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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1883)
July, 1883. THE WEST SHORE. tains up the river are covered with pine, which can be easily rafted downj within the town limits even the finest of building stone in inexhaustible supply can be had ; the Belt mountains, distant from 25 to 50 miles, furnish mineral ores of every kind, and the Sun river valley and others adjacent will furnish the agricultural products de manded. The water power of Black Eagle falls alone is much greater than that of St. Anthony falls at Minneapolis. The policy of Mr. Hill will be to develop this enterprise at an early date. Among the first moves will be to secure a railroad, and whether it is a branch of the Northern Pacific, the Utah and Northern or some other road, re mains to be seen; but a railroad will be built there, and that very soon. The building of a great manufacturing town at the falls of the Mis souri will be of vast benefit to northern Montana, It will draw railroads to it, aid in the develop ment of its agricultural and mineral resouices, and hasten the day when the enormous Indian reservation, which now holds thousands of square miles ol its choicest land securely closed to the settler, will be thrown open to occupation. IDAHO. The whole of southern Idaho is waking into new life and activity under the influence of the railroad. Immigrants are pouring into its valleys and mining districts in great numbers, Bernard is the name of a new town on Crooked river in the Sheep mountain country. It is named in honor of Colonel Bernard, whose campaign after Indians through this region in- 1879 first rr vealed the lact that it was rich in quartt ledges. The entire Weiser valley is settling up rapidly, and when the railroad reaches it this fall, a large increase in immigration is expected. A new town will probably be laid out by the Oregon Short Line on their route about three miles from Weiser city. On the summit of the Sawtooth mountains, above Sawtooth City, in the Wood river country, is Red Fish lake, or rather was, for the water has suddenly disappeared leaving the barren bed ex posed. The lake had an area of several miles and was many fathoms in depth. It was on the summit of one of the peaks of the range, some 1 l.coo feet above the level of the sea, and sur rounded by heavy timber, which rendered it a delightful place of resort in the summer for camp ing, fishing and boating parties. The lake has been there since the white man has known the country, but lately the bottom fell out. The country formation is granite and limestone, and an immense fissure has been opened, whether caused by a separation or settling of the earth's surface, or from volcanic action, is not known. At present the bed of the lake il dry, and presents the appearance of a deep gorge or valley on the summit of the mountains. This lake has always contained million of fish, and been a favorite resort lor deer, lear and other gnme. Where the fish went to is as much of a mystery as where the water went. Will the water reapear ? and if so, will the fish also return? are conundrums fre quently asked and never satisfactorily answered. W must wait and ie. BRITISH COLUMBIA. The Webster saw mill in New Westminster has fallen into the possession of the Dominion Sawmill Co. The mill will be greatly improved auj its capacity doubled. The fishery industries of the northern part of the province are in splendid condition. At Alert bay the salmon are running splendidly, and the new cannery on Smith inlet is having an excellent run. The run is just commencing on River inlet. One of the canneries is at work while the other will not be ready until so late that It will only salt the fish this season. The saw mills there ore at work night and day and can not supply the demand for lumber required in that neighborhood, A new cannery is going up on Bella Coola. The canneries on Skeena are all at work. At some of the establishments Indians only ore employed, both as fishermen and canners. At Skidegatc the oil company has put up 30,000 gallons of oil and expects to secure 46,003 gallons during Ilk season. A company of Knglish capitalists has under taken the enterprise of draining and colonizing the bottom lauds of the Kootenai, William A. Bailie-Grnhman, the company's representative, thus describes the enterprise to the Vohmisl : The lower Kootenai country comprising the lands in question is very little known and al present quite uninhabited. Between lloimer'i lerry on the Kootenai river and the lake, a dis .tance of about no miles by river, there is only one while settler. The lands whit It we propose to reclaim are situated on both aide's of I lie river. The valley, here about five or six miles wide, is bounded on both sides by steep ami tlennely lim bered mountains, These bottoms arc- level stretches ot meadow land, annually inundated from the middle of May to the middle or end of July. The rise in the river in average years is about 31 feel ond one can form, llerclcirc, some idea of Ihe vast volume? of water which we have to tackle. We propose to do so from two iioinu, i. e., by digging a water tlilch of conaiilcrnhle length connecting Ihe upper waters of (lie Kootenai river wiili Ihe headwaters of the Colum l.in uhirh at this iniii t is ol sliL'htlv lower eleva tion, and secondly, by widening Ihe outlet "I Lake Kootenai. The first mentioned work will subdue the Kootenai waters only to a very limileil exicnl i the latter will Iks far more elective, but also very much more costly as we have lu widen or lower the bottom of the outlet by Matting for at li-a-.t six miles. From what I have keen ( the country 1 should judge thai a capital of al least $100,000 or $150,000 would be required to carry through this work. Our consulting en gineer will examine the whole question thor oughly this aulumn when Ihe water is tuliicicnlly low to determine the difficulties In our way. II we succeed we shall have some 70,000 acres of very excellent land, all of rich, alluvial soil, where luxuriant vegelatiun can be exacted. Our scheme Is an honest onc there is no land-grubbing about it, and we mean busineit right from the start. I have already signed contracts lor a small sieamer for out own use, to be on the river by August 15th. It will be the lirst on th:tr waters, lor the reported esisience of other steam ers on the river or Lake Kootenai it not eorrecl. Our little sieamer will have to I hauled over 4X miles of about Ihe wont tril there It in this or any other country t but t we have tiul received a franchise from the territory of Idaho to l.uiltl a loll road from Sand I'oint to Bonner's ferry, upon which we intend to commence work at oner, I have every hoi-e that excellent communication will be etlablithed by next spring. For the pat! five years I have tieen visiting I c western territories, sr-emling six or eight niiintht every year west of the Missouri, .lev .ling n.jrtclf exclusively to exploration and sport. I tnual say I have never seen a country thai pleased am In every retpect (Wring mosquitoes) so much s the Kootenai river and lake, mid 1 ccrtain'y know no mountain lake cither In Kuioe or America that struck my fancy more lhan Kootenai lake, It Is strictly an Alpine lake, the mountain slopes, cnvcretl with good llm!r, coming down to the rnt'k IwunJ ih.'ic. ill a UatUiful lint a I have ever seen, equal in many places to the famed Konigs-see, the gem of the Furopean Alpt. Back of the lint row of mountains there Is a second much higher range nf peaks, whose large glacier-like snowlields and very Mil crags make the picture ihe very ideal of Alpine scenery. Concerning our intentions regarding the liver lands which we have leased with the option of puichase from the government, I may say that we propose forming on them the KiKiirn.1l colony for immigrants ol the best clan, that it men of meant, cliictly F.nglish army nlht-irs who have capital of Ihcirnwn ami who tlrtire In live In a beautiful country under the F.nglish crown, where port is of such exceptional excellence as It la around Kootenai. The tale army refoimt In F.ngland aie causing quite a rotitidcrahla emigra tion of this very class, and Kootenai Colony will, I think, cover jutt (hit want, Ouite a number ore coming out this aulumn to look at Ihe counliy, YOUNU'S RIVI-K FALLS. The rivers of (he western mountains are becom ing famous fur the number and beauty of their falls. The foaming cascades thai leap and whirl over and around ihe howldeis and shelving rucks, the long Initial veils falling fiom great heights ami melting into clouds of spray long before reaching Ihe Ixitlom, and the great rataracls thai rivil Niagara in power and splendor, are all worthy of unbounded admiration, One of the moil beautiful of these is the falls of Voting's river, in Ihe Con si Range monntaint, a few miles south of Aaloria, The waler, Icy cold and clear as crystal, runt through Ihe rocky gorges, shad owed by dense foreslt, ami suddenly plun.'ct over a precipice and flows onward In Ihe (.ulumbia, The water pilchrs downward a short distance upon a sloping matt of rokt, 11IT which il lolls on three tides at once, falling In a Ihin convex sheet Id Iip bollom. This double fall glvrs It a must peculiar and pleating effect. Hundreds vitit Young's liver eveiy year In admire I In beauty of Ihe tall and to enjoy the txitl offered by tint delightful region to the angler and sports man. ' - CKF.STF.il HUTU-.. The iecullar formation of the rocky bluffs that in placet along Ihe upwr Columbia and lis lilb titarict rise ahruplly from the water and wall In the riven for miles, it shown In our engraving ol Cictted bulte. The Umatilla liver, rising In the cool tpringt of Ihe Blue mountains, (lows north wetlcrly into I In Columbia. Near lis mmilh, al Umatilla Unding, (he O. K. 4 N. C. has esleb-liiht-d the Initial point of lis Baker Clly branch, and fium this point of junction il tuns up the UrnaliU forty miles In Ihe elly of I'cndlel.m. When len miles wetl of that place ihe lock pa. tet along Ihe bate of fretted l.He, Iwtween he liver and Ihe lowering wsll of lock. This is hut an Introduction lo Ihe scenery of I bit new line for after leaving Pendleton il iltw rapidly into Ihe B'ue mountains, rrnswe ihem ami d iccndt the eastern si ipe lo Snoke river, finally uniting with llie Oregon Slum I. In In Ihe nar row, loiluout, rocky ranyon of llurni ilvt-r. Il la ilieady over the mm mil, and will If f'rfiipUlril lo I'.akrf City ami llurni nvrr early in 1K.H4. ami then Cretied bulte ami Ihe hundred other ,l.ircl of Imerctl along this line will be fumi by through train from the aL
