July, 1883.
THE WEST SHORE.
MOUNT TACOMA.
In 1792 the great English explorer, Captain
Vancouver, who had a mania for naming every
thing after some officer of the British navy, be
stowed the name "Rainier" upon that great
mnnirrh of the Cascades, in honor of an English
admiral whose eyes never rested upon its rugged
sides or snowy crest. Until recently this title has
been accepted, but now there is a disposition on
the part of those who prefer to see the quaint
Indian names of this region preserved, to restore to
it the title it bore for centuries among the natives
who lived in its very shadow and drank of the
c6ol waters that flow incessantly from its icy
glaciers. Looking up to its top, towering far
above every object for hundreds of miles around,
they called it "Tacoma," or "Tahoma," "near
est to Heaven,'.' and it is fitting that it should
bear that name for all time to come. - Not only
this, the grandest of all, but nearly every peak of
the coast has been burdened with some proper
name, such as Baker, Hood, Adams, Jefferson,
etc., bestowed by explorers with more patriotism
than poetry in their natures. A change to the
original Indian titles or some other to express
their peculiar outlines or characteristics, would
be desirable in every case.
Mount Tacoma stands in Washington Territory,
about midway between the , Columbia river and
Puget sound. Around it on three sides rise the
great timber-clad ridges of the Cascade ,range,
while to the northwest the ground gradually
slopes off to the shore of Puget sound. From its
snowy sides run little streams, the fountain heads
of rivers flowing in 'all directions, teeming with
that most delicious of all fish, ' the beautiful
mountain trout, " From New Tacoma, on Com
mencement bay, at the extreme head of the sound,
the view of this mountain monarch is grand in
the extreme. It towers majestically up, with its
white masses of snow and dark rocky ridges, to
the great height of .14,444 feet. Many peaks arc
higher in other parts 'of the world, bat they are
simply summits of very high mountain ' ridges,
while Tacoma towers aloft in one mighty mass,
a single cone 12,000 feet above the hills that
form its base. . Thousands annually visit Switier
land to gaze upon the famous Mont Blanc and
the Matterhorni, when here in our very midst is a
nobler mountain and a grander sight than can be
found in the whole Alpine range. . Mount Shasta,
in California, in all these' respects is almost a
duplicate of Tacoma, and in these two peaks the
coast can offer to lovers of the sublime in nature,
that which is unsurpassed by the grandest scenes
of Europe. Only Ml. Futiyann.t, near Yoko
hama, Japan, can rival them.
About twelve miles west from the mountain,
rises a bold peak to the height of 4,800 feet, and
from its top the view is inexpressibly grand. In
the immediate foreground is the mountain mon
arch, while in the distance the white crests of
Baker, Adams and St. Helens thrust themselves
above the long pine-covered ridges of the Cascade
mountains, while the Cowliti and Netqually
valleys, the Stcilacoom plains and the long arms
and islands of Puget sound stretch out beneath
them. .,
' Our engraving shows near view of the saddle
shaped summit of the mountain, taken from the
headwaten of the iPuyallup river. On its north
era slope is an immense living glacier, whose icy
fields stretch out for miles. Onlv nwttllu htm
there been an intelligent effort to explore Tacoma
and penetrate the wilderness in which it his
reigned for ages. A trail is being made from
New Tacoma and preparations are on foot for
opening up to the tourist the attractions of a
nearer view of the peak, its great glacier, and the
thousand scenes of beauty and grandeur in the
mountains at its base.
BEAVER HEAD VALLEY.
In southwestern Montana and traversed hv
the Utah Northern R. R. (narrow gauge), is the
valley of the Beaverhead, nearly oircular in shape
and about twenty miles in diameter. Near the
head of the valley and in close proximity to the
railroad, is Beaverhead rock, so named from Its
close resemblance to that industrious quadruped.
The rock rues 300 feet above the river, and is so
nearly perpendicular that a plummlt suspended
from the top would touch the edge of the deep
eddy lying at its base. A short distance up the
canyon clusters of warm springs burst from the
cliffs and drop over a ledge into the valley,
forming the Twin falls so much admired by all
travelers. Near the center of the valley and eight
miles from the rock, lies the town of Dillon, a
growth of the railroad, and an important supply
point for a vast extent of farming, grating and
mineral country. The Beaverhead river, a trib
utary of the lefferson. runs through and fertilises
the valley. About one-fourth of the land is un
der cultivation, while the remainder Is the grating
ground of large bands of cattle and sheep.
CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT.
That Ions iuttinc headland at the mouth of the
Columbia river, on the north, it properly named
Cape Disappointment, though it is frequently
called Cape Hancock, It was first discovered by
the Spanish explorer, Heceta, on the fourteenth
of August, 1775, who bestowed upon It the title
of Cape San Roque j but this was sulnequently
changed to Cape Disappointment by a navigator
who had sought in vain for the river Heceta had
reported to exist there. Near the extreme end of
the cape the government maintains a light house
for the benefit of commerce, while the war depart
ment has fortifications and barracks, called Fort
Canby, in honor of the noble general who lost hit
life at the hinds of the treacherous Modocs. 1 he
cane, the beach of Biker's bay just intide and
I - - - -
south of .it, and the ocean shore to the north, ate
favorite visiting points for tourists and tutnmer
resorts for those families from the interior who
can afford the luxury of a sojourn by the sea side.
Daily steamers run from Astoria to Ilwaco, on
Baker's bay, and to Fort Canby, having many
passengers in the summer months. Camping out,
rambles along the beach, over the cape and
through the forests back of it, bathing in the surf,
hunting and fishing, comprise the amusements
open to the visitor. The splendid views to be
had from the cape are especially attractive to the
lover of the grand and beautiful. To the north
and west is the restless ocean, to the south the
Clatsop beach, Tillamook head and Tillamook
rock, and to the east the broad estuary of the
Columbia, with iu high pine-covered benkt,
each forming picture worthy of the artist's most
skillful broth. And the cape ktelf, from the
beach on either side, present an attractive scene.
Our engraving represents It as it appears from the
outer or ocean beach. Its green pines and rocky
misses Hand out boldly against the bark cround
of witer, while in front is the gracefully curving
beich. Just over the lowest portion, on the left,
we citch a glimpse of linker's By Insl.le of the
ca, and the hills on the northern hank dimly
outlined in the distance, The attractions of the
cape are recognised more and more every year,
and It already divides with the celebrated Clatton
beach the honor of being the favorite summer
resort ot the northern coast. .
SHOSHONE FALLS.
Second only to Niagara ia power and magnifi
cence are the Shoshone falls of Idaho. .Though
somewhat narrower and carrying a smaller volume
of water, they are higher bj tifty feel, a worthy
rival of that great cataract, whose roar once min
gled with the cannon's peal, the clash of aims
and shouts and dying groans, where Might and
Right struggled for the mattery and Liberty
triumphed in the downfall of her oppressor.
What a grand sight lliey mutt have lcn to thai
lint wandering party of lrapier, who, far be
yond the confines of civilisation, stood in sllrnt
awe before this great masterpiece of Nature.
The Shoshone Indians were one of the few tillie
with whom the early American dapper held
peaceful intercourse, ami fiom them lint came
knowledge of the three great falls of Snake liver,
the Shoshone, the Salmon, few miles below,
and the American, aliout ninety miles above.
The tripper wit intensely practical. It was his
million to hunt the beav.'r, and in the pursuit of
this occupation amid the akt ami valleys of the
Rocky mountains, his eyes were surfeited with
scenes of plctiiresqurncss and grandeur, and he
would hardly turn from hit path 10 witness the
rnott entrancing tight the Kingdom of Nature
hat to offer. Slunhone falls could give him no
lieaver and so he bestowed upon them scarce a
thought, One day the distant roar of the cataract
was borne by the wind to the acute earsuf a
party passing through the country, and remem
bering what the Indians had told them, ihry de
cided to tee fur themselves this gieal "falling
water." Led by the ever-Increasing sound, they
retched the bluffs ami gared down upon the ruli
ing water from the high rocky wills that hem ll
in on cither side. They taw the bruid river glide
swiftly along, daihing and foaming around liter
great masses, uf rock lint obilrud lite channel
just alxve the blink, and then, gt during Itself to
gel her in one mighty rum, plunge down a thter
descent of XX) feel, ami lose itself In the cloud of
tpriy thai ascended from the rotkl below, ap
pearing again in the long while streaks of fan
thai were whirled along Ik I we en the canyon's
lowering walls. Even these lirtMuive men gsled
upon lha scene in mule admiration, their ears
deafened by the mighty roar thai came up fiom
the canyon below, while the ground tumbled be
neath (heir feel. Years have passed since those
men first visited these falls and brtlowtd upon
them the name of the I milt n tribe uf lhal region,
and the mighty cataract bu filled I lie air with Its
ceaseless roar, unheeded save by the few who
have turned aside to pa k homage. It hit
existed millions of ages, and can afford to wait
few year snot (or the time when hotels will
stand on lb rivet' bank, and thousand will an-