VOL. 2 No. 12.
PORTLAND, OREGON, AUGUST, 1877.
tMu oorac
ROGUE RIVER KA1.I.S.
Of the many grand ami picturesque
waterfalls existing in the Pacific North
west, the one we give an engraving of
on this page is one of the most note
worthy. They arc located in Southern
Oregon, and arc formed by the Rogue
river, a short distance from where it
breaks through the Coast Range on its
way to the sea. This stream through
out is surrounded by magnificent firs,
pines and cedars, which give it the ap
pearance of an undulating silvery thread
stretched through a mass of foliage.
Where it takes its abrupt leap the
forest is so dense as to he almost im
passable in summer, owing to the lux
uriance of the shrubbery and under
brush, and so dark and cool even in the
warmest weather that one feels chilled
in a short time, as the place exhales a
palpable humidity. This only adds to
the weird charm of the falls, for solitude
and foliage but render such places more
interesting. Looking upwards from
the base they are seen to emerge from
n very narrow opening between two
huge masses of dark crags, but ere thev
reach the ground ihey seem to be di
vided into three sections of foamy spray,
owing to the interruption of the line of
sight by the dense ami tangled foliage.
Their hight is about two hundred
feet. The volume of water, in sum- ;
mer,is not very great, but during the
spring freshets they have n depth of ten
feet at the summit. One of the most
interesting features about the falls, is
the luxuriance of the mosses anil lichens
that grow wherever the spray falls.
Their base is surrounded bv cedars,
junipers, alders and willows, huh are
covered with mosses to such an extent,
that the trunks and brandies are almost
concealed ; this, of course, prevents
much leafage, so that they present the
appearance of a forest of gigantic
mosses.
VANCOUVER.
Vancouver, the county seat of Clarke
county, is a town of about 1,000 inhab
itants and is situated on the north bank
of the Columbia river, eighteen miles
by water (Columbia and Willamette
rivers) from Portland, the metropolis of
Oregon. Its location is acknowledged
to be the finest on the river. A broad
plateau rises gradually from the hank
of the river for half a mile, then falls
again, forming a little valley in the
northern part of town. The -urfaee,
from the centre of the valley, rises slow
Iv and almost imperceptibly (or nearly
a mile. Adjoining the eastern bounda
ry of the town is the military reserva
tion acknowledged by nil army men to
be onn of the most beautiful and eligible
locations in the United States. The
town supports both public and private
schools, three churches and one news
paper; these comprise the educational
and moral conservators of the place.
Merchandising and the different trades
and mechanic Rita, market gardening
and fruit growing constitute the leading
occupations of the people. The U. S.
I. anil. office for seven counties of the
Territory is located here, tleing the
county seat, here also are the various
county officers and the clerk of the
District Court, w Inch holds two sessions
annually for the sub-district of which
Clarke is the senior county.
Among the many other advanta-cs
which Vancouver enjoys is the prevail
ing giHxl health of tl e people. The
situation of the town favors the most
perfect system of drainage, and the soil
being somewhat gravelly anil porous
rapidly absorbs all waste liquids and flu
ids o a deleterious nature. Another
reason why the town is so uniformly
healthy, is because of its perfect system
for supplying a large quantity of the
purest spring water throughout the
greater part of town. The water is
brought in pipes Irotn a point about live
miles away. The pipes arc laid under
ground, keeping the water both sweet
and cool all seasi ns of the year.
With regard to the great line of travel,
(the Columbia river,) Vancouver is situ
ated a'out half way between the busy
manulVcturiug region of l'ugel Sound
and the agricultural and cattle-raising
plains east of the Cascade range of
mountains; forming, while the Territo
ry maintains its present boundaries, a
very convenient meeting place for the
people of all sections of the country,
Geographically, if for no other reason,
this place should he the capital of the
Territory. Olvmpia, on the headwaters
of Puget Sound, the present capital city,
has a small capitol building, for this
reason, chiefly, that place will doubt
less continue to be the capital, while
the country maintains its territorial or
ganization. It will thus be seen that
while the town already possesses many
agreeable features, it is not abogtthcr
without expectations in the future.
Another leading advantage of the
town is, that it is the principal point in
one of the largest and best counties In
the Territory, a county with great
diversity of soil and spontaneous pro
duction. Its dairy, farm, orchard, ami
timber productions already occupy an
important place in the Portland ami
San Francisco trade.
The immediate vicinity of Vancouver
all'onls a good opportunity for men with
a little capital to go into the fruit raising
business. The soil is well adapted for
this purpose, and there arc nurseries
here, where trees of the best quality,
ami of every variety known to the lati
tude, can be had at low figures.
Such are the leading advantages of
Vancouver. The man who comes here
and brings his family to locate will not
be disappointed in what this article re
veals. Vancouver independent.
A i w's temper is moi
himself, and he should ke
alnable to
ROGUE RIVER FALLS) SOUTHERN OREGON, Photo hj Peter Britt