2
THE WEST SHORE.
" March.
Observe those fallen trees. Their immense
trunks are swathed in elegant blankets of
emerald brightness. Sec here, I can tear
them off bjr the yard; enough on one
tree to carpet a room I Look at that pen
dant moss two feet long at least and
what a vivid yellow-green !
f ist slcp up a little higher: 1 will show
i iu a wonder. Did you ever dream of
anything so marvelous as that bank of
moss? Six inches high, branching like a
fam, yet fine and delicate as that on the
calynx of a moss-rose. Here is enough,
if preserved, to furnish all the French
flower-makers; and glad would they be to
gel it. And ferns yes, indeed! Just
look at this maidenhair. It is of every
itr, from the delicate plant three inches
high, to the mature one of fiitccn or
eighteen inches. Anil here arc some that
iiave stood all Winter in their Autumn
dre;s. See how exquisitely they are tinted
raw-sienna, for the body color, and such
delicate marking in vandykc-brown on
every leaf: or gold color, marked with
rmrnt-sienna; and all relieved so bcauti
fully by the polished black of their slender
terns. There are all the other species be
sides; but I never pay much attention to
the rest, when the daintv maidenhair is
present.
Hut we must not stop long in this dense
ftnd damp shade; there might be an intcr-
iiltciir lurking in it for unaccustomed
town-folk. I thought I would give you an
introduction to the place, and let you pros
ecute the acquaintance at your own pleas
ure. Hut just note, as we retrace our steps,
the great variety of plants, some of them
very beautiful, that grow all Winter long in
these solitary places. This handsome va
riegated leaf comes from a bulbous root,
nil bears a lily-shaicd llowcr, I am told;
kul being new to me 1 cannot yet classify
it. We are still too far from open sunlight
In Ik- much among flowering plants,
I'.jI directly wc come to occasional open
ings, or to higher benches of ground that
gel the light and drainage, wc shall sec
arlder-longue, Solomon 's-seal, anemone,
wild violet, and spring-beamy, putting up
their leaves, wailing for sunny days enough
to dare to bring out their blossoms. Here
too, are two sjiecies of creeping vines, very
delicate and graceful, trailing along the
ground, with little fresh leaflets already
Hrowiug. In April one of them will blos
oiji, with dainty, pinkish-white, trumiet-thipi-d
flowers, very lovely to behold. The
t lUuical names of these trailing plants I
tm ignorant of. One is vulgarly called
OrtgM Tta, from the spicy flavor of its
leaves, winch make an agreeable infusion.
. Now we get down to the woods along
the river-bank. Ah, here is really a blos-
toiumg shrub, the flowering currant. In
lisle to brighten the dull March weather
with touch of color over the green and
Ifrown and purple lints that arc so melan
choly under a cloudy sky, the currant docs
ot wail to put forth its foliage first, but
crimsons all over with thickest flowers, in
normes of nearly a finger's length. There
re two variciies of the red. and one of the
r -How all Iwauliful and ornamental
Arubs. In company with this still Icalless
rub, is the glossy arbutus (misnamed
laurel), with its fresh suit of light and
tlit green reflecting every ray of light
from its Mlishcd surface. The arbutus
iows an viinicr, putting lorth us delicate
hoots fiom I'ecemlMT In lir.l. ..l
lowering later in tlic Spring, lis cheerful
litihl green makes it a rftvt complement
to (be red of the curraiu when flowering;
d by niH looking at all like an ccr
Kici. which it really is. bewilders ihe hc
rioVtiv, who sees it growing luxuriantly all
lnng the river banks, 'a io ihe time of'
'' I
1 1 ore is another elegant slnub that docs I
its giowing in the Winter, ami lakes the
Ui:i(t dry Summer to rin its fruit and be
k-xiilifui in-thc fi.fhri, AmM,i.m or'
M r-leaved barberry, commonly known
" ,,, Oregon gra. It is looking as
fresh and piquant in March as though it
liad all of April and May behind it. All
around us, on every hand, are plants and
shrubs or trees growing. Behold these
graceful little yew-trees, two feet high.
They look as though they had come up in
a day, so delicate and nnu they seem. Ex
amine the ends of the fir-boughs; and
question the crab-apple, the sallal, and the
wild-cherry. Do you see that line of sil
ver down under the river bank? That is
the glisten of the catkins on the willows
(talix scoukriana) that were out in Febru
ary. It makes a pretty contrast to the red
stems of a smaller species of willow that
grows along the very margin of the river,
with its roots in the water. I am not cer
tain of the variety.
There certainly is no lack of interesting
things in the woods of early Spring in
Oregon. To my eye, with such a variety
of green and really growing trees and
shrubs, it is a relief to take into the view a
group of naked stems, like the straight and
light holes of the aspen populut trtmubi
tits), the gray trunks of the dogwood (for-
nits nutialit), or the rugged, scraggy forms
of the water-loving ash (traximut Oregona).
Uniform as our climate is, and little as the
dropping of the leaves of our deciduous
trees affects the general aspect of the land
scape, there is yel to the critical observer a
sufficiently marked difference in our sea
sons to make the study of Spring and
Summer and Autumn and Winter, as
shown by the vegetation of our magnifi
cent forests, profitable and compensalory.
It is ttue that you cannot come back
from a walk at this time of year laden w ith
armfuls of flowering shrubbery, as you
may in six weeks from now. You cannot,
with safety, stretch yourself on the earth,
and indulge in building Spanish castles, as
in July weather it is pleasant to do, while
birds sing among the branches overhead,
the nerqnus little squirrel scolds at you from
a'safe" distance, or the only half-confiding
quail maintains vigilant picket duly in your
vicinity all, as you think, for your grati
fication; though in truth you arc regarded
by these little residents as an alien and an
intruder. The beauties that should invite
you now, pass away or lose their freshness
with the approach of dry weather. The
mosses and lichens will have dried up by
midsummer; the ferns can then only be
found in the coolest recesses of the woods.
The excess of foliage then will close manv
beautiful vistas; there will be no more
signs of daily growth, no tender tints on
the leaflets. The year will be al middl
age, round, and perfect, but with the touch
ing bloom of its youth forever past.
There will be a corresponding diffcrenc
in the color of the skies, the shaiic of the
clouds, the hues of the water; in every part
ol nature. Let the student of nature learn
all her pissing moods. There is a wealth
of enjoyment in having well trained gyes,
and a receptive observation, that no
amount of gold can purchase, li depends
on the individual. Certain of us never
come into our kingdom, which is the king
dom wherewith the Creator endowed us
" in the bcginniiu;," because we arc too
sordid, too indolent, or loo effeminate.
Certain others of us are rejoiced to think
lhal wc have not wholly missed of it,
through either of these faults; and thai en
joyment grows with possession.
A man may conceal his name, his ace
the circumstances of his life, but not his
character. That is his moral atmosphere,
and U as insepirable from him as the fra
grance of the rose from the rose itself. In
Ihe glance of the eye. in the tones of the
voice, in the mien and gesture, character
discloses itself.
Education, to be what it ouchi in he
should begin in the very dawn of being.
its nignest aim and purpose should be to
lay Ihe foundation of perfect manhood and
womanhood to train and prepare even
child for life's duties, its responsibilities
and its noblest pleasures.
For the West Shore.
LAKE MAJESTY.
Set in the summit of the Cascade Moun
tains, on a line dividing Jackson and Lake
counties, in this State, is one of the most
remarkable lakelets on this continent, if
not on the globe. I said set, and such is
literally the fact, for never had gem a
richer or more romantic surrounding.
It was my good fortune in the Summer
of 1867, with a small number of friends,
to get a sight of this wonderful sheet of
water.
The second day out from Jacksonville,
about three o'clock in the afternoon, our
guide gave the welcome information that
from a point two hundred yards further on
we would be able to see the lake. We
had heard marvelous, stories of the moun
tain wonder how that the first sight si
lenced the rude jests of the mountaineer
and tourist alike. The members of our
company determined therefore to give
themselves up to the passion of the mo
ment. And not to have a single disturb
ing care our horses were securely tethered
to nature's hitching posts, the trees. This
done, we set out, on foot, to complete the
remainder of our journey. Our pace, dig
nified at first, soon degenerated into a
double quick, for each desired to be the
first to arrive at the point of observation.
Panting we rushed upon the last knoll, and
there, not ten yards from our feet, was the
bluff edge of that lake, The suddenness
of the appearance and the grandeur of the
scene completely unmanned us, and with a
half exclamation of surprise, and half cry
of terror, we stepped back and took sup
port by some trees that were at hand.
There, far down below us in its basin,
scooped out by the hand of some mighty
genii, slept the silent and mysterious Lake
Majesty, while around, reaching up a
thousand feet, stood the gray walls, sur
mounted by the somber forest trees, their
watch and ward keeping. The silence of
the scene was almost oppressive. Our
presence was the only evidence of animal
life within miles. Tiie surface of the
water, so far below us, was of a bluish tint,
with ever and anon a darker shade passing
over it, caused doubtless by wavelets raised
by passing zephyrs. An observation of
hall an hour served to so familiarize us
with our surroundings, that we were able
to begin conversation. It was agreed that
a day was barely sufficient for an explora
tion, and as night was near at hand wc
made camp, not far off, and waited for the
light of another day.
Lake Majesty is distant from Jackson
ville, Jackson county, about seventy-five
miles in a noith of easterly direction. The
wagon road up Rogue river, thence over
the mountains to Fort Klamath, passes
within two and a half miles of it. At the
time of which I write, the road was in ex
cellent condition good for carriages or
buggies and I suppose such is yet the
case. As before slated, the lake is on Ihe
extreme summit of the Cascade range. It
is elliptical in shape, and aboul eight miles
long by six wide. Near the center is a
m.ll lUA -I 1 i:t. - .
....... .o,au siujini iikc a truncated cone.
There is no visible outlet 10 the lake, and
the surrounding walls arc a thousand, per
ils more, feet high in many places al
most perpendicular, while in others they
area steep inclined plane faced with loose
fragments of pumice stone that, when dis
turbed in the least, gives way and goes rat
tling down and floats away on the fathom
less water. In fact the whole country is a
bed of pumice stone, enough to polish to
brightness the character and reputation of
the Credit Mobilia Congressmen, with Boss
Tweed and Trade-posts Belknap thrown in.
Previous to 1S65, it was thought bv sev
eral different parties who had visiil it
and so reported by them, that Ihe edge of
the water could not be reached, but in that
year Captain F. It. Sprague. Co. I, 1st Ore
gon Infantry, with a detachment of his
company, made a more thorough exami
nation, and found one place where it is pos
sible to clamber down to the water's edge
To Orson Stearns, Orderly Sergeant of Co!
I, 1st Oregon Inf. vols., belongs the honor
of first dipping his finger in the water of
this remarkable lake. Before the visit of
Captain Sprague and party, it was known
by several names, such as Blue Lake, Deep
Lake, etc., out at that time the Captain
named it Lake Majesty, and published an
account of his trip in the Ortgon Stnlint!
at Jacksonville.
Attempts have been made to reach bot
tom with lead and line. The hight of the
walls have never to my knowledge been
accurately measured, Our party did not,
because of a lack of instruments. Before
our visit we had a mistaken idea of the
nature of the walls, for we expected to let
a line down and thus know the hight to an
inch, but a glance caused us to abandon
that project.
The plan of launching a small boat on
the lake has been discussed, and though
doubtless practicable, it has not yel been
done. No fish have been taken from the
lake. I sincerely hope some enterprising
party will undertake a thorough survey and
exploration of this mountain gem, and
thus make known to mankind that we have
another piece of scenery in Oregon equal
ing in grandeur and majesty the remarka
ble things of the Old World. Rich glean
ings are to the engineer, geological and
artist tourists who shall undertake a thor
ough survey of Lake Majesty. G.
NOOTSACK VALLEY.
Mr. Henry W. Smith, of I.ynden, What
com count)', writes as follows to the Bel
lingham Bay Mailt
I came to this country from old Connec
ticut three years ago. I had traveled over
twenty-seven different States and Territo
ries, including the British Possessions,
before I started for this part of the world,
and I must say, honestly and truthfully,
this is the most desirable part of the country
to live in I have found. It is the most
healthy place I have ever been in ; and if
some of our delicate friends in the East
would only come here and enjoy their
meals as we all do, theyWuld never regret
their long and tedious journey. We have
some of the finest timber I have ever seen,
with thousands of acres of the best of farm
ing land to be had by living on it, and tto
good water-privileges (falls) near here. I
speak more particularly of township 40,
range I cast. But we have about six town
ships of choice land, and but a very small
share of it claimed as yet. Our soil is of
the very best loam and marl, mostly clay
subsoil. The largest part of it is beaver
dam, alder, bottom and hack-brush land,
and very easily brought under cultivation
for this part of the country. Our largest
timber lies on ridges, and even when that
is cleared it proves to be good farming
land, which is more than can be said ol
most places in a timbered country. We
have poor roads as yet, but no man expects
to find the best of roads in a new country.
We are now building a road to British
Columbia to find a better market than on
the Sound. Our neighbors, a few miles
east, have a road lo Whatcom and Sehome
un neiungnam Bay; and we have one in
progress from our place that will shorten
the distance nearly two-thirds. We have
also some neighborhood roads well under
way. There are a number of schools in
the valley, and we will start one in our dis
trict in another summer.
And in closing, I will say to those
desiring land that I will cheerfully show
them our country.
Yestekoav the blush of health was upon
her cheek, and the light of a happy spirit
in her eye. To-day, as she sits apart, look
ing as yellow as saffron, and feeling as sul
len as a mud-turtle, he asks her tenderly
what ails her, and she answers sharply,
"Mince pie, you idiotl"
Brown being asked what was the firs
thing necessary towards winning the love
of a woman, answered, "an opportunity."