Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1883)
102 THE WEST SHORE. reuirocn, h increasing population, its many reluib' improvements now in progress rod to be made in the immediate future, its beautiful situa tion and u'.ubnoas climate, will be the (object of i faicre ankle. Tbe mimajjth hotel, the grand una depot sad the great birige across the WU- the inttlff't aiten:on in another Tear, hare as ret, with the exception of a little preliminary work, an existence oo'y on paper, and we leave then to the faiure. Provided with a through, Bfilimiicd ticket, permitliEg as to stop over wher ever and whenever we choose, we repair to the Aimaorta dock, step aboard one of the fine steamers the company ases fjf a terry boat, and are soon landed on the eastank of the river, in the towa of axil SA, the present termtnas of the O. R. k N. Cut's hoe. As we Urd the traia we see the immense dry Ark in coarse of construction, the capacious coal backers, the mammoth Soaring mill which is being erected at a Co of J2 ja,ooo, and the wuekmea basily engaged upon the machine shops and other itnprotrmentt of the company. While wt are seating ocrvelves in the car and thinking ot what all this work and oatlay of capital meant for the future of AiL-cia, the traia mores slowly op the river to Last Portland and halts at the Oregon and California depot. A wait of a few moments and it is ajain in motion, turns sharply to the left, pastes throcgh a dtep ratine and ander the wooden naJoct which spans it, and points its pilot directly to the ru. We hart scarcely disposed ourselves com foiaMy, maJe xa arraajeaxats t the journey, taken a critical ssrrey of ocr fellow passengers, and glanced cot of the aindow, a hen we find the train alreafy oa the back of the mighty Co !?, and rapsij apor jwclimg the grge cat by Us ceaseless l foe ages thtocgh the Cascade raige. Taenty serea miles from Portland ae pass be taeen tao high, conical rocks, the CATIWAT TO WONDHLAND. This portal forms the central figure of one of tbe il.attraied piges, and around it oar artist has clustered a few of the staking tn:ma of the Cascade range, iacladicg the famous Mount Hood, the Malinoouh falls, the Cascades, and a characteristic scene of uoaauia travel. It is a happy coaUaatioa that gires at a gUace a com. pre hem ire view of this pictoresqje regno. We bow find oarselTes winding along the liver's brink kemmed in between its rolling ters and the treat wall of rock that rises abruptly from tbe bank, a .Scjlla frowning opoe, Charybdi. V rash along the narrow passageway between, now thotfmj oat over the water on tres, to a. emmrem , juuirsg cliff of rocks, tbroagh srse dark tunnel, ,( rm rm f. 0-et.mes at our si.!e and sooet braeti a. Soon wt hear the sound of auers dasi fr , rent herghl agamst tbe rocks, and now tie great Ml'LTaoMAH PUXS bw poa our nsioc, leaping fro, the oa-, abtwe and falling in a Iceg, graceful sweep acarly U lh.ho.tonv. There . sheUvng rock mterveJ a -nksng .po, tha, the wa!er, n oatlok, f --plangt orer. After. descentof y-l handred fret the, gather the-selm together - It botto. d rash impetTna down the steep slope to the river. Rolling by these so near that the flying spray almost beats upon the car windows, we are soon out of sight, Then we pass in rapid succession' the well-known Rooster rock, Cape Horn, Castle rock, and La Too re He falls, and arrive at THE CASCADES, the first great barrier to the inland navigation of tbe Columbia. Twenty years ago a railroad portage was built on the opposite side of the rirer, which transported all freight and passengers to the steamer above, a distance of about five miles. The route is still used. The water rushing and foaming overand around the rocks that obstruct the channel, makes a pretty picture with the sur rounding objects and background of mountains. It was here tbe gTeat Cascades massacre occurred in tbe pioneer days, and the old log block house is aell preserved. A few miles further we come to the locks where the government has spent thousands of dolUrs in constructing a canal around these hindrances to navigation. Much more must be expended before the great work is completed and the river opened to Dalles City, From here tbe view is especially fine as we glide along between the mountains and water and catch an occasional glimpse of the steamers that ply upon the river. Crossing Hood river, whose icy aaters have come but a few miles from their fountain bead amid the snows of Mount Hood, we soon arrive at THE DALLES, a thriving city that for years was the trans-shipping point tor all Iretght that went up or down the river. This is the commercial center of a large siretcn ot country on both sides of the stream, and is the county seat of Wasco county, in which are many thousand acres of valuable land still open to settlement This whole region is de veloping rapidly, and the city grows with it. After leaving tbe town we come upon the long rapids from which it derives its name, a title be stowed by the old voyageurs of the Hudson's Bay Co. The road from this point to Celilo, a dis tance of thirty miles, is the railway portage built yean ago to transfer freight from below The Dalles to the steamers on the upper Columbia. The rocky walls still rise above us, in some places overhanging with threatening aspect, and and at others forcing us out into the stream. CPPER CAPE HORN in particular, presentJ t frowning ap which gx and realize our littleness. A few miles further we pass out into more level ground and obtain a splendid view of MOCST HOOD, hich is now many miles to the southwest Its -fc tWully sweeping lines of white rivet our Sst nl? "o of the W Bore KH some are T.for 'tit-deUb,lJJSfetttbutfor Wy of ocUrne, softness and grace it surpasses t- Ai It IS fir rJ Ik. - . ".oojec npon which the tnrV.'. :n . ' - . -m res, as be enters Oregon '7 the road gracSlly Cascade mountains, and wind, .lone nm bank through . rf .ppareUywouhle The .pJ.ra.vce W. Back from the stream, betn," DES CHITE1 AND JOHN DAT noises. Urge body of excellent land which is May, 1883. receiving many settlers, tor vears .hi. - . region has been a vast range for stock, but no ils value for agricultural purposes is being niied. Still further on, beyond the John DaTl the '' " GREAT SHEEP COnvTRY of Eastern Oregon. Thousands upon thouand, of sheep are wintered in the foot hills, and in the spring are driven eastward into the Blue moil ah""-. "ePPner is the ww f this industry vA Alkail. the nearest railroad station, will Z 60,000,000 pounds of wool this season. The nut place of importance is UMATILLA CITY, once a gTeat river shipping point and now ih junction of the Baker City branch of the 0. R. S: js. (,a with the main line. The uninviting ridges ol sand give but little promise of the magnificent country that lies just beyond them. We are at the gateway of the famous Walla WalU region, through which we will take . flying trip, On the branch line we head southeast, passirf the embryo towns of Foster and Echo, and reach PENDLETON after a run of forty mile. This is the center of 1 vast area of grain land and extensive sheep ranges, a thriving town and county seat of Urn, tilla county. . The road is now being pushed through the mountains to Baker City, and a con nection with the Oregon Short Line at the mouth of Burnt river will be effected in a few months. When this junction is made a through route uf travel from the east will be opened by the way of Pendletorc From here a road connecting with Walla Walla is under construction. Taking this we cross the fertile but idle acres of tb Umatilla reservation, a garden spot that will en long yield its bountiful harvests of grain, and pass through or near Centerville, Weston and Milton, all prosperous towns, to WALLA WALLA, the queen city of this inland empire. Beginning at Centerville and extending for 103 miles around the western and northern base of the Blue moan- tains, is one immense field of wheat Except along the margin of the streams not a tree ob structs the view, and standing on the top of ont of the rolling hills we gaze for miles and see nothing but fields of grain, stretching away in one con tinuous succession of farms until they blend with the distance. Such another view cannot be seel on the continent It is estimated that 2,000,000 bushels of wheat will be shipped from this regioi the coming fall. At Walla Walla we find bustle and activity. Prosperity is indicated in every thing we see. The commercial center of such 1 magnificent region, what else could be expected? It is a city of more than 6,000 people, with s great trade already established, thrifty and enter prising, and has a brilliant future before it A narrow eautre road runs a few miles back into 1 fanning section of 40,000 acres, and the 0. R- N. Ca's line, which reaches the city from Walloi Junction, continues on to the northeast to Prescott, here it branches, one line running along t" Touchet to Waitsborgand Dayton, and the other to Texas Ferry on Snake river. Dayton b prosperous business town and shipping poM with two flouring mills, a woolen mill and sew other industries. From Texas Ferry an extensioi of the road np Pataha creek through Pomerof and Patah. City to Lewiston, Idaho, is eonte plated, passing through county as fertile W