The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-06-07
Our Great River.

Our Great River.
The following deserved tribute TO Or
egon and her great river, the lordlv Co.
lumo ola, appear in the speeches Of Sena-
tors Mitchell and Grover before the
United States Senate on the Nortbarn
Pacific railroad bill Mr.. Mitchell said
'Ihe only means ny which the peouIe
OF Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washiavton
/ Territory and Idaho Territory have Of
reaching tlde-water with their annual
/ productions Of many millions in value
OF wheat, wool, hides, stock, etc, aud
the only avenue through which they
must receive their interior supplies. Is
that of water transportation on the Co.
lumhia River. This river, one of the
| grandest on the globe, taking its rise i'm
the Rocky Mountains in latitude so 20
north, aud flowing north as far as SO
l0/, interlaeing its arms with those of
The Missouri aud Saskatchewan la the
distant regions of perpetual snow, thus
holding communion with the two great
valleys of the continent, after making
the detour of the great bend in British
Columbia, moves onward, gathering up
the waters of the Pend dOrielle, SpO-
kane, Okiuikaue, Wenachee, Nabima,
Snake, and other mighty tributaries as
aFmaments of power; then Vluugss
through the ragged chasm= of The
Dalles aud the Cascades, reuding asuu-
der the rock-ribbeu mountains aud rear
ing barriers to navigation, and then on
IN greatness and grandeur to the Pacific
Ocean at Astoria, on the parallel of 46'
north latitude, aud which to-day for a
distance of over one hundred miles from
its mouth its broad waters mirror back
the emblem Of every nationality on
earth, while commerce, wealth, and
power for this distance are to day max
ing their triumphal transit from sea and
laud upon its proud waters. Still, on
the remaining portion OF this great
river, the second on this continent, mo-
nOpOly, seiziug at an early day the key
which nature forged in these obstruc-
tions at The Dalles aud the Cascades,
sits enthroned as imperial dictator TO
the commerce OF the whole Northwest,
paralyziug incubus upon the material
development aud general prosperity of
that vast region"
Mr.. Grover placed himself on record
as follows:
"Fhe great river Of the West, the
largest which flows in the Pacific Ocean
from the American continent, is nav
/ igable for one hundred miles from its
mouth for deep sea going vessels, ami,
with the exception of occasional rapids,
rendering pOrtages necessary, ordinary
! river steamers can ascend five hundred
miles into the interior. Three hundred
and hhy miles from its mouth the Co
lumbia opens out its branches like a
fan, spanning more than twelve degrees
of latitude, equal nearly to one half the
width of the domain of the United
States on the western slope of the Rocky
Mountains. The head-waters of this
/ river meet AMI interlOck with the head
waters of the Missouri at abont II2o
of west longitude, forming, with the
exception of a single divide, a valley
line for railroad from the great lakes
to the Pacific Ocean. The extent of re-
giOn drained by the Columbia is three
/ hundred thousand square miles, or one
tenth the area Of the United States It
is equal 20 the country drained hy the
I Danube. 1t is as large as France aud
the British Islands, aud yields the pro-
duets of these countries.
Lying within the latitude Of France,
IL possesses climate Of equal mildness
and salubrity. There is a great river of
the North Pacific Ocean which affects
the climate of the western coast of North
America in the same manner as the
gulf stream of the Atlantic affects the
climate of Western Europe.
mot all the lands west Of the Rocky
Mountains in these latitudes are suit
able for cultivation; but the broad
reaches Of the rolling upland aud moui
tain sides, which will never submit To
the piOw, yet are covered with an al
most perennial verdure, aud are the best
natural pastures ia the world. The
meat producing capacity Of tins region
is very great. The rivers flowing into
the Pacific Ocean between The forty
second aud forty-ninth parallels of north
latitude and Puget Sound abound in sal
mou, the imperial food-fish. Already
the export value OF this product has
reached $1,000 600 a year. But the great
l staple product OF the valley of the Colum-
| bia River is wheat; all kinds Of wheat
can he grown here. a farmer told me
he could SOW wheat every month in the
year and produce a good crop. The soil
is not exhausted under cultivation, nor
is there ever a failure Of crops During
the thirty six years in which general
forming has been carried on in the
country, not single failure Of crop has
occurred. The qualitiesof the soil seem
to he like those of Sicily aud the regions
about the Black Sea, which have Deeu
the Hever-failing granaries Of Europe
for the past 1000 years"