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THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 5, 1913.
HIGHWAY TO ORSETM FAELS NOW READY FOR INSPECTION
Columbia River Route Festivities Tomorrow Will Be Marked by ParticipatioTlu-ongs-Stretches Closed for Improvement Are Shorfr-Pro-grammes Win Be Held at Scenic Points.
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THE Columbia River Highway is a, 11
ready for its big home-warming
party tomorrow.
Those -who join the Inspection day
throngs out to see the road by auto
or Journeyingr by train to three of its
finest scenic points Benson Fark.
Multnomah Kails and Horsetail Kails,
-where they will have lunch and 'bands
ill play through the afternoon will
find the -wonderful highway all they
have dared to expect, and more.
A reporter for The Oregonian and
camera man, who went over the In
spection day route a couple of days
aso. found the road in splendid con
dition for travel.
Of. course, the highway is not all
hard-surfaced yet. It has been only
two months since work began, and the
paving of the whole highway will not
be completed until December; some of
It. over fills which should have another
year to settle, not until next Summer.
But the "hot stuff." as the peving man
calls the steaming hot bltulithio mix
ture, has been put-down on 9S miles
of the highway, and the pavers are
going ahead at the rate of 6400 yards
(about 2G00 -tineal feet, or half a mile)
a day.
The paving is not continuous, but is
laid In sections, gangs on the different
sections working at both ends and
towards 'each other. There are now
five plants, including rock quarry and
mixing plants, and five complete gangs,
employing in round numbers a total of
about 1200 workmen along the highway.
Kach of these gangs is an active center
of paving w ork.
Closed Stretches Are Short.
There will be no long closed stretches
of the highway tomorrow. In a few
places, all before Crown Point and the
real Columbia scenery is reached, there
are short stretches where the old road
is used for a few hundred yards, while
the new one is getting its paving coat.
But for Inspection day, the detour
by way of the old road on top of the
hill, with its wretched grades and hair
raising curves from Just this side of
Crown Point to Latourell, is officially
abolished. Autoists will be permitted
to drive on the real highway from the
top of Crown Point down the beautiful
"Hairpin Curve," or 'Figure Eight," as
It is also called, where the road twists
and turns by easy grades above itself
four or five times in the width of a
few hundred yards.
This stretch has been closed for sev
eral weeks -while ,ihe pavers were busy
on -it, and it will be closed again for
a time after Inspection day. The re
porter and the camera man had the
good fortune to be riding over the high
way in an official car. so did not have
to make any of the detours. It was
amusing at times to see the alacrity
with which watchmen, stern-faced at
the weary job of shooing another auto-.-'
ist on his w-ay, let down the bars and
beckoned to come ahead when they
aw the official sign.
Going Is Generally Smooth.
Tn between the sections of completed
pavement the going, contrary to what
n.ight be supposed, is generally smooth
and the road fast. In places the soil
has become so hard packed that it is
almost a hard surface in itself. Where
loose -rock, which made traveling
bumpy in places early in the year, the
many, cars and heavy auto trucks now
using the road have worn them down
and smoothed off the surface.
The longest stretch of completed
pavement now on the highwny extends
from just beyond Oneonta Gorge past
Horsetail Falls, and beyond, a distance,
as measured by the speedometer, of 3.2
miles. And what a stretch it is! The
Instant temptation is to open the throt
tle and hit her up!
The new pavement is so smooth to
the roll of the wheels that it's like a
spin on polished glass with an air
cushion beneath it. As the chauffeur
agely remarked:
"They'll need about ten motorcycle
:ops' along here to hold 'em down!"
Road Qpn to ' Horsetail Kails.
The Highway will be open for the
Inspection day crowds as far as Horse
tail Falls, wiijch is roughly speaking
bout 14V. miles up the Highway from
Its beEinning at the Portland Automo
bile Club on the Sandy River. Speedom
eters will register ."S to 37 miles from
Portland when the cars reach there,
taking into consideration the rather
circuitous route just now necessary to
get on the I'tghway.
This route, as originally planned by
J. B. Yeon. roadmaster. was to follow
the Sandy road to the Barker road,
which is some nine miles from the
Courthouse, thence across to the Base
Line road, and thence after consider
able winding about and running up one
rossrond and down another, to the
Columbia River Highway itself at the
Automobile Club.
The Base I'ins road, however, for the
last three or four -miles this side of the
Troutrtale road. 16 miles from Portland,
into which it runs, is pretty badly torn
up with paving preparations and for
half a mile this side of the Troutdale
road with extensive resrrade work,
which involves a cut 32 feet ieep and a
nil of the same depth.
Route Is Mapped Out.
Mr. Yeon accordingly has mapped out
a new route which insures smooth
riding all the way to the Columbia
River Highway. This route is as fol
lows: Out the Sandy road to the Rockwood
road, which is some distance beyond
the Barker road previously mentioned.
Here autoists will turn south on the
Rockwood road aivd cross the Base
1-lne road to the Section Line road, a
distance of about 24 miles. The Sec
tion Iine road is now-in very good
condition. The route then follows this
road through Gresham, and thence over
other good dirt and macadam roads
to the Auto Club. Sandy bridge and
the Highway.
Already 5:18 miles nave been paved on
the ISandy road and 4.3 miles on the
Base Line road.
In addition to the hundreds of private
cars, expected, to make the run tomor-
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row, and tne auto trucks in -which sev
era! business houses will send their
employes on the trip, six special trains
un accommodations for 6000 persons
will leave the Union Depot for Benson
Tark, Multnomah Kalis and Horsetail
Falls at 9 o clock in the morning over
the O.-W. li. & N. Returning, these
trains will leave for Portland at 5
P. M. Round-trip tickets for adults
will be b cents and for children 35
cents.
Free coffee, cream and sugar will be
served at each of these three reception
points. Frankfurter " sand wiches. soft
drinks and ice cream cones can be
bought for 5 cents apiece
At Benson Park, dedication exercises
in connection with the formal taking
over by the city of Mr. Benson's splen
did gitt will be held right after lunch.
Madame Jomelli will sing and llc-i-lroy's
Band will give a concert.
At Multnomah Falls there will be
music by the Klks' Band and a spe
cial athletic programme with 60 prizes.
The Portland Fire Department Band
will play at Horsetail Falls.
The Portland Ad Ciub, which was the
originator of the Inspection day plan
and is in charge of the details, ex
pects to handle fullv 10,000 persons at
these three points. The Ad Club head
quarters in the Northwestern Bank
building will be open ail todav for the
sale of tickets. Persons desiring other
information should call A 1257 or Main
1995.
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CAPTOR OFUB IS CHASED
Time Tails When Bear, Finally
Outwitted, Marts Pursuit.
EOSEBfRG, Or.. Sept. 4. Special )
Depriving a mother bear of her 60
pound cub with no other protection
than an almost useless firearm is a
rather risky experiment, according to
Theodore) Bond, of this city.
Using his rlile he crippled the cub,
but as the gun required considerable
patience to extract the shell. It was
of no further use when the mother
bear gave chase. Avoiding the angry
parent. Bond made a circle in the tim
ber and returned to the cripled cub
and carried it some distance before he
was forced to drfp it and take to the
timber again. When he finally eluded
the mother he returned and captured
the cub.
Ttaymond Buys Water Plant.
RAYMOXD. Wash.. Sept. 4 (Spe
cial.) The City of Raymond this week
took over the waterworks from the
Raymond Water Company, paying $93,
81.52 cash for the system, including
S2 acres of land. Bonds to provide the
funds for the purchase of the plant
were issued early In the Spring. Plans
for extending the system several miles
up the South Fork River have been
under way for some time, and pro
ceedings have been Instituted to con
demn right of way. When the exten
sion is completed, the cost of which
will exceed J 100.000, the city will have
a gravity system with a good supply
of excellent water.
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