, the two largest and safest harbors on th e Pacific Coast — save only San Francisco and Puget Sound. Here he made all in readiness, came out, and, on M ay II, 1792, squared his ship stem on, straight at the seemingly Hobart’s Landing, North River, Scituate, Mass. invinci bi e wa 11 of waters, and, with every]?sail j?set, plunged through and came to anchor in a mighty stream of fresh water, ten miles above its mouth — and the Columbia River belonged to the United States thenceforward forever. Gray’s discovery of, and entrance into, the Columbia furnished our prin- cipal and valid claim to the Oregon region, and the value of h is service became apparent in the after years of controversy; for, if Vancouver’s claim had Gray's Harbor Gray enters Columbia Sixteen The Columbia River stood, we should have lost Oregon. On May 20th, Gray left, getting safely across the bar after several attempts. We have no record of his revisit- ing the scene of his discovery. After leaving the Columbia he fell in with the Spanish commander, Quadra, told him of his discovery and gave him a copy of his chart; and, long afterwards, in the struggle for the possession of Oregon between the United States and Great Britain, it was th is chart which out- flanked the cunningly devised schemes of Vancouver and the English ministry. Robert Gray was born at Tiverton, Rhode Island, May, 1757; entered the naval service of the United States during the War of the Revolution and served with distinction as an officer. H e married in 1794, and died, while in command of a coasting vessel, at Charleston, S. C., in th e summer o f 1806, aged forty- nine years, leaving a wife and four daughters. Forty years afterward Martha Gray applied for a pension, based on her hus- band’s services to the United States, in war, and as an ex- plorer. She was given a town- ship of land in Oregon and a pension of $500 a year. It is a story of brave adventure which will never be forgotten, and the hardy, resolute, courageous young American (he was only 35) stands for the type of men who made and shaped this country in the Drinking Cup of Captain Robert Gray Chart given to Spaniard saves Oregon Sketch of Captain Gray Seventeen Upper Columbia Lake, in British Columbia, the Source of the Columbia River. The Columbia River dawning days of the Republic. His fame rests secure, forever associated inseparably with the majes- tic river which he found and named. THE AFTERCOMERS But other actors soon appeared on the scene. In October of the same year, 1792, Broughton, in command of the armed tender Chatham, entered the Columbia and found to his great surprise another ship there, an American trader, the brig Jenny of Bristol, R. I. Broughton explored the river for more than one hundred miles, reaching a point as far as the present site of Fort Vancouver. 1 henceforward history is full of dramatic incident and the portrayal of stirring, strenuous life; these were the early years wherein are disclosed the opening scenes in our national epic of exploration. The Louisiana Pur- chase, of 1803, stirred our Government into unusual activity along the lines of exploration and survey. The far-famed expedition of Lewis an d Clark, organized for the purpose of gaining an accurate knowledge of the newly acquired territory, reached the western slope. Early in 1803, these explorers left the head waters of the Missouri, crossed the Divide, found the Snake River and proceeded down that tributary until they reached the Columbia, which they explored to its mouth; remaining there during the winter of 1803-6. It is far beyond the scope of this brief summary to follow the history of this Northwest Country further. From the establishment of Astoria, in 1811, Broughton explores Columbia Lewis and Clark expedition Astoria founded, 1811 Nineteen Railroad survey Columbia drains an empire Lava soil most productive The Columbia River what a wonderful succession of brilliant pictures of empire-making is shown, and what a list of famous names shines from those old-time pages: Hunt, Stewart, McKenzie and the many heroes of the fur trade; Bonneville, Commander Wilkes, “Pathfinder” Fremont, Stevens, McClellan, Mullan, Warren, and many others more or less noted. A curious bit of history from those old records comes to light in the account of a survey made by the engineers’ corps, in 1855, for a proposed railway from Sacramento to the Columbia; the military escort was in charge of Lieutenants H. G. Gibson, George Crook, J. B. Hood and P. H. Sheridan. THE GREAT BASIN It is not necessary to detail the numerous surveys of the Columbia River basin made by the Govern- ment and the railways, many of which are exhaustive and full of interest. The great basin of the Colum- bia, and its tributaries, has a drainage area of nearly 245,000 square miles, extending from the 42d to the 53d parallel — a distanceof 900 miles — draining the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. This is an area larger than all N ew England and the Middle States, with Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia’ 4 added; a territory larger ^than ‘the LJnited Kingdom, or Germany, or France, or Austria-Hungary. UNDYING SOIL OF THE LAVA DELUGE The volcanic lands of Italy, France, the Sand- wich Islands, or, in fact, any of the regions which in remote times received the baptism of a 1 ava over- Twenty The Columbia River flow, are always pointed out as examples of unusu- ally rich soil. Centuries of cultivation do not seem to destroy its productive virtue or impair the rich- ness of its fertility. It is practically an indestruct- ible soil which never wears out, and possesses, so it would seem, the faculty of rejuvenation. This entire region is formed of overlying lava deposit and of extraordinary thickness. The scientists tell us that, when the upheaval took place, there occurred the grandest lava-flow which has ever been known on this planet. It covered an area of 200,000 square miles of western states and territories, commencing in California as streams, and rising gradually until it submerged all the low-lying coun- try. In northern Oregon and Washington it became an absolutely appalling universal flood, changing the entire original face of the country. This lava del- uge covered a portion of northern California, northwestern Nevada, nearly all of Oregon, Wash- ington and Idaho, and ran far north into British Columbia. Professor LeConte estimates the ave- rage thickness of this layer at 2,000 feet, and its greatest thickness at 3,700 feet. It is certain that, at that time, there were any number of volcanoes active in the Cascade Range up and down the coast — those silent, beautiful, snow-mantled sentinels which today are so admired by every traveler. When we consider that underlying lava forms the basis for the richest known soil, there is no longer need for wonder at the incomparable fertility of the Willam- ette Valley or the Palouse Country or any of the Covers most of Northwest Is well nigh immortal Twenty-one The Columbia R iver marvelous fruit districts of Oregon and Washington. Lava is the always old, but ever youthful, mother of the soil — and it is well-nigh immortal. SPANISH AND INDIAN NAMES Carver called river the “Oregon” Indian names expressive From the time of the earliest visitors to the in- terior, the Indians asserted the existence of a great river to the west; and on the maps of America, published early in the eighteenth century, one or more such rivers were represented. Captain Jonathan Carver of Connecticut lived for three years among the Indians of the Upper Mississippi, and in his published narrative, written ten years after, he speaks of a great river of the West as the “Oregon’’ or “Origan;’’ and this is the first time the word appears of record. It is not an Indian word, and some claim that it was in- vented by Carver, but inasmuch as it was, and is, a Spanish word, “oregan” (meaning the wi id marjoram or wild thyme) , and considering the further fact that the plant was found in great abundance along the coast, this is strong evidence of its Spanish origin and meaning. Confusion in the nomenclature of this region has arisen, owing to the differently derived sources, and these were: The Indian names; those given by the Spanish, English an d A merican navigators; names applied by the early explorers; by the fur traders; and lastly by the final settlers. First and always the Indian never makes a mistake in naming a natural object; when he saw the rounded dome on the noblest mountain on a 11 that coast he called it “Tacoma,” “nourishing breast.” Twenty-two The Columbia River The Spaniards left few names, the most of them having been given to capes and headlands and channel inlets or reaches of th e sea, Coeur d’Alene, the name of a beautiful lake in Washington, means “heart of an awl,’’ a term applied to the Indians of that section by the French voyageurs of the H udson Bay Company, who found the natives such keen traders that they called them “awl hearts’’ or “sharp hearts.” The famous Palouse Country, unrivaled in the world, perhaps, as a wheat-producing region, is a corrupted form of an old French word, “pelouse,” meaning a “greensward or lawn” — a felicitous title for the magnificent country to which it is ap- plied. The chief of the Indians of the Spokane district was called “Illim-Spokane,” the “son of the sun;” hence the word means, literally, “children of the sun.” The Indians called the Columbia “Sho- catilicum,” or “friendly water,” or, in the Chi- nook tongue, “water friend.” The name of The Dalles is rather misleading; the old French word “dalle” means a plate, a flagstone, a slab — there are myriads of oval or square-shaped stones in the river bed at this point, and in the valley above, which the term would fit; but the French trapper called a chasm, or a defile, or a gorge, “dalles,” an d “ Dalles” it has remained. In an old romance, written in Provencal French, it is related that “the chevalier was in a great rage when he returned to his castle and his sword clanged furi- ously on the dalles, as he strode across the court- yard.” Other investigators claim derivation from Few Spanish, many French names in Northwest Twenty-three Beginning of the Columbia River, at the Head of Upper Columbia Lake, The Col umbia River the French word “d’aller,” a mill race. Multnomah means, “down the waters;” Kulshan (Mount Baker) “the great white watcher” — a poetic name for a mountain; Chelan, “beautiful water;” Umatilla, “sand- blown-by-the-wind;’ ' Walla Walla, ' ‘meeting of the waters;” Wenatchee, “the butterfly.” The geographical names in Oregon and Wash- ington are full of interest, and some curious bits of history are disclosed when we go back to the man in whose honor this mountain, or that body of water, was named. There is Rainier, the splendid prince of the range, bearing what seems to be a French name. But Peter Rainier (born 1740) was an Eng- lish R ear Admiral and a man of note when Van- couver gave his name to the grandest mountain peak on the Coast. The Regnier family were French Hugenots who fled to England after the revocation of the edict of Nantes (1685); the first exile, Daniel Regnier, had a son Peter who married an English lady and assume a th e name o f R ainier. His son Peter was the famous Admiral. Rainier shared in the Trafalgar promotions of 1805, was advanced to full Admiral and afterwards sent to Parliament. He served with the East India Com- pany in 1764 and took part in the subjection of the Dutch in Amboyna and Banda. Rainier’s share in that affair was booty amounting to 250,000 pounds sterling, and when he died in 1808 — an old bachelor — he left 25,000 pounds toward the reduc- tion of the national debt. The prosperous city of Port Townsend is’named Twenty-five The Columbia River after George, first Marquis of Townshend (1 724-1807). He was the man who succeeded Wolfe as Commander in Canada and receive d the capitulation of Quebec, and was afterwa rds made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Samuel Hood (1724-1816) was the first Lord Hood. He was commander-in-chief of the forces in North America from 1767 to 1771, and in 1781 joined Admiral Graves at New York. In 1784, after a close contest, he defeated Fox for Parliament, and in 1788 was made Lord of the Admiralty. Vancouver has doubly favored this nobleman by naming Hood’s Canal in his ho nor as well as the noble mountain which overlooks Portland. Th e reasons for naming Mounts Adams and Jef- ferson are, of course, sufficiently clear. Puget Sound was name d after one of Vancouver’s sailing masters, and Mount Baker after another of the navigator’s lieutenants. Mount St. Helens, the fairest and most graceful cone of them all, was named in honor of Lord St. Helens, an Irish peer who received his title in 1791. He had a share in concluding peace with the Ameri- can colonies; represented his country in various places as diplomatist, envoy and ambassador. He never married and died in 1839, at 86, an d the title became extinct. H e was a well-known figure in his day and time, beloved by Fox, and, perhaps, better still, entitled to remembrance as a friend to Dr. Samuel Johnson. After the fashion of his time Vancouver seldom missed an opportunity to compliment some member of the nobility — a Twenty-six The Columbia River slight return for influential patronage — and so we have, in addition to the mountains, Bell ingham Bay, Georgia Gulf, Cape Oxford, and many others. It is interesting to note that the two great naviga- tors were about the same age: Gray born in 1757, and Vancouver in 1758 — the latter died in 1798, aged 40 years, unmarried. (See Note B, page 93.) THE STREAM, ITS SOURCE AND TRIBUTARIES The life of a great man and the life of a great river are well-worn similes in comparative illustration, and obscurity of origin is strikingly common in both in- stances. The Columbia is no exception to the rule, for it must be confessed that this noble stream is born in a singularly unromantic region, where its beginning is marked by very ordinary environment. A narrow valley, bordered by the outlying foot- hills of the Rocky Mountain Range on the east and the Selkirk Range on the west, usually des- ignated as the “East and West Kootenays,” extends for many hundred miles north and south; it averages about five miles in width, and, although in some places wider, it is, for the most part, a great flat-bottomed parallel trough. A little north of the 50th parallel in this valley, which, it will readily be understood, is in British Columbia, are two small lakes, seven miles apart, the upper or southerly being nine, and the lower eight miles in length; these lakes are in places a mile wide, and the upper lake is th e source of the Columbia. Through these lakes the river flows northward for 180 miles to its great bend Source of the Columbia Rises in British Columbia Twenty-seven Th e Columbia River to the south at Boat Encampment, where it receives Canoe River and Portage River. The banks of the upper Iak e are formed by terraces, nearly one hundred feet high, of white silt deposit, and a grassy slope extends from the lake to the base of the mountains. This upper lake is fed by innumerable Fed by small streams and springs; a sparse growth of pop- springs lars and willows marks the banks of the river at the outlet, and below that point the swampy morasses render the stream, in most places, well-nigh impos- sible of approach. From the upper to the lower lake th e river runs through a marshy valley for seven miles. The 1 ower lake presents the same general appearance as the upper. It is well-nigh a rainless region, for, although there is abundant moisture east and west from the lakes and still farther north, scarcely any rain ever falls here, and irrigation is necessary in the Columbia-Kootenay Valley all the way far sou th across the boundary line. The seemingly capricious ways of Nature are well Course illustrated in the course of the Kootenay River. This of the fi ne mountain stream rushes into the valley — larger Kootenay anc J deeper than the Columbia here — just one mile and a half above the Upper Columbia Lake, and, instead of emptying into the lake, turns due south for many a long mile across the boundary, entering the north- west corner of Montana; turns sharply west through northern Idaho, and, veering to the north, returns to British Columbia, and joins the Columbia River 24 miles above the International Boundary Line — both rivers, one flowing north and one south, having Twenty-eight Th e Columbia River run a course of many hundred miles before their union. The geologists tell us that this curious cir- cumstance is accounted for by upheavals in the glacial period; that this whole valley was once packed full of ice, and the disturbance, incident to its moving out, resulted in tipping the bottom o f the upper lake so that its waters flowed to the north, and that where the Kootenay entered there was a sharp slant to the south. Some sort of tremen- dous convulsion evidently occurred, for the river bed of the Kootenay is forty feet higher than Upper Columbia Lake — a sharp decline in a mile and a half. The face of the country in this short dis- tance is a sort of flat terrace wi th an elevation of only 2,700 feet above the sea level and is call ed Canal Flats; a canal was cut through from the Koote- nay to the Upper Lake which was once used by steamboats, making navigation on the Koote- nay-Columbia streams possible. The canal was destroyed by high water in 1894. This elevation gives us the fall or descent of the stream in its journey of 1,200 miles from its source to the ocean floor. A desolate region is th is Columbia Valley to the south; sandy, gravel soil, sparse growth of trees, mostly fir, and scanty grass. A short distance from the end of the upper lake there is a hot spring possessed of considerable medicinal value, which shows a tem- perature of 1 1 2 degrees. It is probable that McGil- livary, the old Northwest Company trader, was the first white man to visit the headwaters of the Col- umbia, in 1800. David Thompson, a geographer in Desolate Valley Twenty-nine Lower Arrow Lake, looking north from Renata The Columbia River the service of the same company, ascended the river Headwaters to its source in 1 809, and established Kootenay House ^ X ^gQQ^ near the lakes; and, thenceforward, the country became more or less familiar to the fur traders, hunters, trappers, and a long list of exploring parties. For a hundred miles, and more, northward from the lakes, the Columbia pursues its tortuous way, wandering through marshy lands, lakelets, lagoons General and swamps. As already noted, Canoe River and course of Portage River mingle their waters with the Columbia Columbia at Boat Encampment, and, from this junction point, the Columbia flows nearly due south for 400 miles, until it makes the great bend westward near the mouth of the Spokane River. From Boat Encamp- ment the entire character of the river changes, as it swerves south, flowing for the first 150 miles mostly through towering canon walls, closely shut in. A little above the Dalles des Morts, seventy miles down from Boat Encampment, a small creek joins the river, and Alexander Ross gives this description of a fantastically weird picture: “ The water of a cataract- creek, after shooting over the brink of a bold precipice, falls in a white sheet onto a broad, flat rock, p ecu jj ar smooth as glass, which forms the first step, then cataract- upon a second, some ten feet lower down, and lastly creek on a third, somewhat lower. It then enters a sub- terraneous vault, formed at the mouth like a funnel; and, after passing through this funnel, it again issues forth wi th a noise of distant thunder. After falling over another step it meets the front of a bold rock which repulses the water with such violence Thirty-one Driftwood Islands Dangerous to navigate The Columbia River as to keep it whirling around in a large basin. Opposite to this rises the wing of a shelving cliff which overhangs the basin and forces back the rising spray, refracting in the sunshine all the colors of the rainbow. The creek then enters the Columbia.” Farther on there are many islands formed entirely of driftwood, so closely and solidly com- pressed by the current that they seem to have been laid in tiers by the hand of man. The old water trail in those northern solitudes was filled wi th dangerous rapids and seething Whirlpools, walled in by somber canon walls, as the French voyageur in his frail canoe knew full we 11, for th e grim names he gave them are full of terrible significance — signs and tokens of the treacherous way which still remain — such as the ‘‘Dalles of Death,” “Dead Man’s Rapids” and ‘ Hell Gate.” At Upper Arrow Lake, which is 33 miles long, th e river is three miles wide, an d 16 miles farther down, at Lower Arrow Lake, there is a stretch of water 42 miles long by two and one-half miles wide. A short distance below, the Kootenay River becomes tributary, and, 24 miles from this junction, Clark’s Fork, or the Pend d’Oreille River, joins the Columbia one mile north of the International Boundary Line. Clark’s Fork, American born as it is, holds its course from infancy to full maturity within the boundaries of its native land; but, at the last, slips across the bord er and dies on foreign soi 1. While Clark’s Fork has been regarded always as the great northern branch of the Columbia, the fact remains that, although longer, it does not carry as much water as the Kootenay. Thirty-two The Columbia River The estimated length of the Columbia (according to the usually accepted authority), from source to mouth, is, approximately, 1,400 miles (see Note C, page 94); the main stream and tributaries having a navigable length of 2,132 miles, which is divided, according to some reports, as follows: Columbia 754, Snake 240, Willamette 224, and 914 on other tributary streams. With the Cascades and The Dalles obstructions removed, navigation will be possible from the mouth of the Columbia to Priest’s Rapids, 409 miles, and, via the Snake River to a point above Lewiston, Idaho, 5 1 6 miles from the sea. Navigation on the Upper Columbia and Snake extends practically from LJmatilla to Lewiston, 266 miles. Length of Columbia and its tributaries FROM THE BOUNDARY LINE SOUTH In the State of Washington many rivers are tribu- tary to the Columbia, the more important being the Kettle, Colville, Spokane, San Poil, Okanogan, Methow, Wenatchee, and Yakima. The Okanogan is 203 miles from the boundary line an a 213 miles from the mouth of the Snake, and is the outlet of a mountain lake 80 miles in length. Little Dalles is a deep and narrow canon 15 miles south of the international line. During the Frazier River gold fever a small steamer was built here and made trips up the Columbia to Death Rapids, 225 miles into British territory. Kettle Falls, seven miles below Little Dalles, are 25 feet high; a few miles farther on are Grand Rapids which in some respects bear close resemblance to the Many tributaries Steamer on Upper Columbia Thirty-three Entrance to Watchau Valley, Lower Arrow Lake, B. C. The Columbia River Cascades; 70 miles more and we reach the mouth of the Spokane River, the outlet of lake Coeur d’Alene. No stream enters the left bank of the Columbia from Spokane River to the Snake, a dis- tance of 310 miles. A f ew miles below Spokane River the Columbia passes through a canon of many colored rocks of black, brown, pink and white and these varicolored massive walls are decorated with red and yellow mosses and have been carved into all manner of fantastic forms of pinnacles, ter- races, devil slides, and giant causeways. Still farther on, Mahkin Rapids, an d the d readed Kalichen Falls and whirlpool rapids, known as a death trap to every daring trader of the early days. Lake Chelan, a beautiful sheet of water and its river two and one- half miles long, tributary to the Columbia, is 228 miles from the boundary. Below the danger- ous Rock Islands Rapids is a colossal rock of bi ack basalt, 100 feet high, anchored amid stream; approaching this from the north, it presents a perfect profile of Queen Victoria, and appropriately has been named Victoria Rock. The river banks here are black, gloomy walls, 3,000 feet high. There are II miles of Priest s Rapids, dangerous even for the canoe man and a bar to navigation. From this point to the mouth of the Snake there is nothing particularly worthy of description. At Ainsworth, Washington, the Columbia receives the Snake — its noblest contributor. It may well be questioned if the Snake, from this junction point to its source, is not the greater of the two branches whose union forms the majestic stream we call the Columbia. Canons, falls and rapids Junction with Snake River Thirty-five Shoshone Falls Sources of three Great Rivers in Yellowstone Park Snake 240 feet deep Th e Columbia River Some idea of the extent of this splendid river may be gained from the following figures covering the drainage area of the Columbia: Snake River 104,604 sq. miles Columbia above junction with Snake - 97, 1 55 “ Main Columbia below junction - - 43,200 “ Snake River meanders through the eastern, south- ern and western parts of the State of Idaho, for over a thousand miles, and next to Niagara boasts the most imposing cataract on the continent — the great Shoshone Falls, a waterfall which measures 980 feet across its rim, having a sheer fall o f 210 feet, carrying the full volume of the river which is 180 feet deep immediately above the falls. The canon walls in this gorge are 1,200 feet from water level to the top. The Snake River rises among the marvelous scenes of the Yellowstone National Park, within a few feet of the crystal founts from which springs that great tributary of the Mississippi, the Yellowstone; and, within sight of the headwaters of that grand inlet of the Gulf of California, the Rio Colorado. Here, at its romantic start, the Snake is also only a day’s ride from its twin torrent of the north, Clark’s Fork, but soon sweeps southwa rd 500 miles as if to gather in the waters of wider and richer fields. Again flowing majestically northward to mark the boundary between Idaho and Oregon, it unites with Clark’s Fork system to form the Columbia. It will lead the reader toward a true appreciation of the wondrous volume of the Snake River when he is informed that soundings of the deep blue stream in eastern Idaho fail to discover bottom at 240 feet. Thirty-six The Columbia River NOBLE SCENES AND GARDENS FAIR In this hasty sketch of the Columbia, from its source to the boundary line and thence across the State of Washington, the course of the river only has been outlined and no description attempted of the country through which the stream passes. But the dramatic story of this whole region, the land where the river flows, tal es of the first white man along the coast; how all nations sought the river from the sea and how they found it; first steps across th e wilderness in search of the river; the fur traders, th eir batteaux and their stations; the coming o f the missionaries to the tribes o f th e river; th e era of th e pioneers, their ox teams and their flat-boats; the conflict of nations for possession of the river; the times of tomahawk and firebrand; when the fire canoes took the place of the log canoes; era of the miner, the cowboy, the farmer, the boomer, an d the railroad build er; and the present age of expansion and world commerce — -all this has been most delight- fully told by Professor Lyman of Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash. (See Note D, page 94.) But this great valley presents a very different aspect from that which greeted the surveying parties and governmental exploring expeditions of even twenty-five or thirty years ago. An empire has sprung into being here in these fleeting years, and the river, as it flows from those once almost inac- cessi ble northern solitudes, is banked on either side, in many sections, by fair and fruitful stretches where Thirty-seven The Columbia River “Round about them orchards sweep Apple and peach tree fruited deep Fair as a garden of the Lord ” — Thriving towns have arisen, mills and smelters are never idle, and the music of commercial industry fills the air. Lower Columbia Lake is now Lake Windermere, and there is a town there bearing the same name. We can take a steamer now from th is point to Golden, 150 miles below, passing through the bayou like expansions of the river. From Golden to Revelstoke the stream is not navigable by steamers; here are located those river reaches that were most dreaded by trappers and Indians; Death Rapids, Kimbasket, Surprise Rapids and others. The Canadian Pacific Railway, th e vigorous and potential friend of all this Upper Columbia region, has taken advantage of offered opportunity here, and the tourist is afforded a series of magnificent views from Golden to Revelstoke; the Great Glacier, Asulkan Glacier, and Sir Donald, a huge granite monolith rising to the height of 10,800 feet in one solid block, are a few of the many attractions in sight. Engineers are of opinion that the Columbia can be made navigable from Revelstoke to the ocean; a canal and locks are needed at Kettle Falls, another at Priest Rapids, and still another at The Dali es — the Cascade Locks are already built, leav- ing a free course to the sea. Professor Lyman groups the Upper Columbia in three stages: “ First, the lagoon-like expanse from Navigable all the Way Thirty-nine Courtesy Canadian Pacific Ry. Steamer Rossland on Arrow Lake The Columbia River Canal Flats to Golden, 150 miles; the more swift and turbulent part from Golden to Revelstoke, 250 miles; third, the lake stage from Revelstoke to Lake Chelan. The journey on a steamer from Arrow- head to Robson is one to dream of and to recall in waking hours; the two Arrowhead lakes constitute 130 miles of steamboating, and every mile has its special charm. The mountains rise in places to great altitudes on Upper Arrow Lake, but there are sheltered vales and slopes along the shores, and here most wonderful results have been obtained in the cultivation of choice fruits. Lower Arrow Lake lacks the rugged outline of the Upper Lake but presents instead a richness of color which more th an compensates.” At Robson passengers are transferred to trains for N elson; the Kootenay enters just below here. Nelson, an energetic town of over 7,000 people, is the business center o f th is region. From here steamers ply for long distances on the Kootenay, and this town is also the terminal of the Spokane & Northern Railroa d. Th is roa d foil ows the canon of the Columbia and is the easiest and most accessi ble route from Spokane for tourists desiring to make the river tour. There is no steamboat service from Nelson to Kettle Falls, but an alluring temptation offers to those who enjoy an old-fashioned trip in a row boat. Steamers run from Brewster, at the mouth of the Okanogan, to W enatchee. Professor Lyman gives a fascinating picture of Lake Chel an: “ We had thought that the Columbia Forty-one 1 he Columbia River was clear, but we did not th en know what clear water really was. Wh en we reac h the mouth of the Chelan River we see a streak of blue cutting right across the impetuous down-flow o f th e river, and this transparent torrent is the outlet of the lake. It is four miles long and descends 380 feet in that distance, and this canon, riven and tortured, is a fit- ting approach to the lake. Majestic as is th e view at the lower end, we do not tarry but set out on our sixty-mile pull toward “where the spectral glaciers shone,” finding, as we pass slowly by, ample confir- mation of the theory of glacial origin. This is one of the deepest canons on earth. At some points the granite walls rise almost vertically 6,000 feet from the water’s edge. This surpasses in depth Yosem- ite, Yellowstone, Columbia, or even Colorado Ca non, and, while it lacks many features of the others, none of them have the immensity — a certain chaotic sublimity — nor the rich and somber gran- deur of coloring, such lights and shades, such blend- ings, beyond imagination to conceive or pen to describe or brush to portray.” Soundings in Chelan CHff s have found bottom in some places at 1,700 feet, and, a mile if we add the height of the cliffs above the water and a line, we have 7,700 feet — about a mile and a half ^alf high high — of solid vertical wall! Wenatchee enjoys the triple distinction of being the name of a lake, a river and a town, and at this place the visitor may appreciate what has been done in fruit raising by aid of irrigation, for the apples, peaches, pears and grapes of the Wenatchee fruit belt are famous. Forty-three CD § O _J bJ) c ~o c C3 _J T3 O O S 0) bn ~o LU The Columbia River Irregular steamboat service exists between Wenat- chee and Priest Rapids — about 60 miles. Just below the rapids one of the great irrigation projects has been mapped out, for however barren looking some sections of the river here may appear, there is no question about the fertility o f th is lava soil, once the water from an irrigation ditch is turned on. For a hundred miles down the river propositions of this kind are being planned; it is estimated that there are over 900,000 acres of irrigated land lying along the river between this point and Umatilla, an d the river itself will furnish the power for pumping. From Priest Rapids to Pasco, about 70 miles, th e river is quiet, deep, majestic, traversed by well-appointed steamers. A short distance below Hanford the Yakima River enters — a stream which plays an impor- tant part in the irrigation of the great Yakima Valley, the largest in the State — about which so much has been written. The reports of the productive capac- ity of these irrigated lands are beyond belief. Nearing Pasco a great reach of prairie stretches east and south — “the plains of the Columbia;’’ to the east it is bounded by the horizon, for it extends over 200 miles to the Bitter Root Mountains. As an example of western growth the town of Kennewick, a little farther down, may be noted. Here is a hand- some town of 3,500 people where, seven years ago, sagebrush was all that could be seen. Swinging on down stream we arrive at Ainsworth, where the Snake joins the Columbia. Forty-five The Columbia River J! I Soon after its junction with the Snake, the Colum- bia swerves in a great bend toward the west, which course it fairly holds to the end, receiving in succession the Walla Walla, Umatilla, John Day, Des Chutes, Klickitat, Willamette, Cowlitz, and nany other streams of lesser note. For over 300 nil es the Columbia forms the boundary line between :he States of Washington and Oregon. Umatilla, 34 niles from Ainsworth, is the point where the traveler , : rom the East via the Union Pacific, Oregon Short Line and Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, las his first view of the Columbia. The broad river 'oils somewhat lazily on its course here — a reserve 3f power which only a few miles farther down asserts tself with tremendous energy. From Umatilla, a Dranch of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company extends north to Spokane, a distance of 246 miles; the main line follows the Columbia to a point a few niles from Portland. GOVERNMENT AID Celilo Falls, below Umatilla, mark the real begin- ling of The Dalles, 14 miles farther down. Huge lava moulders crowd the river and over these obstructions he river pours its resistless volume. Rapids succeed apids until a cumulation is reached and the water ushes over falls 20 feet in height at low water. The iver from here onward is disturbed, angry, annoyed vith those sunken lava teeth which rend and gnaw; ind, without rest for restoration, comes to its second ind greater trouble, still vexed and complaining. Forty-seven Combined stream flows west The valley railroad Beginning of “The Dalles” Columbia River above Go'den, The Columbia River Practically speaking, there are four great obstruc- tions between Celilo and the foot of The Dalles Celilo Falls, Ten-Mile Rapids, Three-Mile Rapids, and “The Dalles.” The formation at The Dalles was an absolute barrier to navigation; the o th ers were susceptible of treatment. For a mile and a half at The Dalles the river flows with great velocity between a number of precipitous basaltic walls averaging 150 to 200 feet apart the volume of the Columbia being compressed into this narrow space. After many experimental surveys a plan has been approved which seems assure d of success. All the obstructions have been grouped under one general proposition, and it is proposed to build a continuous ca nal f rom the pool above Celilo to the pool below The Dali es, with an open-river improvement at Three- Mile Rapids, three miles above The Dalles. This canal will have a depth of eight feet, 65 feet wide at the bottom, and a length of eight and one-half miles, with five locks each 300 feet long, 45 feet wi de and seven feet deep over the si lls. In round numbers the estimated cost of this work will be $4,900,000. In the 14 miles from Celilo to The Dali es, th e river falls 81 feet in low water and 53 feet at flood stage. THE DALLES Safe and serene above the tumult and stress of the river nestles the pretty town of The Dalles, and tributary to it is a country prolific in fruit and wheat. This was a station in fur-trading times, and a Great canal around “The Dalles' Forty-nine The Columbia River favorite resort of the Indians, for it was the best place in the Columbia to spear salmon. A salmon cannery is located here, and from this point the voyage of all voyages in this country commences — a day on the broad bosom of the matchless Columbia. It is 88 miles by rail to Portland along the river’s edge, for those who prefer the quickest transit, but the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company gives patrons the option of a trip by either rail or water. THE LEGEND OF THE DALLES Theodore Winthrop, in his own brilliant way, tells the legend that the Indians believe as to th e origin of the ghastly rents in those enormous sheets of lava rock. “ In the very ancient and far-away times the sole and only inhabitants o f th e wor id were fie nds, and very highly uncivilized fiends at that. The whole northwest was then one of the centers of volcanic action. The craters of the Cascades were fire breathers and fountains of liquid flame. It was an extremely fiendish country and, naturally, the inhab- itants fought like devils. Where the great plains of the Upper Columbia now spread was a vast inland sea, which beat against a rampart of hills to the east o f The Dali es. And the great weapon of the fiends in warfare was their tails which were of prodigious size and terrible strength. Now, the wisest, strong- est, and most subtle fiend of the entire crew was one fiend called the ‘Devil . He was a thoughtful per- son and viewed with alarm the ever-increasing tendency among his neighbors toward fighting and By steamer from The Dalles to Portland Indian legend of The Dalles Fifty-one Up Windermere Valley from Mount Swanzy, B. C. Upper Columbia Lake in Distance The Columbia River general wickedness. The whole tribe met every summer to have tournament after their fashion, and at one of these reunions the ‘Devil’ rose and made a pacific speech. He took occasion to enlarge on the evils of constant warfare, and suggested that a gen- eral reconciliation take place and they all live in peace. “The astonished fiends could not understand any such unwarlike procedure from him , and with one accord, suspecting treachery, made straight at the intended reformer, who, of course, took to his heels. The fiends pressed him hard as he sped over the plains of The Dalles, and, as he neared the defile, he struck a titanic blow with his tail on the pavement and a chasm opened up through the valley, and down rushed the waters of the inla nd sea. But a batallion of fi ends still pursued him, and again he smote with his tail and more strongly, and a vaster cleft went up and down the valley, and a more terrific torrent went along. The leading fiends took the leap, but many fell into the chasm — and still the Devil was sorely pursued. He had just time to rap once more and with all the vigor of a despairing tail. A third crevice, twice the width of the second, split the rocks, riving a deeper cleft in the mountain that held back the inland sea, making a gorge through the majestic chain of the Cascades and opening a way for }■ the torrent oceanward. It was the crack of doom for the fiends. Essaying the leap, they fell far short of the edge, where the Devil lay panting. Down they fell and were swept away by the flood, so the 4 Fifty-three I Courtesy Canadian Pacific Ry. Columbia River near West Robson The Columbia River whole race of fiends perished from the face o f the earth. “But the Devil was in a sorry case. His tail was unutterably dislocated by his last blow; so, leaping across the chasm he had made, he went home to rear his family thoughtfully. There were no more antag- onists; so, perhaps, after all, tails were useless. Every year he brought his children to The Dalles and told them the terrible history of his escape. A n d, after a time, the fires of the Cascades burned away, the inland sea was drained, and its bed became a fair and habitable land; and still the waters gushed through the narrow crevices roaring seaward. But the Devil had one sorrow. All h is children born before the catas- trophe were crabbed, unregenerate, and stiff-tailed fiends. After that event every new born imp wore a flaccid, invertebrate, despondent tail- — the very last insignium of ignobility. So runs the legend of The Dali es — a shining lesson for reformers.” Leaving The Dalles in the morning, a splendid panorama begins to unfold on this lordly stream. It is difficult to describe the charm of this trip. Residents of the East pronounce it superior to the Hudson and travelers assert that there is nothing like it in the Old World. It is simply delicious to those who are seeking escape from the heat and dust of their far-off homes to embark on this noble river, and steam smoothly down past the frowning headlan ds and ‘ ‘rocks with carven imageries,” bluffs lined with pine trees, vivid green, past islands and falls, and distant views of snowy peaks. There is Scenery unequaled elsewhere Fifty-five Courtesy Great Northern Ry. Kettle Falls, Columbia River, Stevens County, Wash 7 he Columbia River no trip like it on the coast, and for a river excursion there is not its equal in the United States. THE ISLE OF THE DEAD Twelve miles below The Dalles there is a lonely, rugged island amid stream. It is bare save for a white monument which rises from its rocky breast. No living thing, no vestige of verdure, or tree or shrub appears. And veteran Captain John McNulty, as he stood at the wheel and steadied the Queen, used to tell the story of the friend he loved. “That monument? It’s Victor Trevet’s. Of course, you never heard of him, but he was a great man, all the same, here in Oregon, in the old times. Queer he was, and no mistake. Member of one o f the early legislatures, sort of general peacemaker; everybody went to him with their troubles, and when he said a lawsuit didn’t go, it didn’t. And he always stuck up for the Indians, and always called his own kind ‘dirty mean whites.’ I used to think that was put on, and maybe it was; but anyhow, that was th e way he used to talk. And a hundred times he has said to me ‘John, when I die, I want to be buried on Mem- loose Isle.’ That’s the ‘Isle of the Dead’ which we just passed, and has been from times away back the burial place of the Chinook Indians. It’s just full of ’em. And I says to him ‘Now, Vic., its fame you’re after.’ ‘John,’ says he, ‘I’ll tell you; I’m not indiffer- ent to glory, and there’s many a big gun laid away in the cemetery that people forget in a year, and his grave’s never visited after a few turns of the Trevet’s monument Burial place of Chinooks Fifty-seven The largest fleet on Upper Columbia River, at Kennewick, Wash. The Columbia River wheel; and, if I rest on Memloose Isle, I’ll not be forgotten while people travel this river. And another thing; you know, John, the dirty, mean whites stole the Indian s burial ground and built Portlan a th ere. Every day the papers have an account of Mr. Big- bug’s proposed palace, and how Indian bones were turned up in the excavation. I won’t be buried alongside any such dirty, mean thieves. And I tell you further, John, that it may be that if I am laid away among the Indians, when the great day comes I might slip in kind of easy. Th ey ain’t going to have any such a hard time as the dirty whites will have, and maybe I won’t be noticed, and slide in quiet along wi th th e crowd.’ “And I tell you,’’ said the honest captain, as he swung the Queen around a sharp headland, and the monument and island vanished, “he has got his wish. He don’t lay among the whites, and there isn’t a day in summer when the name of Vic. Trevet ain’t mentioned, either on yon train or on a boat, just as I am telling it to you now. When he died, in San Francisco, a few years ago, some of his old friends had him brought back to The Dalles, and one lovely Sunday (being an off day) we buried him on Memloose Isle, and then we put up the monument. His earthly immortality is safe and sure, for that stone will stand as long as the island stays. She’s eight feet square at the base, built of the native rock right on the island, then three feet of granite, then a ten-foot column. It cost us $1,500 and Vic. is bricked up in a vault underneath. Yes, sir, he’s Friends respect his wish Fifty-nine o The Columbia River there for sure till resurrection day. Queer idea? Why, blame it all, if he thought he could get in along with the Chinooks it’s all right, ain’t it? Don’t want a man to lose any chances, do you?” So much has been said of this mighty river that the preconceived idea of the tourist is of a surging flood of unknown depth, rushing like a mountain torrent. The plain facts are that the Lower Colum- bia is rather a placid stream, wi th a seemingly slug- gish current. In the spring months the river rises from twenty-five to forty feet, leaving driftwood high up among the trees on the banks. The tide ebbs and flows at Portland from eighteen inches to three feet, according to season, and this tidal influ- ence is felt, in high water, as far up as the Cascades. It is fifty miles of glorious beauty from The Dalles to the Locks. Before reaching the Cascades we pass the town of Hood River, the mart of the famous fruit valley of the same name. H ere is found an ideal climate the year round, the rigors of winter and the extremes of summer being unknown, offering the happy com- bination of rest and quiet life, with pure and exhila- rating mountain air. For scenic charms few spots equal it. In the foreground is the Columbia; across the river, in Washington, is Mount Adams, 12,470 feet high; in the opposite direction, to the south, twenty-seven miles, is Mount Hood, perpetually covered with snow, 11,225 feet high, forming a pic- turesque background to the valley; and on the east and west are the foot-hills of the Cascades. Lower Columbia placid stream Hood River Mounts Adams and Hood Sixty-one The Columbia River Having its source at the base of Mount Hoo d, the stream of Hood River, ice c old, winds its way through the valley, furnishing water for irrigation purposes the entire distance, and emptying into the Columbia just above the town. MOUNT HOOD The start for the ascent of Mount Hood is made from the town of Hood River; the mountain is easily accessible, and hundreds climb to its summit every year. A refreshing night’s rest at the modern hotel overlooking the Columbia, an early breakfast, and the visitor is off on the twenty-seven mile coaching trip to Cloud Cap Inn, which stands at snow line on the northeastern slope of the mountain at an eleva- tion of 6,800 feet. As the ascent is made to the wonderfully produc- tive valley above, a glance backward through the soft, silvery light of the morning affords a view of the broad Columbia, and reveals a pretty and pros- perous town, ideally located, and beautified by hundreds of natural oaks, wi th wide-spreading branches. The road leads past scores of attrac- tive homes and well-kept apple and strawberry farms, for which the valley is noted. To the right and left of the fertile tract are spurs of the Cascades, tree-clad and treeless. In the canon below is the stream of Hood River, making music, as its ice-cold waters race downward to join the Columbia. Every mi le the scenery changes; it is uphill and down, across a high bridge, hugging the edge of a mountain Ascent of Mount Hood Through lovely, fertile valley Sixty-three The Columbia River spur, through groves of pine and fir, and back again to the level section. Early in the forenoon, twenty miles on th e way, the coach stops at a most inviting place near the banks of Hood River, and while the passengers enjoy a hasty lunch and a short rest beneath the shade trees, horses are changed for the last stage of the trip. From this point the climb is a steep up grade and slower progress is made. Fewer glimpses of Mount Hood are caught, and ere long it is entirely lost from view. Here and th ere are big patches of wild flowers, and for long distances, ocean spray and white syringa, laden wi th bi ossoms, line th e way. Soon the trees grow taller, the forests denser, and the over-impressiveness of the monarchs causes almost silent admiration, which is broken only when the road makes a sudden turn into a cleared section, and Mount Hood stands out in greater grandeur and beauty than ever before, seemingly to bid welcome to the visitors. A few minutes later and Cloud Cap Inn is reached. Pass- ing the doorway of the long structure, the visitors are ushered into a long reception room, comfortably furnished, with pine logs blazing in the huge fireplace. Cloud Cap Inn is unique and interesting, affording a magnificent view from its top, reached by a wind- ing stairway from the outside. Surrounding it are a number of smaller cabins, which are rented to visitors. Dozens of squirrels have taken homes near the Inn and cabins, and so tame have they become that it is no uncommon sight to see them feeding from the hand of a guest. A midway luncheon Cloud Cap Inn Fearless squirrels Sixty-five The Columbia River The scene from Cloud Cap Inn may well be described as boundless in extent, beauty and variety. To the south of us, rising like a shaft from our feet, the impending splendor o f the central dome overtops us more than 1,000 feet; on the east, in the immediate foregroun a. th e vast field of snow, dis- closing by its sweeping undulations the immovable inequalities of the mountain; directly on the west the mountain seems to have been cleft by subter- ranean convulsions and an enormous segment sunk away, leaving a sheer precipice two or three thou- sand feet high. From the foot of this wall stretches a glacier, broken into gigantic crevices, whose sky- blue edges are often but portals of grottoes filled with strange and fantastic ornamentation — fit sepul- chres for ice kings. Then, as far as the eye can see, extend forest-covere d hills an d vail eys, lakes and streams, Portland itself being invisi ble only because of the hazy condition of the air. To the north the broad Cascade Range, fir clothed, and here and there snow tipped, its upheaved masses subdued and dwarfed by three mighty domes of Mounts Adams Rainier and St. Helens, which appear at distances varying from fifty to one hundred and fifty miles. Beautiful and fitting seems the circlet of clouds — the saint’s rosary — which hangs around St. Helens’ crest. Through this magnificent picture, from the extreme east, where roll the boundless plains of the inland empire, to the extreme west, the Columbia River flashes like a scimitar blade that has cleft in twain, by a titanic stroke, plain and rock-ribbed mountain. Three peaks in sight Sixty-seven Copyright IQ02 The Whirlpool, Celilo Falls, Columbia River Benj. A. Gifford. The Columbia River CLIMB TO SUMMIT From Cloud Cap Inn the summit of Mount Hood seems but a step away, but, in fact, the distance to its top is four miles. A few minutes’ walk from the Inn brings the climber to Eliot Glacier, on the northeast slope of the mountain. From its base the stream of Hood River starts. Coe Glacier lies on the north slope of the mountain, Sandy Glacier on the southwest, Zigzag Glacier west of south, White River Glacier east of south, Newton Glacier south- east, Ladd Glacier west of Coe, and one vast unnamed ice fie id southwest of Ladd Glacier. A NEVER-FORGOTTEN VIEW For three miles from the I nn to the top of Cooper s spur, the way leads over ground devoid of snow, then for a mile, snow and ice are encountered. About 900 feet from the summit the rope line begins, and for one-fourth of the distance alpenstock and pluck are also essential; but the top once reached, the plucky climber is well repaid for his effort. To the north, sixty miles, is Mount Adams, 12,470 feet high; on Puget Sound, one hundred and fifty miles away, is Mount Rainier, 14,440, and to the west is Mount St. Helens, 9,750 feet, an d of 1 esser peaks a score. For miles the mighty Columbia is seen winding its way, while in every direction, as far as the eye can see, stretch bounteous fields of grain and scores of fertile valleys. Th ose who do not care to scale the summit have ample opportunity to hunt and fish, make short trips Many glaciers The view from the summit Hunting, fishing, side trips Sixty-nine Copyright IQOI Steamer Bailey Gatzert approaching Cascade Locks Benj. A. Gifford The Columbia River to Eliot Glacier, or side trips into the woods, always finding something new and interesting. MOUNT ADAMS Almost directly opposite Hood River, on the Washington side of the Columbia, is the town of White Salmon, situated on a river of the same name. It is by this route that Mount Adams is reached. Thirty miles up the White Salmon, high on the slope of Mount Adams, is Trout Lake, rapidly becoming a favorite outing place, where the fishing is good and there is plenty of game. The strange ice caves near the lake are well worth seeing, ice being found in them the year arou nd. THE CASCADE LOCKS Now we approach what an artist once said was “the second best bit of water in America,’’ and he wisely forebore mentioning the first. For the Columbia Cascades do not yield place to any rapids, so called, on this continent; far-famed Lachine may claim its adherents, but those rapids lack the majesty, the fierce, tempestuous onset, of the Columbia, where it falls against this mountain wall, an d the scene on the St. Lawrence has no such setting of indomitable barriers clothed in vivid green, with the cruel lava fangs showing here and there, the foam and shouting of the river, and the celestial blue of an Oregon sky overhead. The Columb ia, in passing through the Cascade Range, is forced into a narrow, rocky gorge, for a Mount Adams becoming popular Cascade Rapids most majestic in America Seventy-one Copyright Cascade Locks, Col umbia River Benj. A. Gifford. The Columbia River distance of four-an d-a-half miles. A rocky bar extends across the river at the head o f th e gorge, closing the channel completely, an a th ere is a fall of 24 feet in a distance of 2,500 feet. 1 he rest o f the gorge, for four miles, was greatly obstructed by boulders and projecting rocks, and the slope o f the river bed was so great that navigation to the foot of the actual Cascades was possible only at low water. The project for improving this part of the river was adopted by Congress in 1877, and modified in 1886, 1888 an d 1894, and provided for a canal and locks around the Cascades. These locks are 462 feet long by 92 feet wide, with a low-water depth of 8 feet; th ey were open for navigation November 5, 1896, the Government having expended over $4,000,000 in their construction. o n the Washington side of the Cascades stands th e old block house or fort, where Phil Sheridan was once stationed, and it was in this vicinity that he had h is first skirmish wi th the I ndians. Cascade canal and locks LEGEND OF THE CASCADES There is a quaint Indian legend concerning the Cascades to the effect that, away back in the forgotten times, there was a natural bridge across th e river — the water flowing under one arch. The Great Spirit had made this bridge very beautiful for his red children ; it was firm, solid earth, and covered with trees and grass. The two great giants who sat always glowering at each other from far away (Mount Adams and Mount Hood) quarreled terribly once on Legend of Cascade bridge Seventy-three The Columbia River a time, and the sky grew black wi th th eir smoke and the earth trembled with their roaring. In their rage and fury they began to throw great stones and huge mountain boulders at one another. This battle lasted for days; and when the smoke and thunderings had passed away an d the sun shone peacefully again, the people came back once more. But there was no bridge there. Pieces of rock made small islands above the lost bridge, but below that the river fretted, and shouted, and plunged over jagged and twisted boulders for miles down the stream, throwing the spray high in the air, madly spend- ing its strength in treacherous whirlpools and deep, seductive currents, ever after to be wrathful, com- plaining and dangerous. The stoutest warrior cou id not live in that terrible torrent. So the beautiful bridge was lost — destroyed in th is Titan battle; but far down in the water cou id be seen many o f the stately trees which the Great Spirit caused to remain th ere as a token of the bridge. These he turned to stone, and they are there even to this day. The theory of the scientists, of course, runs counter to the pretty legend. Science usually destroys poetry; and they tell us that a part of the mountain slid into th e river thus accounting for the remnant of a forest down in the deep water. Moreover, pieces which have been removed, show the wood to be live timber and not petrified, as the poetic fiction has it. The legend lore of the river is almost en di ess. Th ere is another story, an Indian love tale, which Scientists destroy pretty legend Many legends of the river Seventy-five "3 rV*-> o UCQ A The Columbia River seeks to account for this mighty rent in the moun- tain wall. It is called the “Bridge of the Gods,’ and says that on the Oregon side of the river there lived an Indian brave upon whom the Gods looked wi th much favor. While hunting on the W ashington side, he met and fell in love wi th an Indian maiden. Returning some time later he married her and started for his home on the Oregon side. When just about to cross the bridge, disappointed suitors and tribes- men appeared from ambush. Noting their wrath, and taking the advice of his young wife, the two hastened across the bridge. No sooner had they reached the Oregon side than there was a loud noise, and, looking around, they saw that the great bridge had fallen, carrying the angry pursuers to a watery grave, the Gods thus again showing their love for the chieftain s son. When the bridge fell the formation cause d the rapids, or Cascades, in the river. The Columbia has not changed in th e centuries, but flows in th e same channel here as when, in remote ages, the lava overflowing cut out a course and left its pathway clear for all time. Below the lower Cascades a sea-coral formation is found, grayish in color, and not pretty, but proving conclu- sively its sea formation. Sandstone is also at times uncovered, showing that this was made by sea deposit before the lava flowed down upon it. THE MIDDLE COLUMBIA From the Cascades to the mouth of the Willam- * ette, a stretch of 62 miles, is known as the Middle Channel unchanging Seventy-seven The Columbia River Columbia, and from the Willamette’s mouth to the sea, 98 miles, the Lower Columbia. It is 60 miles of changeful beauty on the Middle Columbia all the way to Portland. That monster circular formation looking ahead on the Washington side, soon after leaving the Cascades, and nearly opposite the town of Warrendale, is Castle Rock, formerly a lookout station for the Indians. It is 1,146 feet high and, until 1901, its summit had never been scaled by white man, and the ascent was then only accom- plished after hours of difficult and hazardous labor. Since that time several parties have climbed to its top. A few miles below the town of Bonneville one is confronted wi th an embarrassing array of lovely scenery. On the Oregon shore, falling in quick succession, are: H orse Tail Falls, and Oneonta Gorge, a huge, rock-riven cleft, the sides of which are covered with mosses, vines and ferns; the always - to - be - remembered Multnomah Falls, most ethereal of water sprites — a filmy veil of lace, fall ing 720 feet sheer into a basin on the hillside, and then 130 feet into the river — the most fascinating vision of all the many on this great river, “briefest of the mighty streams of earth.’’ Gordon Falls and Bridal Veil follow in quick succession. To the right, on the Washington side, opposite the town of Bridal Veil, is Cape Horn, a huge promontory, with a ver- tical face of 400 feet. Far up on the slope above, are green grasses and trees, and, in a dozen places, small cataracts come rushing over its top, the water being caught up by the wi nd and carried afar. Castle Rock Horse Tail Falls and Oneonta Gorge Bridal Veil and other falls Seventy-nine ' V Copyright IQO? Nature's Handiwork along the Columbia River ben']. A. Gif j ora. S4& \ The Columbia River Bridal Veil bluffs and numerous pinnacles are seen along the way. The two titanic rocks on the Oregon shore are the Pillars of H ercules — a huge forty-foot fir growing from the summit of the taller formation. Next we pass Latourelle Falls, its misty trail entangled amid entrancing scenery, and then the town of Latourelle. The huge, gray monolith ahead, to the right, is Rooster Rock, marking the western end of the great Columbia Gorge. Imme- diately below Rooster Rock the railroad, which has kept us company from The Dalles, winding along the river’s edge, parts from the Columbia and takes a short cut for Portland. It would be an insult to call the riversides of the Columbia Gorge “bluffs,’’ for they are bold promon- tories which attain majestic heights. One timber chute, where logs come whizzing into the river wi th th e velocity of a cannon ball, is 3,328 feet long, and it is claimed a log makes the trip in twenty seconds. Th e river grows broader, more majestic in sweep, and the character of the scenery changes. Vancou- ver, Wash., on the north side of the Columbia, is soon rea ched. H ere is the largest post in the Pacific Northwest; and the picturesque barracks sloping to the river are said to be the most healthful in the United States. The town of Vancouver is much sought by invalids on account of its peculiar charm of location, and the healthfulness of the cli- mate. It is six miles from here by ferry across the Columbia, and then by trolley to Portland; but two miles below the town our steamer swings around a Rooster Rock Timber chute Vancouver, Wash. Eighty-one Copyright iqo6. Shell Rock, Coiunr.bia River Benj. A. Gifford. The Columbia River wooded point and, breasting the tranquil waters of the Willamette for 12 miles, we land at Portlan d, the “Rose City,’’ and the memory of that day’s journey down the lordly river will remain a gracious posses- sion for years to come. PORTLAND They call it the “Rose City,’’ and rightly so; but it has a valid claim to the name of “H ome City,’’ for no place on the Pacific Coast is more homelike to the traveler. The dry recital of dusty facts or com- mercial statistics only goes to show the trade impor- tance of a city, and is wearisome to the tourist and the sentimental idler. Signs and tokens of abun- dant prosperity abound on every side in Portland, and these are easily noted and marked for reference. But the elusive charm of this old home city is more difficult to define. M ixed with its exuberant energy is a certain sort of kindliness, an open, hospitable welcome, a friendly interest in the “stranger within our gates,’’ which is altogether captivating. It is small wonder that the intending casual visitor lingers beyond his time limit in this charmed air of frank, western hospitality. The first item of importance to be noted is the numberless detours and excursions which can be made from this centering point. Lit- tle journeys wind out from the city in every direc- tion — from sea bathing to trout fishing, the attrac- tions are practically endless. Portland itself, with its splendid environment, offers especially lovely scenes, beautiful walks and drives full of charming Portland, the “Rose City” “Home City” appropriate name Sea bathing, trout fishing Eighty-three The Columbia River surprises. And the roses are everywhere — from the humble dooryard of the laborer to the palace o f the merchant prince. It is affirmed that 1,100 varieties of roses are reared in th is favored climate — more, if this be so, than are produced in any other section of the United States. If, however, it should chance that inquiry is made along commercial lines, the busy Portlander will usually answer with impressive emphasis: “Portland is all right; 230,000 people; area, 44 square miles; greatest fresh-water harbor in the world, 110 miles from the sea; wholesale trade, $200,000,000; annual bank clearances, $330,000,000; terminal yards han- dle 153,000 freight cars annually; 313 miles paved streets; 200 miles street railway; 267 miles water mains carrying ice water from Mount Hood, 50 miles away; same latitude as Halifax, and yet 1,100 varie- ties of roses bloom out of doors ten months in the year — Portland is all right!’’ All of which is unde- niably true, and the city speaks for itself in unmis- takable terms. February 22d in each year is “Rose- Planting Day,” and the “Rose Festival” in June is a sight which the fortunate visitor will never forget. THE LOWER COLUMBIA From Portland to Astoria the short, but glorious, life of the Columbia, draws rapidly to a close. While th e wild and picturesque beauty of the upper river is lacking, there is still a fascination in witness- ing th is last stage in the life of the great stream before its death in the Pacific. The fine fleet of Portland commer- cially Annual “Rose Festival” in June The Lower Columbia Eighty-five The Columbia River Five peaks in view the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company’s steamers, leaves nothing to be desired in the way of 1 uxurious accommodation; equipment and service are above criticism. Passing out of Portland harbor, alive with incom- ing and outgoing ships, flying the flags of many nations, through the draw bridges, and past long lines of docks, warehouses, elevators, factories and mills, the twelve miles on the Willamette are quickly made. Saluting the Government lighthouse, marking the junction of the two rivers, the boat swings into the Columbia for the trip down stream. On a clear day one may enjoy, at the junction of the Willamette with the Columbia, a wonderful sight — five mountain peaks are in view: St. Helens, Mount Jefferson, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, and Mount Rainier. St. Helens, queen of the Cascade Range, a fair and grace ful cone ; exquisite mantling of snow sweeps along her shoulders toward the bristling pines. Not far from her base, the Columbia crashes through the mountains in a magnificent chasm, and Mount Hood, the vigorous prince of the range, rises in a keen pyramid, some 12,000 feet. Every mile of the way reveals something of delightful interest. Near the Washington shore, soon after passing Calama, is Coffin Rock, the top of which was formerly used as a burial ground by the Indians. On down the his- toric river, past villages, saw mills, perpendicular basaltic bluffs and si de-hill fa rms, the boat speeds its way. Mount St. Helens stands out in all her beauty, her snow-covered summit seldom lost to view for any Eighty-six The Columbia River length of time and then only to reappear again more beautiful than before. Ahead are th e seining grounds, the salmon fisheries of the river being the greatest in the wor id. Pin ar Rock, a huge mass in the river, marks the location of Pillar Rock Can- nery, one of the largest on the Lower Columbia. In the distance, standing out against the western sky, is Saddle Mountain, its peculiar shape suggestive of the name. As the river gradually grows wider, its majestic sweep assumes grander proportions; and as the boat pulls alongside the wharf at Astoria, one hundred and ten miles from Portland, it can scarcely be realized that five hours have been consumed in making the trip. Across the bay is the pretty town of Ilwaco, and Fort Canby and Cape Disappointment look across to Fort Stevens and Point Adams. One hour from Astoria, through the famous fish- ing waters of the Columbia, past scores of salmon traps and nets, and as many white-winged fish boats, lands the passenger at Ilwaco, on Baker’s Bay, a mile and a half east of Fort Canby, where close con- nection is made for beach points with trains of the Ilwaco Railroad & Navigation Company, whose cars stand on the wharf awaiting the steamer. Scattered along the beach are hundreds of cottages and hotels in which summer life is an unceasing round of pleasure, from the opening until the close of the season. The much-dreaded “resort mosquito’’ is unknown and no venomous snakes and insects are found. The thermometer rarely goes above 80 degrees in July and August, but light overcoats, fires Salmon fisheries Astoria Forts Canby and Stevens No mosquitos or snakes Eighty-seven Cigar Rock, looking down stream, Columbia River The Col umbia River morning and evening, and blankets at night are comfortable during the season. From the wharf landing to Nahcotta, on Shoal- water Bay, about sixteen miles up the peninsula, where connection is made with the steamers for Oysterville, Bay Center, South Bend and other points, the Ilwaco Railroad & Navigation Com- pany maintains a splendid service for the entire distance running along the ridge of the beach, within 200 yards of the breakers, affording a splendid view of the Pacific, excepting where small, but beautiful, groves, momentarily shut from sight the vast body of water as it rolls and breaks upon the miles and miles of sandy beach. Along the entire length of the beach are lively little villages where the rates of accommodation are reasonable, and vary to suit the visitor. In addition to the pleasures of the seaside, innumerable and ideal are the inland trips, reached by shaded roads; and just a step away, extending along the peninsula for miles, is a chain of fresh-water lakes, while still farther inland, quiet and secluded among hills and forest, is a country of wild and picturesque beauty. RIVER IMPROVEMENTS AND JETTY Portland is the head of the deep-sea navigation for ships crossing the bar at the mouth o f the Columbia, and light draft boats ascend the Willamette for 150 miles above Portland. The Government plans for the improvement of the Willamette and Eighty-nine Overcoats in August A beach railroad Lovely inland trips A 25-foot channel The Columbia River Lower Columbia contemplated a channe 1 25 feet deep. This work has been carried on from Portland down the Willamette with satisfactory results, and an enormous amount of dredging accomplished; the Government has expended, to the close of the fiscal year 1909, the sum of $1,770,000, and the estimated cost for completion is $2,500,000 more. There were three channels across the Columbia bar before any improvements were made, varying from 19 to 21 feet in depth, and unstable in position. The project of 1884 provided for a low-tide jetty, running 4\ miles out to sea from Point Adams on the south side of the entrance ; this was modified in 1893 by raising the jetty to a high-tide level, and it was completed in 1895 at a cost of $2,000,000, giv- ing a clear channel of 31 feet at low water. But the shifting currents were stronger than the man-built bulwarks, and by 1902 the channel had decreased to 21 feet, and in 1903 it was decided to extend the jetty 2\ miles farther, an d th is is the work now in hand. The amount thus far expended is $5,517,000 This great project has been prosecuted in the face of tremendous obstacles; the little toredo bores into the trestles and so weakens the piles that thousands of yards are washed away by the storms of a single winter. And, as it was on that May morning a hundred years and more ago, when gallant Gray first beheld it, the heavy seas still sweep shoreward with titanic force now, as then, showing where “A terrible wa 11 of breakers marks the mouth of the Columbia, Achilles of rivers. ” Obstacles to improvement “Achilles of rivers’' Ninety-one The Columbia River TABLE OF DISTANCES (T. W. Simmons, Engineer Corps) Miles Mouth of Columbia 0 Astoria 10 Mouth Willamette 108 Vancouver 114 Lower Cascades 159 Upper Cascades 165 Hood River 183 Dalles City 206 Celilo 220 Umatilla 302 Wallula 325 Ainsworth — Mouth Snake River 336 Yakima River 345 Priest Rapids 409 Victoria Rock 461 Rock Island Rapids 467 Wenatchee River 484 Chelan River 523 Methow River 541 Okanogan River 549 Kalichen Falls 570 Mahkin Rapids 582 San Poil River 621 Spokane River 645 Kettle Falls 711 Little Dalles 737 International Boundary Line 75 2 Clark s Fork 753 Kootenay River 777 Lower Arrow Lake 789 Upper Arrow Lake 847 Dalles des Morts 962 Boat Encampment 1 ,032 The Source — Columbian Lakes 1,212 Ninety-two The Columbia River NOTES NOTE A — The allusions in this slight sketch of the Columbia to its comparatively short length must be read in the light of possibly inverted geography. A river assumed to be 1,400 miles long could not in fairness be called a short stream. But the early voy- agers and travelers, down to comparatively recent times, insisted on Clark’s Fork and the Snake River, where they joined, as the parents of the Columbia. Any tributary to Clark’s Fork above the International Boundary Line was of minor consideration. Viewed in th is light, the life of a river only 336 miles long — from the mouth of the Snake to Astoria — might well be called “short and glorious.’’ And it is this idea which dominates Theodore Winthrop’s fine tribute, quoted in the opening paragraph of this sketch, wherein he compares the river to the career of the illustrious Homeric hero. The far-off land, through which runs the great northern branch, is too remote to permit of close acquaintance. So, after all is said, the Columbia that we really know and love exists only for that all too short journey from the nearer mountains to the sea, and for us it is truly, “briefest of the mighty streams of earth.’’ Note B— Th ose who are interested in the nom- enclature of the Pacific Northwest and desire more detailed information, should consult the elaborate and valuable work of Professor Meany. This is an exhaustive and scholarly production, full of charm and interest. (“Vancouver’s Discovery of Puget Ninety-three The Columbia R iver Sound,” by Edmond S. Meany, Professor of His- tory, University of Washington. Macmillans, 1 907 .) NOTEC — The table of distances on the Columbia as given in the reports of the United States Engineer do not approximate 1,400 miles. Lieutenant Sim- mons gives the following measurements: Miles From mouth of the Columbia to the International Boundary Line - - - 752 Boundary Line to Boat Encampment - - 280 Boat Encampment to Upper Columbian Lake 1 80 Total - - - - - 1,212 This appears to be, from actual exploration, the accurate length of the river. NOTE D — The story has been told in full. The dramatic vigor, charming descriptions, and the steady historical poise make it rank as a notable contribu- tion to American history, and for those who desire the fullest details regarding th is noble stream it is the definitive book. (“The Columbia River; its History; its Myths, its Scenery; its Commerce,’ hy William Dennison Lyman, Professor of History, W hitman College, Walla Walla, Wash. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1909.) LIBRARY gp APR 1 4 1222 UNIVERSITY Ninety-fotfr** INFORMATION Concerning fares and routes will be furnished gladly by any Union Pacific representative specified below: ATLANTA. 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Pass’r Agent 4 -1—1910— 10M 2 098701367 ■ ' «nnm# :*/, >■