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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1887)
AHEAD 0' TIME. IN a far, western, Pacific -washed state, lies the low, fertile Grande Rondo valley. Around it, jealously guarding it from the outside, busy world, circle the picturesque Blue mountains, whose sides are so softly dimpled by nature's tender touch, and oyer which lingers ever a soft, purplish haze. Once, in years long dead, this was the Indians' summer home. Here, in the clear streams that, leaping down through the narrow canyons, from the mountain fastnesses, wind and glide away through the valley, they caught the speckled salmon-trout. In the deep, rank rye grass, growing there, waist-high, they chased to death the deer and antelope; and in the long, fragrant, summer even ings, the blue smoke from a hundred camp fires curled upward to the blue vault above. One by one, the crickets sent out their shrill chirrup, and the frogs began their noisy croaking. The last red gleam died out of the western sky; the howls of a hungry wolf came down from some mountain recess ; a night-hawk darted downward with its lonely, plaintive cry ; and night closed over the "Happy valley." Now, as then, the speckled trout leap and flash through the clear steams that glide away through the valley. But fields of waving grain have taken the place of the deep, rank grass, and towns are built where once the Indian wigwams stood. And over the mountains, and down through the canyons, and away over the fertile fields, like a shining ser pent, climbs and falls, and winds the railroad. With it, came the stir and business and discontent of the outer world, and vanished the idlo, dreamy, happy days of the past In ono short year everything was changed. In tho shadow of the Bluo mountains, just where tho railroad en tered the valley from the west, a now town sprang into life ; a fast, noisy, jolly town, made up, chiefly, of railroad peo plegay, good-hearted men, who worked hard all day, and treated their friends royally at night ; men who had but ono religion their engines and thoir wives and who would have shot a man dead for doubting the worth of tho ono, or the truth of tho other. And merry, laughing women, who found life all sun shine, until, sometimes, a husband or lover was brought home dead, or crippled for life. Yet, even then, they found such tendor sympathy, and so many strong arms ready to help, that they wero still forced to sco a littlo silver lin ing in their storm-clouds. In a little hastily built, double-sided house two engineers lived all alone. One " run " to the West, tho other to tho East When engineer Lcavctt carao in lato at night after a "hard run," ho found a good, warm supper, prepared by engineer Hnslyn, awaiting him. On tho following evening ho was tho host, and his friend tho guest ; and many wero tho fancy dishes each tried to preparo for tho surpriso and pleosuro of tho other. They had been firm friends for years Leavett, although tho elder, had M fired for Haslyn, and had received many fav ors at his hands, so ho said, in years gone by. They hail been in wrecks and snow blockades together, and onco Has-