The illustrated west shore., April 11, 1891, Page 239, Image 9

THE ILLUSTRATED WEST SHORE.
2:)
CAPE HORN AND CASTLE ROCK.
Two objects familiar to the tourist who takes the delightful steamboat
ride up the Columbia river from Portland to the cascades, are the rocky bluff
of Cape Horn and the pinnacle of Castle Rock, both standing on the north,
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CAI'K HORN, COIXMMA KIVEK.
From Photo, by McAlpin 4 Lamb, Portland, Oregon.
or Washington, side of the. river. Among the pioneer navigators of the Col
umbia were many who had come " dot Horn around," when seeking the
golden sands of California, though, doubtless, the most of them were be
tween decks when their vessel was pitching and tossing in the tempestuous
seas that continually beat upon the rocky strand of Terra del Fucgo from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. Hut there were enough of them who " had their sea
legs on" to a sufficient extent to be on deck during the passage of the Horn,
and those felt inclined ever after to " hom " everything that would bear the
name with any grace whatever. Consequently it was no wonder that the title
was bestowed upon that bold, basallic cliff jutting out into the Columbia at a
bend in the stream, against whose base the white caps leap when the wind
blows strongly either up or down the river, and about which every breeie scat
ters the falling spray from numerous little rivulets that pour over the edge ol
the cliff and leap downward along the grooves of its columned and castellated
sides. The steamer passes close to the base of the bluff, which rises above
the water to a great height, and the traveler, as he gaiei up at its rough and
creviced face, wet with the flying spray, not a little of which he may himselt
receive if the vessel be unusually close, feels dwarfed indeed.
Castle Rock, like all the cliffs, bluffs and pinnacles along the gorge 01
the Columbia, is a mass of basalt. It rises fully a thousand feet in one piece
of gracefully-shaped rock, large trees growing from the dirt-filled crevices on
its top and sides, and is a land mark visible for a long distance along the river.
It is situated on the low ground a short distance below the cascades, and at
quite a distance from the high bluffs further back from the stream, standing
alone as a memento of former times and topographic conditions, and an evi
dence of the great changes that must have been wrought by the forces of na
ture since it was a part of the general basaltic mass that covered the face of
that region.
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OREGON STATE FLOWER.
The Dam.es, Okkuon, March ij, 1891.
Editor West Shore :
Having read several small articles in your paper concerning state flowers,
and noticing that California's state flower is the yellow poppy, and that Wash
ington wants the wild clover, I think the wild syringa would be an appropriate
flower. for Oregon, It is one of the most desirable of flowering shrubs, and
its fragrance and beauty make it a universal favorite. It is known all over
our beautiful state and is commonly called orange flower. Its petals arc of a
satiny whiteness, with yellow stamens and lovely green leaves, but in the cata
logues it is known as Syringa (I'hiliuidihm). It grows in the rockiest of
places, on bluffs, where its beautiful, snowy petals make the nigged rocks
seem less homely, and its perfume is delicious to the senses. It is also found
near streams, and has large blossoms when it has plenty of water. I think it
would be very desirable for the slate flower of old Oregon the state of my
nativity. I have found it in Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern Ore
gon, and for that reason, if for no other, I think it appropriate. I would like
to hear from others through THE WEST SHORE on this subject.
Mrs. J. M. Fll.UioN.
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CASTI.K K(X K, t'Ol.l'MIIIA KIVKK.
Frun Itinlu. Iiy McAIiin k Umb, dxlLinil, Orrgon.