The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891, February 01, 1886, Page 48, Image 8

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    THE WEST SHORE.
48
great dual of this soil is very productive, and the time
will come when the greater part of this "desert" will be
reclaimod from the cominon wnnlo and will be made to
add it Hbundimco to tho wealth of tlio great Inliind Lm
jiir. Kvorywlioro over tli Ih region the grass iH excellent,
and the absence of surface water tends to preserve it for
winter rang, where the vast herds of the neighlioring
valleys find abundance of food. Dear and autelopo are
plentiful, though a Hliaineful destruction of them ingoing
on. 1'roin this elevated Htand can be seen niigoutire
Mountain, a hundred miles away, where the hmt remnants
of the liioiiiitiiin sheep of Oregon are found.
Ill the dim distance to the aouth are visiblo the bluff
"rim rock" and wooded mountain that bound Silver
Lake and Summer Lake valleys on the Houth and wont,
and separate the C'hewuucan from (Iooho Lake Valley.
To the southwest, clear and distinct, though very distant,
Nhining like a steel Hiint against tho clear sky, Mount
Shasta proclaim herself in queenly grandeur. Turning
now with face to tho west, tho Cascade Raugn, only forty
miles away, forum a sublime background to tho picture
in that direction. Sweeping a glanco to tho north and
west, and then to tho south and west, along this majestic
range of suow-chid mountains, one is startled into the
consciousness of having before him ono of the grandest
and most expansive views on tho continent. Almost
from Iliitish Columbia to Shasta tho view extends, and
embrace- within it thirteen prominent and eternally
anow-elad summits. Commencing at tho south, nnd
mining them in their order, they aro: Shasta, 11,410
feet; McLaughlin (or Pitt), lO.(KK); Thielson, Diamond
Teak, Threw Sisters and Jefferson, each exceeding 0,000
fn-t; M.hsI, 11,225; SL Helens, 9.750; Adams, 0,230;
jHiuiitT, 1 1, no, ami Mount linker almost as high, besides
other MiiuimiU towering far into tho ethereal blue and
creUd with snow.
Tho Three Sisters and Jefferson are nearest, and
fUud out in such Ik.M and grand relief, so slnrtlingly
majestic, that onn cannot wonder that tho simple natives
u-mh! to worship them. The Des Chutes River Hows be
twooi, tho Initio ami the range, through a w valley and
lis; ki,,B 11,0 WbM of tWo
As tho hu lH.ga sinking to tho west, and passing
Wow heso towering p,,s f grandeur, tho scene com
enml to chango and tho imagination easily painted
thoUHands of stranuo and woird ii,.;i.:.:.:.... ' 1
I watched the ahadows as they stole qui.-tly over tho
a ley and gorge of the D, Chutes, the!, p t10 B1 ,e f
"Tta 1 J. d imaged a nZZ
I nM of Kn... l... ... .1 . . n " ",c
, .... .uwiuvuuig ( y
-.lit... B... ...... .1 .
Uprvins aillonit tho ers,.. ..... iu..i... . . .
Ouieilv n.l .il k. r"k? wtor.
' 'ui"prtiu'ioriiU-it.th
IMliL'r Minn iu.1 I !i. - . i ... "'M'SIU
'ars hag reigned
it 1
.r .
nger came, until iu ....,... . .
without .mna r K i: ;r ,Rt 7
to my own .ulaUon. jL 'r 10",1,T'i,,,g
knowledged the coming of the sable Goddess, and donned
a robe of darker green. A deeper gloom settled over the
valley and gorge of the Des Chutes, the atmosphere be
came crisp and chill, and as the shadows pursued each
othor over vulley and plain ,far below mo, the mirn; ct
the dosort took unto themselves wings and flew away'
The colors of desert, plain and mountain that make on
the beauty of the midday landscape seemed to dissolve
under the touch of the shadows, and leave a broad pano
rama of sombre hue and uncertain extent The snowv
peaks from British Columbia to California acknowledged
the last salute of the expiring king, and for a brief space
returned it in crimson nnd gold; then as the color died
away from them, and the stars came out one by one, the
peaks that a moment before were shini
. O u I'UJIOUCU
gold in the evening sun, took upon themselves a erav
com, Bieei-iiKa appearance ana retired into the night
As I stood alone, miles from the haunts of man, on the
summit of a lofty mountain, surrounded bv the first
' - j ouvwfl
of winter, yet in the presence of eternal winter, a fecli
of solemn consciousness came over me. I seemed to
hear "the music of the spheres" in one and the same
strain, Hinging words of admiration for the wonders of
JNature, nnd a solemn requiem to the dying of a day.
C. B. Watson.
SPEARING FISH UNDEB watcd
rpiIE natives of the Hawaiian Islands have many in
1 gonious ways of catching the dwellers of the water
surrounding their lovely islands, and one of the most
novel is that of diving nnd capturing them with a spear
or by hand. The spear used by the diver is a slender
1 1 . . .
suck 01 irom six to seven feet in length, made of very
hard wood and sharply pointed at one end. but mnn
tapering at the other. Since the possession of iron,
spears are always tipped with it, but perfectly smooth,
without hook or barb. Diving to a well-known station by
a large coral rock or against the steep face of the reefs,
tho diver tilnpnu ln'mnnlf In l,l
his left fx)t, with his right foot free and extended be
hind, his loft hand holding on to the rock to steady him
self. Watches nild Waits fur flia flal. Viuli in nnlir ttrn
positions are noticed by him, those pnssing before and
parallel to him, nnd those coraino; straight toward bii
, J. e tt'ways "ims a little in advance, as, by the tin
the fish is struck, its motion has carried it so far forward
Unit it. trill l,o Lit nn n. . - i 11. 11. 1. . 1.. ..J
"u mo gina or lUKUiiti 01 nio nu
thus secured, but if the Bpear were aimed nt the body it
. ....... .n wi uu uie inn or pass oeninu. u
dm fluii it., i 1 1, 1 1 11 . il.
. , ,,,1, luo ,orce 0I lM8 Dow generally carries w
sjienr right through to the hand, thus bringing the fish
1111 ts 1. n 1 i f 1 ... I . II
j. uio mer pun or uanuie ot tne spear, wnere n re
mains whilst the fishermnn strikes rapidly at other fun
in succession should they come in a huahti (train),
tliev nunnlKt ,1 a .1 j; 1. it UnM
,j ouiue mnormea aive 10 umi-w
habitats of certain fish and lobsters, and, thrusting their
arms up to their armpits under rocks or in holes, brine
out the fish one by one, and put them into a bag attached
for tho tnt.r.n.. 1.. ii. 1 r .1 iit 4tH.i
" " w mo ioin cioin. women ireuiie"j
the same in shallow waters and catch fish by hand fro
. ,., iiiujeuiions. ine aiiierent khhis 01 w-
w slugs are caught in the same way, althouga the larg
nuiuauuioa uivea lor ana spearea unuur