254
bridge Port. A good broad trail, four feet wide, is now in course of con
struction from a point norih of the city of Pasadena, which will reach Mount
Wilson, by a very easy grade, in about nine and a half miles. In addition to
this the construciion of a mountain railway to Mount Wilson at an early day,
is also talked of.
It may be two years, perl taps more, before this grand proposition is fully
carried out, but the common belief is to the effect that that length of time will
see the greatest telescope in the world on the summit of Mount Wilson.
W. H. Storms.
SPOKANK FALLS.
Up to the glory of the summer heaven,
Tliro' the deep en vis (he ice gnome's jxwer enthralls,
Sounds, thro' alt dm and night and times unci seasons,
The thundrous di,ixison of the falls.
Drowning the clamorous din of man's endeavor
Kuch white wave plunges swiftly, crest on crest.
Mingling, in one wild song, the gathered fragments
I'oured by the ages on the river's lireast,
A turbulent muni licence of music,
With sot ibing under well and tender trills,
The tremor of the ocean's awful p.ission,
The tinkling happiness of bloom -lipix'd rills.
THE ILLUSTRATED WEST SIIORK.
HENRY LAKE, IDAHO.
IIKNKV I.AKK. IDAHO.
'I'lir ii)itin lainhtiT heard in mini' enchanted.
The gruaiii that Iwrak the ore-veined mutintiiin'a hnirl,
The haunting voice uf the unt.iintd fnrwl,
The ruth uf the Imld nigle'i Umunl dirt;
The .meet, thrill trrhlr uf the liul lark love Mintf,
'lire curlew 'i call, (he wrinl, km inunulone
iM the I'hltiuok u'er plain and ciinvon &uitiii)g.
The pine'i nufturrus and the uwlet'i moan;
The hrick of lavage minlatiKhl mid the jingle
llf k-lcta uilrift front emu tin hih.
'Hie ik-il.lliiij( crash of avalanche.,
The cougar', yell, the covotc't tnmirnful cry;
The nuihk-n uirtMr uf vuk'anic age.
.V.on iigone, the chum, uf the iiherev
Anil the iimtcrkiuti, werrl dmitm uf nature,
Still uninter(ireteil, the liM'ner hearn,
1. h.iiiy city, thrilling with the echoes
(if the tlt I Thy proiihecie. elite
Are Nnchurerl in the torrcnl'i .urging tilf ntkv,
Whine fuamtli hilkmi drive the wheel, uf fate.
KiiMiTTA l.i sr Si mis.
II K (proudly, but bliishingly) Here is my latest poem. What do you
think of it? I consider it my finest effort.
Ills Fkiknii (trailing) lly Jove I Thry illustrated it beautifully, didn't
theyr
Situated high up in the main Rocky mountain divide in the eastern part
of Idaho, just south of the boundary line between that state and Montana
and a few miles west of the Yellowstone National Park, is .Henry lake, a,
beautiful sheet of crystal water, having an area of about forty square miles.
The contour of the late is oval, and the wooded banks bear a luxuriant growth
of mountain grass. On a casual examination there appears to be no outlet to
this lake, but closer observation discovers a small creek issuing from the
southwestern side, which is the beginning of the north fork of that mighty
artery of the northwe-t, Snake river.
On Henry lake, sonctiines on the north side and sometimes to the
southward, or wherever the brecies chance to bear it, is a curious floating
island, which appears in the engraving on this page. It is about three hun
dred feet in diameter and has for its bais a mat of roots, so dense as to sup
port large trees ucd a heavy thicket of undergrowth. Decayed vegetation
adds to the thickness of the mat and forms a mold several feet in thickness.
On the edge of the floating forest, in summer time, may be seen a luxuriant
growth of bluejoint grass, the roots of which form so compact a mass as to
support the weight ol a horse. Any number of men have no difficulty in
walking about on it. Farther back among the trees one might build a large
house and make a garden and do whatever he pleases. He would be just as
solid and safe as though there were not
one hundred or two hundred feet of
water underneath. There is a willow
thicket near the center of the island,
and scattered among these willows and
contiguous to them are a number of
aspens and dwarf pines. These catch
the breeies which pass over the lake
and act like sails on a boat and move
the nearly two acres of land hither and
thither over the forty square miles of
water. This shows why one may one
day see the island on one side and the
next day on the other side of the lake.
Henry lake is exceedingly pictur
esque. Around it rise snow-capped
peaks, among which are some of the
highest of the continent's back-bone,
partly covered with a verdure of forest
and grass, and showing here and there
formations of granite and unique basal
tic columns. During the hunting season
the waters swarm with wild fowl.
There are beaver, too, and plenty of
large game may be had in the adjoin
ing mountains.
In local marine circles all has been activity for three days, the rumor that
Italy was preparing to dispatch a fleet to scour our waters and bombard our
coast having incited our vessel owners to precautionary steps. A large num
ber of merchantmen have been put upon a war footing and others are being
overhauled and plated as fast as possible. At the admiralty office, in south
Water street, it was stated yesterday that 300 schooners, twenty-eight propel
ers, eighty-tive scows, 260 barges, 168 fishing smacks and 913 skiffs and
wherries were already prepared to defend our waters and our coast against
the Latin fleet.
The Lmy rat ion, loaded with shingles, arrived from Saginaw last
evening. Her captain, the dauntless Cyrus J. Moody, reports that when off
Dead Horse point late night before last, the foretopsail watch descried a craft
bearing down upon (he schooner. It was a long, low, rakish-looking craft.
At once all hands were piped on deck and preparations were made for action.
It was believed that the approaching vessel was an Italian gunboat, and the
gallant crew of the Lmy Paxhm were determined to go to Davy Jones'
locker rather than capitulate to the hated foreign foe. Presently, however, it
was discovered that the forbidding stranger was the Bridgttort Btllt. the
well known mudscow from South Chicago. The Lucy Paxton continued in
her course and reached our port on schedule time.
In latitude 19 deg. 43 min., longitude 53 deg. 14 min., yesterday morning
the one-gun tin-plate cruiser Prairtt Warbler came upon what was at first
supposed to be a torpedo set by the Mafia for the demolition of our merchant
marine, lhe object proved, however, to be a dead horse, which had un
doubteilly washed 1 by the combined violence of wind and wave from the
Michigan coast. Chicago AVtcr.