The west shore., July 01, 1885, Page 206, Image 12

206
THE WEST SHORE.
can neither be predicted nor doponded upon. The rich
buatf of tU giouiid, Ux, varias wonderfully, bo that the
result of a short season often largely exceed those of a
long ono, while two neighboring claims may stand in
strong contrast with each other in the amount of yellow
treasure extracted from them. It may well be imagined
that time is precious, and the aid of powerful electric
lights is invoked to turn night into day so that work need
never cease. Several companies have found mining in
this manner very profitable, even though the preliminary
work of ono soason has to be noarly all replaced the next,
owing to the ravages of the whiter freshets.
To tho old pioneer the word " Klamath " brings a
thousand memories of scenes grave and gay, of comody
and tragedy. Tho thousands of exciting incidents of
mining camp life, the wild rush for now diggings, the
" man for breakfast," the vigilantes' court, the Indian
fight, the perils of road and trail, rise up before him and
furnish him a theme of which his tongue never tires. It
suggests, also, the evanescent and almost forgotten glory
of a city of Spanish castles which once bore it When,
early in 1850, hundreds of adventurors were searching
the coast frantically for the Bay of Trinidad, with the
idea that iuto it flowod the Trinity River, upon the head
waters of which wonderfully rich mines had boon discov
ered, one of those partios came upon the Klamath Rivor.
On the south bank of the stream, a few miles above its
mouth, they laid out, a most beautiful city, with boule
vards, parks, universities and public buildings, broad
avenues ami streets, and everything that oould be desired
of a great city of modern times. It was all done on
paper, and scarcely a tree was foiled, except to aid in the
construction of a few brush shanties, yet so captivating
was it that for several days the future great city had a
population of several score and prospect unlimited
This was to be the great commercial city of that whole
region, not simply a rival to San Francisco, but one be
fore whose shining glory tho city by the Golden Gate
would hido her diminished head in shame. . But, alas,
for human hot! It was soon discovered that tho shift.
ing sands at Uie rivor's mouth kept so incessantly altering
and oUtruotiug the channol that it was a matter of much
uncertainty whon even a small vessol could enter it in
safety. Once in, it was equally uncertoin when she could
get out again. As this fad became kuown the people of
f.. I i a.. ..
win uiiuro metropolis vaniHiieti like the morning mist,
and Klamath City, with her warehouses, boulevards,
, - - ""muB, Tiuuniiuu wun mem so
completely that even its site is now unknown.
T..-.. !- j ...li 11 1 .1 . ...
no uoudi uiai me smmtitution of tiles for
carpel ana wooa flooring will in time beoome universal.
V..-- 1 .' ' . 1-1,1 . .
uw uim viuih.io iiiue mocks rrotn the ovens of
the tile manur'tori. are used at the excuse of lees
Uy floorings. The lsU.rs of Uie tile makers are no
longer confined to the manufacture of the plain, uKy col
ored blocks of concrete, Copie, of the most celebrated
an woras are reproduced Sometimes each tile is a
01 lueir.
gem
SHOSHONE FALLS.
THE scene of all others which will probably make the
most vivid and lasting impression upon the mind of
the Western tourist is the great cataract of Snake River,
known as the " Shoshone Falls." Though not so broad,
and carrying a considerable smaller body of water, they
are in many respects as imposing as the famous Niagara,
while in the peculiarity of their formation and surround-
j 1 t iUl 1 L
ings tney even exceeu m uiwjiobv wan gioau iauin
which has been the admiration of the world for a century.
More than fifty years ago the wandering brigades of
trappers roaming throughout the Rocky Mountain region
were informed by the friendly Indians of the several
cataracts on Snake River, and especially the great falls
shown in our illustrations. But the trapper was an in
tensely practical individual. It was his mission to hunt
the beaver, and in the pursuit of this occupation, amid
the peaks and valleys of the Rocky Mountains, his eyes
were surfeited with scenes of picturesqueness and gran
dour, and he would hardly turn from hia path to witness
the most entrancing sight the kingdom of Nature had to
offer. Shoshone Falls could give him no beaver 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 ears of a party passing through the country, and
remembering what the Indians had told them, they de
cided to see for themselves this great "falling water."
Led by the ever-increasing sound, they reached the bluffs
and gazed down upon the rushing water from the high
rocky walls that hem it in on either side. They saw the
broad river glide swiftly along, dashing and foaming
around the great masses of rock that obstruct the channel
just above the brink, and then, gathering itself into one
mighty mass, plunge down a sheer descent of 210 feet,
and lose itself in the cloud of spray that ascended from
the rocks below, appearing again in the long white streaks
of foam that were whirled along between the canyon's
towering walls. Even these impassive men gazed upon
the scene in mute admiration, their ears deafened by the
mighty roar that came up from the canyon below, while
tho ground trembled beneath their feet
Years have passed since those men first visited these
falls and bestowed upon them the name of the Indian
tribe of that region, and the mighty cataract has filled
the air with its ceaseless roar, unheeded save by the few
who have turned aside to pay it homage. But railroads
work wonders in a short time, and the construction of
the Oregon Short Line has brought this great cataract
within the easy reach of every tourist who crosses the
continent As the line progressed westward a station
Shoshone, the junction of the Wood River branch was
established, twenty-five' miles north of the falls, and an
enterprising stage driver conceived the idea of profiting
by the traffic to be secured from future sightseers. Tre
viously the river at that point had only been approach
able by vehicle from the south. The whole surrounding
country is a large waste of lava rock and sage brush, and
for a distance of twenty-five miles the river flows through
a gorge of almost perpendicular walla from 500 to 700