The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-09-08
A Summer Trip.
III


EDITOR INDEPENDENT:
| The heavy leaden clouds hanging low
down in the sunless western sky Wrns us
that riding in an open boat, facing stiff
down stream wind and contrary tic with a
certainty of getting thoroughly VT before
the half four return voyage is accomplished
will be anything but pleasant termination
| of the days trip, however pleasuable "a
ride DER the bounding deep my be to
people alive to the beauties of a picturesque
sea and landscape, when all natup cheers
and every prospect pleases, but to 1ake the
best eff circumstances is now the oily thing
| to do and it is done with as much cheerful
fulness as can be assumed considering the
fact that we had started forth thatmorning
in the light summer attire, withanticipa-
tions of a clear day drawn fromthe past
weeks experience of balmy air andcloudless
skies. Seated in the stern of the boat, my
companion voyager at the oars, we push
gently out into the stream and pssing the
only wharf the town affords, threat our way
through the piles left standing upn which,
in days gone by, was built a sawmill; but
now, like the machine shops and other in
dustries of the place has been transferred to
Tacoma, or some other point vince more
extended field of operations is presented to
the ambitious owners leaving Kahma alone
in her glory As an industrial entire she
| sis, dead-her garlands aed' without the
faintest hope of resurrection, and why
should there be. so situated that a CONNER
cial career was an impossibility, lot having
| the excuse of a rich and populow agricul-
tural district at her back. a certainty to all
thoughtful people that the permanent ter
minus of the n. p. Il. X. could never be
| here, hemmed in by rugged hills and built
Oh flat unsightly strip of groun, along the
water front where a reputable view of the
Columbia and surrounding county cannot
| be had. But if kalama has retpgraded in
public improvements and general progress,
| the people III the county of whicl it is the
| seat have not; as witness the following facts:
| The opening of new farming distncts, steam
| navigation OF her rivers, increased road,
school tax and liquor license; purchase and
insuranceSof the kazano, apretertious hotel
| in palmy days-now court houe and Jail,
| and at the present time a competent coterie
| of county officials to administer Affairs. The
auditors semi-annual statement a. presented
at the last county commissioners court we
are told, placed the actual Indebtedness of
Cowlitz, at 81, 1885, 80, which allowing for
the non-recovery of Il considerable portion
of the funds embezzled by the hte sheriff,
and the necessary expenditures is very
fair financial showing for this light little
county. We have now left Kahma far in
our rear and are skirting along dose to the
shore that in places reaches down to the
waters edge in low marshy, willow and pop
lar fringcd tracts, and anon rsesabruptly to
a considerable height. We tum first one
rocky point then another that juts out
boldly and at whose base the seething hiss
ing waters pour by i'll their mad rush to the
sea; a curious accident or intention of nature
or man | noticed in connection with one OF
these walls, and that was Il cave or tunnel
with its mouth SO very the level of the
| water that epch wave sent out by our boat
as it cleft its way through its liquid element
went splashing into its murky recesses
a series Of inquiries relative to it elected
the following information: 1t was cut into
the bluff to the depth of 80 or 40 feet By
Vancouver worthless, with the avowed pur
pose OF discovering whether there was a bee
of camel coal existing here. Further OF
our attention was drawn to a queer collec
ton of nondescript houses evidently built
out of the debris of wrecked buildings swept
down the Columbia in its annual rise, and
secured by the proprietor of the forlorn hab
itations; a roohess barn partly filed witt
mouldy hay stood off to one side as if it had
strength to do so, while something like {
dozen shabby one-windowed, one-dooreo
shanties with lean look, not one any bet
ter than the other, were huddled up within
wonderfully patched and put together APP
pcaring fences, and scrubby trees in u stumpy
bramble-grown field hardly intensified tn,
scare crow aspect OF the whole. We Learned
that this was the abode of n dutchmar
known as Ahace, the miser. IL is popularity
supposed that he has large sums OF money
hidden away. These little shantes ha,
been put up and occupied at intervals b,
his children, who were from time to tim,
driven from the parental roof-treo by tn,
old misers excessive pennionsness anc
cruelty. JONI SMITH.
| [For want of space We are compelled tt
continue the above into our next issue.-Ed.
Proceedings Of the CITY Council.