The Sunday Oregonian., August 31, 1902, PART FOUR, Page 28, Image 28

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THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, AUGUST 31, 1902.
MOST BEAUTIFUL eEMETEKU IS 'RIVE'RVIE
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THE lovel est rpot ra Po.-tland is the
Rivervlew cemetery, Here, In full
view of tho mountains, the forest
and the river, lie the founders of the city
Who have left the ranks. As one enters
the grounds there lies In full view the
eloping hill dotted with monuments and
shafts, shadowed by tall trees and open
to the eastern sky. Every natural beauty
has been preserved untouched; the simple
changes necessary to brine out a finished
Loveliness ore all that have been made.
Situated as it is, high on a promontory,
there is the quiet atmosphere and tho
gentle solitude that yields ttho most fit
tingly to the purpose of the spot. High
on the jsastern horizon rises Mount Hood,
the mountain of Oregon. To the south
the river flows down In a limpid stream
between the green bills, and to the north
towers the virgin outline of St. Helena
The whole vista of tho "West lies before
the visitor to this cemetery, and as he
wanders among the monumekts that mark
the resting places of the dead, he may
raise his eyes and look abroad over the
scenes of their life.
In no other spot, perhaps, have more
pains been spent than have gone to the
beautifying of this cemetery. "Within its
borders llo those who chose the site, who
lavished both time and money In clearing
it and caving it in its. native fairness.
Every garden, every pool, every park "In
it Is the memorial of affectionate care.
To tho Easterner used to tho lowilying,
dismal burying grounds of tho Atlantic
coast. It "will appear especially character
istic of tho "West that tho people who
built Portland should havo chosen for
their burial ground the cheerful, lofty
heights abovo the Willamette. Here there
is no darkness, no gloom, nothing of the
trappings and paraphernalia of death. It
Is the spirit of the pioneer that made this
place, the feeling that naturo was the
L surest road to peace. And to the one
who stands on tho brow of this hill, his
eyes upon the mountains, tho river roll
ing" at his feet, about him the breath of
the forest, there will come the realization
of what the "West means to those who
lived and wrought here to fight against
nature for the supremacy, to struggle with
natural force and acquired skill against
the unruly, slow-working, yet yielding,
might of tho untamed earth. Then, after
all Is lived and wrought, to lie down In
view of a world now rendered gentle and
peacefully receptive. Those who now He
under the shadow of tho rustling trees,
and those who visit with affection tho
spot where some time they are to sleep
all are seeking outlet for the most nat
ural Impulse of the strong man's heart.
As It was sung by one who loved the set
ting sun. In the requiem of Robert Louis
Stevenson,
Under tho wide and starry sSy,
Dig- the crave and let me lie.
Glad did I live, and gladly die,
And X laid me down with a will.
This be- the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be:
Home Is the sailor, home from the sex.
And the hunter home from the Mil. .
Strangers who have "visited this cemetery
place It above all others, both for natural
beauty and for careful preservation. One
man who visited It lately after a long
afternoon viewing It, said that he would
rather lie within lt3 boundaries than any
where else on this earth. Such Is the
present feeling, and within the next half
century It may confidently be asserted
that Rivervlew cemetery will rank first
among those of the world. It has the
advantages that led Cecil Rhodes to choose
his lofty tomb, and the beauty that makes
the grave of Stevenson doubly a shrine.