The west shore., July 01, 1884, Page 204, Image 6

204
THE WEST SHORE.
ALONG THE! COLUMBIA. .
TITE present this month a number of eneravinErs of
wont thnt moot the traveler's eye ns he rolls up
the bank of the Columbia, comfortably seated in his
richly ornamented and upholstered palace car. Thev
consist of tho grand and the curious, scenes made attrac
tive by their beauty, or interesting because of their
strangeness and rarity. The trestle and bridge at the
crossing of Hood River form one of the landmarks of the
route, llus stream flows directly from the northern
base of Mount Hood, and its clear, icy waters are formed
by the melting snows that drape the mountain's aide.
Just before the river loses itself in the stream which is
bearing to the sea the waters of a score of mountain
ranges, it is crossed by the railroad. This region boasts
of producing as fine fruit as can be found in Oregon, and
tho stream itself, nearer its fountain head, has been
whipjwxl for trout for years by enthusiastic sportsmen.
Not far from Hood River is Oneonta Creek, which
the railroad crosses at the entrance to a deep and rocky
gorge. This is a picturesque stream, and the hasty
glance obtained by the traveler as he is whirled rapidly
past reveals one of the most pleasant of the ever-shifting
Bcenes framed by tho car window.
Here and there, in the vicinity 'of the Cascades and
Dulles, is soen a large wheel revolving in the water, and
attached either to the bank of the river or to some float
ing supiort anchored further out in the stream. This is
the much-used and much-abused fish wheel It is only
a fow years Bince the first of those was introduced, and
its success in scooping up the unwary salmon has led to
the locating of a competitor in nearly every favorable
siK)t in that region. A whoel, the construction of which
is readily understood from the engraving, is set in one of
the narrow channels, or runways, followed by the salmon
in their efforts to ascend the rock-encumbered channel of
the river. The wheel is turned by the force of the cur
renVaud n it revolutions its nets bring up from the
watery depths the struggling fish and empty them into a
trough, down which they glide, flopping and jumping,
into a recepb-icle on the shore or in the boat to which the
wheel is attached. The number of fish one of these
wheels will catch during a good run of salmon is enor
mous. It is from this source the car loads of salmon
now being shipiKHl East are generally procured. The
wheel is objected to as a catch all" which robs the
stream of fih of all kinds, both great and small, and if
unchecked by law will hastenWtime when the Colum
bia will lcoiue exhausted of itA royal salmon. However
this may be, the turning and dripping fish wheel is a
picturesque sight, ahd always an object of much interest
to travelers.
The high cliffs of basaltic rock which rise abruptly in
S'7 f .U1,e,bftn1k of "tream, towering far above
the track which has been blasted out at its base, or which
is carried around iU frowning front on trestle work, be
neath which rusho. the groat river, aw alway. objecta of
admiration. The one preaented in otir engraving ia
known a. - Upper Cape Horn," to distinguiah it from the
spired cliffs of that name further down, on the opposite
side of the stream, bo well known to travelers on the
river. As the train creeps along tho base of thebtj giant,
rockv bluffs, and the eye follows their seamed BnA
creviced front to their apex towering far above, the gazer
for the first time realizes their magnitude and appreciates
one of the many difficulties the engineers overcame in
constructing this river line.
The Sand Dunes are an object of curiosity to many,
and by the harsh, grating noise made by the wheels
in grinding the fine sand lying upon the rails, force them
selves upon the attention of all Above The Dalles, for
a number of miles, the track leads along the bank of the
Columbia through a treeless waste as dreary and sandy
as the most approved desert of Africa or Asia. The
winds that at times give themselves free rein along the
stream sport with the fine particles of sand and blow
them hither and thither like thistle-down, raising long
ridges or scooping out deep hollows at will Ever
changing, like the drifting of the light, fleecy snow by a
winter's gale, these sand storms frequently bury the
track from sight in a few hours. To guard against this
the company is compelled to maintain a sauad of track
walkers, who pass to and fro over the road constantly and
Keep tne track free from Band. It takes considerable
snow to block the passage of a train: not so with this
sand drift The track might, be rendered impassable
wnen to the uninitiated eye no sand whatever would be
observable. Drifting over the rail it settles down solid
and compact on the inside, and easily throws the wheels
of the passing engine from the track1 The utmost care
and unceasing vigilance on the part of the track cleaners
is necessary to prevent such occurrences as these. In
crossing these dunes, and gazing upon this wide waste of
sand, the traveler often exclaimB. "What a worthless
country I" and feels inclined and, in fact, many hasty
ana aeiuaea ones actually do to write home that East
ern Oregon is a desert valueless for agriculture. The
tongue of Buch a man should have an interrogation point
wnBwnuy on tne end of it, to keep his eyes from leading
him astray. By asking a few inHiiMnii mWmnn he
would learn that beginning a few miles back from the
to ciwuiuug lar up tne sides of both tne uiue
and Cascade mountains and covering th hmH Area be
tween them, lie thousands of wheat fields and mile after
mile of bunch grass grazing lands, the former producing
a general average of twentv-five bnshnU nf wWt to the
acre, and the latter, furnishing sustenance to tens of
thousands of cattle and hundreds of thousands of sheep.
loo much dependence upon the eveniirht alnnn has led
many people to hastily condemn a region of most ning-
"'UH"" B"cuiiurai Bnd pa8toral resources.
A DE8IGN Of clover tnna anA Vaa clrats-liAfl
with indelible ink upon fine white lawn, forms a very
delicate cover for a
satine; a bow of pink ribbon at each end holds the two
niOAaa 4 11 n ..... . ....
rr "B""ier. uotn the lawn and satine should be
mnged all around an inch deep.