The West Shoee.
VOL. 8 No. 2.
L. Samuel, Tubllnlier,
( Waakiugtou 81,
Portland, Oregon, February, 1882.
Kntervil t thn
FiMtollliw.
Pr Annum, 1 Hlnglft oonle
too, ( oto,
4 SPECIMEN NUMBER.
Any one receiving this copy of The
West Shore will please consider it
an invitation to become a regular subscriber.
THE TOURIST'S PARADISE.
' The lover of nature in all its gran
deur and varied splendor, whether of
the simply picturesque or the solemnly
sublime; whether of farm scene with
green meadow, blue sky and crystal
stream, or of towering mountains of
snow, mighty battlements of rock
frowning upon the silence below, thun
dering waterfalls or the rush of cas
cades, he has in Oregon and Washing
ton a field of never-ending wonders and
unsurpassed beauty. The Palisades and
Crow's Nest of the Hudson river are
splendid specimens of nature's hand
iwork, but with all the familiarity giv
en them by artists, photographers and
enthusiastic writers who would have us
believe that after Niagara Falls nothing
compares with the New York river for
sublimity of scenery, these points like
all others too much advertised, are a
disappointment, and in reality lack the
principal feature of natural beauty. The
rugged wildness of the Columbia is not
there and the loveliness of its blue trans
parent waters not to be seen. Where
the Hudson possesses one or two land
marks worth a touristV visit, the Co
lumbia has a hundred aye more; from
the time the lighthouse on Cape Han
cock is passed until the sands of Wallu
la break the charm, the Columbia is
one continuous chain of ever-beautiful
visions. The map usually laid out for
tourists in the east embrace? a trip to
Watkins' Glen, the Delaware Water
Gap, and a view of the Horseshoe in the
Alleghenies, Niagara Falls, Lake
George, the White Mountains, the St.
Lawrence river, Saratoga and a steam
boat trip on the Hudson truly a cir
cuitous and extended route. So it is in
Europe. For river scenery you must
go to the muddy Rhine, and its histor
ic though tame appearing banks; for
mountain views to the home of Mont
Blanc and the alleged Pas Mauvais in
Switzerland; and for impressivt coast
pictures to Norway and the Giant's
Causeway in llic north of Ireland.
While nature has not forgotten Europe,
her gifts have been sporadic, and the
tourist must make long journeys should
he wish to compass them. They un
doubtedly exist, but they are so widely
scattered that the traveler becomes
worn out in his search for them. Even
in Switzerland, there is nothing
worthy of note to be seen after one
leaves Chamounix, until he arrives at
interiaken; but here in Uregon our
beauties crowd each other, arc close at
hand and strung together like a neck
lace of jewels.
in tins issue ot our magazine we
have endeavored to cfive an idea of
the versatility and majesty of the seen
ery that is all within a few hours travel
of Portland. Of course we cannot
print everything, or anything like it,
that attracts the attention of visitors in
search of natural beauties, without re
producing one immense panorama of
both banks of the Columbia and Wil
lamette rivers. Our province is simply
to give an idea to the people abroad of
the loveliness of an almost untraverscd
field in store for thcm,and to show how
peculiarly fortunate is the position of
Oregon's metropolis in the very heart
of wonderland. With the single ex
ception of Yellowstone Park there is
. i
no place in the world wnere nature
has attired herself in more wonderful
and varied beauty in a smaller scope of
territory.
Our pictures in this issue of the Wkst
Siiohb represent Cape Hancock at the
entrance of the Columbia, river, Cape
Horn, Multnomah Falls, Rooster
Rock, Castle Rock and the old Block
House on the Columbia, and views on
the White House Road and of the ca
nal around the falls at Oregon City, on
the Willamette. These view were
taken in a hap-hazard style from
among hundreds that offered, and
while the selection may not seem to be
artistically made, they are sufficient to
give an idea at least of the natural beau
tics that surround Portland. "See
Naples aad die," was written before
civilization had forced it way to the
lordly Columbia. The writer h trav
eled very considerably in his life, and
lias been on the principal rivers of Eu
rope and this country, but no where
lias he ecn so much splendor, grand
eur and beauty combined as on the Co
lumbia. ' '
At its mouth Cape Hancock stand, a'
mighty sentinel ot everlasting rock,
bathed on one side by the virgin Co-'
lumbia and lashed by loud surges of the '
Pacific on the other. A fine beacon
surmounts the cape, and its welcome
light can be seen for twenty miles at
sea, while great black guns frown from
among the firs their ever-ready "pro-'
tection. But a stone's throw from the
sea beaten rocks, to the leeward of the
cape, quietly rests the military post,
called Fort Canby, after General Can-
by of Modoc celebrity, smiling in the
genial sunshine. How like life it in I
On one side the poor storm-tossed soul
is dashed hither and thither, a constant '
struggle for existence, while but a span
away on the othcV is the haven of
safety where every thing is peace and
happiness forever. Baker's bay, ns the
little cove is called on the east side of
the cape, is a safe and deep harbor, and
is often used as an anchoring place by
ocean steamers and shipi awaiting fa.
vorable tides. The fortifications at Ft.
Canby are a constant source of interest
to visitors at the cape, who are espec
ially numerous during the summer sea.
son. It has been truly said, that while
Cape Hancock is a barrier against 1
storms it is also a guide for the waters ''
of the Columbia, and that if nature hull
only erected a similar head of land on
the other side of its mouth, on the
Oregon side of the river, the terrors at
the Columbia bar would be unknown','
for the bar would have no existence.
Another beautiful feature of the Co
lumbia is Multnonvih Falls, hut a few
miles from Portland, which we faith-'
fully portray in this number, With a
view of the O. R. & N. Co' steamrr
Wide West in the foreground. Fulling
from a height of 8o3 feet, the visitor at
this point of interest is liable to lie
drenched tn spray, often when quite a
distance ' from the main body of water.
At tne loot 01 tne tails the growth of
fir and other tree in very dense, and
from a distance the picture is presented '
h ' V