Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1879-06-27

Frank Pixley's Opinion.

|
The 4aryonam contains the following
wri,tea by its editor after brief visit to
Oregon and Washington:
On our down trip from Portland to As
toris the ship made twenty. .ionr miles an
honr. which Is the fastest sailing we ever
experienced OF our trip we can only say |
il was ten days of uninterrupted enjoy !
ment. Oregon was 10 us n revelrtion, We
knaw that California was bounded on the |
north hy Oregon; We knew that Portland |
was situated on the Willamette: That the |
Willamette emn'ied into the Columbia;
that the Colombia emr'ieh into the sea
dividing Washington Territory from the
State Of Oregon. We had heard ,hc
| country was rich in forests and timber.
that it was Of agricultural vnlne; that fish
ahonnded in its streams; we had a sch aol.
boys idea Of its geography Of coast range
rivers Cascade mountains. broad prairies
and rich valleys, but we hnd no realizine
sense Of its splendid domain and the in
exhnnstibe fertility of soil its expansive
primal forests. its river Willamette. more
beautiful thu n the Sacramento, draining n
valley more productive Than the Sarra,
mento and San Joaquin combined; we had
no idea till we saw II that the Colnmhia
was the grandes' and most picturesque ~
all the prea' rivers Of the world that il
had scenery upon rs hanks in comparison
with which the Hudson and the Rhine sir X
into ntter iusigoificance; that t.aud it's
! trihn,arips penetrate \ land which for food
nroducing capacity has no equal on NIL
Gods five broad continents. Oregon is a
wonderful State. and tried hy what seems
to us % he the true test Of lands real
wealth and ultimate greatness. viz. is
power TO produce food, it has no superior
in the world.
Astoria il the Venice Of the north hni't
into he waters Of the Columbia. standine
unon niles. wooden houses npon wooden
sticks, so constructed for no other reason
that we could observe ihen that il ia
cheaper to drive lies and hnild npon the m
than to grade y somewhat hillv and nn-
comfortable background Astoria is a
cty of patient hopes and great expec'a-
,ions. loca'ed on the banks Of the great
river it expectanily awaits the good time
, coming when il shall realize its gsograph
ical advantages asd reap the harvest of ~
expanding commerce. For half hundred
, years its owners have looked out npor Tbs
great waters of the Columbia aud won
dered for half that time whv the ships
went sailing nv 10 that inferior and in
terror town of Portland. Still they do
and Astoria sits and smiles. confident, n
. its intimate greatness, when it will b'
crowned queen Of the Columbia, and al
it's tributaries shall bring gifts and pou
them into its willing lap. We would no
dampen the ardor of its friends by suy
gns,ing that i, ia insi possible that ap u
terror railroad system may concentrate tii'
trad. of western Oregon at Portland, an
4 that the trade of Eastern Oregon an,
- Idaho 70 ~ seek the shores OF Pugei sou =
ard pass out TO The great ocean over ,ha
broad highway of commerce, the Strait
+. of Fuca.
1 Portland is one hundred and Gt.e
miles from the sea. situated npoa til
J, beautiful Willamette, somr six miles ato,
r where it empties into the Celumbia; ci,
q Of 30, 900 inhabitants, good inhshitsnti