Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-08-02
The Niagara of tle .Mest--The
~ ,, Great ShOshOnee Falls. .

,r ltr0m The Gait Lake " nl0nJ Y edette May Sl'l
.G Away in the .wilds of Idaho, midway be-
tween Salt Lake aud Oregon, the air is
LAUNDERING and the earth isTent bya eata-
rdct as, imposing as NiagaIa!s Situate on
the sagebrushg plains, which calmly sleep
between the Rocky Mountains and the
Cascade Range, and are alike thtenanted
by Ceres or the god of gold, the Great
Shoshomee is "a world wonder whiehfDr sav79
age scenery and power sublime stands nnT
rivalled in America. AS tourists tell, the
cataracts of Southern Asia and the Falls
of the fair Rhine; the Victoria Falls, of
Zambezi, Africa, as explored Living,
ston, and the Falls of Staubach, SYitzer@-r
land, as immortalized in Byron's Manfred,
may each have special charms which won
celebrity for special points; but as whole, n
for wildiess and7fOr witehery, for width.
and, volume, this g Niagara of the West"
will stand second to none of all. These
falls of the Snake or Lewis Fork OF the
Columbia. have been but couple of years.
discovered, and have been seen qasi iyetby
scarce as many scores of white men ; but
before a few more years, with steam cont
munication stretching from Salt Lake 70
the Columbia, their shrine is destined to
have its thousands of worshipers and
sight-Seers every season, from the travel
across the continent. Idaho Or the
''Gem Of the Mountqins," which eontainsq
id one of its counties (0wyhee) perhaps
the richest gold aud silver mines, in the
Great West, has been described by ready
writer's often in the past few years. vbutlit
would seem that "quartZ on the BRAIN !
prevented all OF them, except Mr. a! De
Richardson, from even making mentiQn of
The host magnifcent phehotnenon to be
seen ON the western slope OF North Ameri- ,
ca, the "Grsats1 ShOshonee ,Ealls.pi This
majestic masterpiece of natures engineer
ing lies a few miles off from the overland
stage route running nortf1westetly Between
Salt Lake and Boise Cities and halfway
(or about 200Jmiles) from those said eapI-I
tails of Idaho and Utah. North of it and
distant fifty miles, though seeming closely
neai..n che Salmon River Mountains show
their shining peaks, gray .withIthe cares of
couptiess ages. Il East aud westqoffih as far
as eye can see. the sagebrush prairie loads
the desert air with its wild perfume.
Southefly, the Great Salt Lake, a hundred
milesaway,is is hidden by the Goose Greek
Mountains whose water partnership, with,
the earth aud clouds has caused them to
believe themselves such Titans that they 3
II ''' ~ MOI ''Wear their caps Of sh8w'a ~ 7h2n
Ii In very presence Of the regal sVB.i slr5iIF;
Buehere wetmust make note how sing,u7o
Iilar the fact-to tue shame of the American
EXPLORATION be 1t added-tfft neither Lewis
and Clarke, 1tptheir tratelir gsthroUgh this
country Sixty9 Wears stnca 9HOF3 Fremont,
Stevens, and Ger tain others of later years,
not to, speak of the cmtgrahtS OF Oregon
and California from 1917 to 1883 did not
discoverAeVen accidentallyes Western
queen of cataracts b. This honor seems TO
have rested in reserve f1E,parties Of the, ,lst,
Oregon cavalry, commanded respectively
BY Col. Steinburger lst Washington TerA
Ii5ery infantry, Major pruaXe1 ahdgC CIpt5
Drake, 1st Oregon cavalryNwhile ,seeuting
after Indians in the S4summer, of 1868,
! through this section OF idaho, on The mail
| road between Salt Lake ands Boise Basin,
and at point tabout hundred milessoubh
| west of old Fort Hall. .r ed no aoge7Iuo
7 Descriptions of this magnificent double
cataract of. the West, which will ia future
rank among the grandesJ in the world
have appeared from time to time.gY 9dt cor
| The riverrabout two, hundred yards in
width, coming slowly from the southeast,
| overtoweTed by. perpendicular walls of
| basaltic rock, over eight hundred feet high,
| suddenly expands into basin of twice its
fWidth, and there is divided iEtoahalf dozen
streams, by dark looking rocks who, raise
their gloomy, crests above the sparkling
| surf OF the maldened waters. GD Every
stream Thshes over a. fall OF thirty feet and
every fallis of 9 Gdifferent shape seeming
fancifulsland ANctuatlng yet physically
llxedg as thay have ever been while ceptu-i
| ties like shadows have flown over them,
The river resuming its'course is again d.
/ vid6d; aud takes a second tumbleNOf sixty
/ teetstilly yfarthers but this time by only,
three. different streams. Three falls are
( the' result; one on each side, utibrokeff
| and falling in solid sheets3s the central one
/ being formed by seven 'fau-shaped steppes
| ofufotka Ff6mgthe one OF theseb beAehesito
| theIotheriunderpeaths the water falls in q
| smooth Transparent Sheets forming O. fcasr
| Gade unsurpassed I'M the world, and com
/ trasting strangely by Its dark transparent,
/ color, with the rushing, rpaging, -fOaming
streams surrounding it both above aud ratr
4 the sides. The river sbeeomes once more
/ smooth and dark inyeelOr. sVIts banks sud-
denly jqt out from both sides, narrowing
| the channel to- four hundred feet; and
| through this gap the contiiied mass of wa
| ter precipitateS itself in one, Who'll volume,
4 without break or. hindrapqe, into an oTnin-
| ons abyss alpa0st a three INDEED feet IN
| depth - No pen can describe tEj scene. ~
This is ID, reality the Great Fall y and
well worthy D, its pamfe, leaPtq& asiit fpas,
from btbe loom Of RatliFs hlike y .SSol0ssal
1'if Tor$iasl q 4 SiEigat korsea2Goe, is centsaP
waters appear blue, ,nnti1 they meet the
| spray that rises ever hea award IRON the
foot Of the roaming cataraGt. The sides are