The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1879-09-25
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.

CNA ahhuai iiNtI iiAt iiun IolliAuu
to The Dalles was varied by the usual
incidents. The fine steamer 5. G.. Reed
was well filled with passengers, and
fairly loaded down with freight. The
rush of travel to Eastern Oregon and
Washington Territory is simply enor-
nous. And yet, as you go for day after
day in any direction about The Dalles,
by stage or rail or steamer, and view
the wide expansive stretch Of alluvlal,
billOwy uplands that roll away from the
broad Columbia-uplands crossed by
long ranges of mountains, many Of
which are bald as deacon's pate, and
others as well covered with bristly
growth as an old Fashioned farmers
chin on Saturday nights-uplands in
dented by valleys where you least ex-
pect them, and guarded often by per-
pendicular walls of rock, which rise in
bold and bare precipitation from their
everlasting Businesses; when you see
that, in spite of the immense immigra-
tiOn and immense business which has
been carried on by the o. :. y. Co. with
this region for years, the vast country
seems too sparsely populated for pros
perity, and is certainly too much 90 for
human convenience-whe you see ell
this, and so very much more than can
be alluded to in the space allotted to
this letter, or hardly thought Of in a
week Of ample leisure, you will invOl-
UNFAIRLY exclaim, What a country! Its
yet uninhabited portions are bigger
than many Eastern States. It's wheat
and grazing lands are iuexhaustible, its
minerals are many and barely known,
its timber on the mountains is sufficient
for human use, its water scattered-ex-
eept when obtained by digging, though
there are plenty Of streams and springs
IN many places-and its climate is Of
every variety, according to location.
But we're getting ahead Of our travels,
and no wonder, for courier is waiting
to bear these jottings from the summit
Of Simcoe Mountains, and we're writing
with the same haste and comfort with
which one reads fhe morning paper
when a dozen others sit by waiting for
il. The Dalles-tO use an original ex-
pression-is rising like Phoenix from
her ashes. The Umatilla House is be-
ing rebuilt by Messrs. Handley 6 Sin
mott, and the Empire, hereafter to be
called the Cosmopolitan, by Thomas
Smith, Esq. Both are to be commodi-
Gus hotels, each rivaling the other in
Accommodations flr man and beast" "
The view Of these buildings from the
river is very imposing, and quite sug-
gestive of another big fire, since they
are built OF wood, and serve as a wind
break for the briek-built part OF the
town lying in the Hat.
Quite a number Of new brick stores
are in process Of erection, aud many
cheap wooden buildings are going up.
The town has been vastly improved IN
appearance by the fire, and there is "a
general belief that the holocaust was
productive Of increased prosperity
among the masses. II saloons are AN
evidence OF flush times, we need only 10
say that there are forty licensed liquor
shops, a "hurdygurdy," a "free-aud-
easy" and so forth, all in full blast, and
all getting the dimes aud quarters Of the
people who patronize them. The tradi-
tional fools pence is nothing to it,
The burning Of the main hotels was
quite bonanza for the lesser houses.
Mr. and Mrs. C. c. English, formerly Of
Albany, keep a quiet, orderly house on
small scale-or Mrs L. keeps it, for
Mr. +. is contractor aud builder on a
large scale, several handsome brick,
among them a fine one belonging to Mr.
Humason, Of Portland, having helped
TO form the new "PhRnix" under his
skillful manipulation.
It is hard to tell which is the pleutier
IN The Dalles-ripe peaches or blistering
sunshine. Both greet you everywhere (;
but you as naturally grasp the one as
you vainiy endeavor to flee from the
other. Fruits and vegetables OF every
kind grow here in the sand and rocks,
wherever they find room for rOoilets
The productive power Of the soil, or
sand, is absolutely marvellous. But the
weather is hot, hotter, hottest. No use
to think Of lecturing here till we return,
although, as usual, every one is asking
To- a taTl- On tho ono tbo,,a l., -..I.;.t,
everybody is interested-the omnipres-
ent and inevitable Woman Question.
On Saturday morning we took the
stage for Goldendale. Crossed the CO.
lumbia in a new steam ferryboat. and
then, for twelve miles, the faithful
horses did some diligent climbing. The
little four-horse coach had eight passeu-
gers and heavy mail, and there were
three footmen, carrying knapsacks, one
Of whom kept up with us all the way to
the dinner station. We were slowly as
cending one Of the steepest places,
when the driver, jolly son OF Jehu,
turned to this solitary pedestrian, who
was painting beside the coach. and said,
"You couldn't push a little, could you?"
Mark Twain couldn't have excelled the
grim humor Of that question, nor could
Plummer himself have beaten the facial
expression Of the footman, who au-
swered him with grimace.
Three miles beyond the summit Of the
klickitat mountain range, and we
reached a dinner station-a new build
ing in the treeless center OF a sloping
fiat, where a weary Young woman with