Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-09-02
THE EVENING STAR.
sRInAY. ...sRprEMsRR ,. 1851.
The Far Northwest.

MAGNIFICENT SCENERY or THIS COLUMN,
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. TERRITORY THE QUEEN
| IN THE TERRITORIAL FAMILY, AND wALLA
wALLA GEN IN THE CROWN.
| Special Correspondencelo The EVENING STAR
| 'WALLA WAILA, WASHINGTON TERRITORY.
August. 1881.
| In my last letter gave hurried sketch of
our travels across the continent and our int
Pressions of the grand and enterprisng city of
San Francisco. After sojourn of nearly a week
| at the Palace Hotel. on bright and breezy
morning. we set sail for Portland. Oregon on
| the Columbia. that magnificent iron steamship
winch looks like a Heating palace on the wide
Ws1erS In less than an hour we found our
serves steaming through the Golden Gate" 10
encounter the winds and waves of the Pacific
seas Pacihc is the proper word To apply TO
this ocean when contrasted with the rouTher
waters OF the Atlantic. but in roundng the capes
| on the Oregon coast the effects are ANYTHING INT
pacific or soothing to the gastric system. espec-
| laily when from these high points the heavy
| gales begin to sweep down on the sea OF the
4oO passengers on board of our vessel all suffered
more or less from sea sickness EXCEPT a few
fortunate ones, including your correspondent
| This form of sickness is not fatal but when il
I gets good grip on man it soon takes all the
conceit out of him and makes him loathe his very
existence
But on the whole we had a very smooth sea
and delightful voyage. and on the third mornir q
after leaving port. with the sun streaming from
| cloudless sky. the decks were crowded with
men. women and children to witness the passage
OF our noble steamer the bar and her safe
entrance into the calm. clear waters of the
| Columbia river. There is always more or less
| danger connected with the crossing Of this bar
by reason of the shifting nature Of its sand
| beds. which are always changing their course
under the action of the waves Ii was here
that the Republic was wrecked a few
years ago, and some of its remains are still
seen above the surface Of the waters
Soon after exchanging the salt water for the
| fresh the gong was sounded for breakfast and
the Simultaneous rush from all parts of the ship
| tuly verified the maxim: Necessity knows no
| law. The hundreds who had been shut mp i'm
| their staterooms for 4S hours wishing them
selves dead. suddenly sprang to life. and came
crowding down to the table like pack of hungry
wolves, prepared to devour every beast of the
heid. and every fowl of the air. and the fruit of
| every tree bearing seed after its kind" Amid
this mighty raid on the animal and vegetable
| Kingdom it was a pleasant remembrance that
we were nearing the land. where our exhausted
commisariat could be quickly replenished.
| JOHN JACOB AsToR's TOWN.
few miles brought us to Astoria. a town of
several thousand inhabitants built on success
sion ofrugged hills. and shaded by heavy growth
OF mrs and pines. As its name indicates II was
! founded by Aston John jacob whenthe country
was vast bowling wilderness and was for many
| years the center OF his extensive operations i'm
the fur trade. 1t is famous for being the largest
| cannery on the Columbia where the greatest
quantity and finest quality of salmon are caught
| and canned, and shipped for food to all nations
The commerce of the place far exceeds its ciyili-
cation.
The scenery along this noble river may be
compared in beauty and subiiinity to that of the
Hudson. The Columbia is
THE GRANDEsT SHEET OF WATER,
we think, on the continent. and in commercial
value is inestimable. Its broad bosom is whitened
by the spreading sails of the ships of the world
| We followed its graceful windings and peaceful
flow till We approached the Cascades when we
were compelled to leave our luxurious quarters
on the ship and take the cars to carry us around
thS rocky cminence. where we found a hand
some steamer waiting to watt us to the immortal
Dales. those rapid and rocky narrows which no
| human skill can navigate. Arriving at this point
| at sunset, we stepped from the boat into n
gorgeous Pullman sleeper ready to roll us to our
| destination in about ten hours a distance of l6O
miles.
THE TOWN OF MANY WATERS.
AT early dawn we entered the town of Walla
Walla. g. e.. Many Waters i'm Washington Ter
ritory, under a sky bright as amber and with
the air fresh and crisp as one of our finest
autumn mornings. The population of this place.
| according to the last census foots IN 4 500 and
If we may Judge the future by the past, it is
destined, at an early day. to become one of the
| commanding cities of the great northwest Ii
| can now boast of seven churches a good system
| OF public schools, number of handsome stores.
| and not a few private residences which would
be an ornament to our older communities II
comes in. too for a superintendent share of those
| gllded saloons which an extreme etiquette for
| bids us TO call t0r-roO0ls. Indeed all branches
of business are established here and men of en-
ergy and skill are rcapng rich profits from their
| growing industries.
| Waila Waa is the great grain market in this
vast region of country. and immense quantities
/ of wheat are annually shipped from this point to
the eastern states and to European countries
In the culture of this cereal. Washington Terri
tory is the queen Of the territories Sixty bushels
| OF wheat to the acre is not an uncommon WELD
The harvest fields wave like sea of gold over
| a vast circumference. bounded only by the Blue
| mountains. All kinds of game abound i'm these
noble hills and lovely valleys. Grouse are the
favorite game in this immediate vicinity but a
few miles back in the mountains the elk ante
lOpe. bear. and even the buffalo. have their hab-
itati0ns. Deer are almost as numerous as cat
tie on the plains. As for fish, both in respect to
quantity and quality. this territorial division of
the United States will stand against any part OF
| the wide world
Grazing is an extensive and prosperous bus
mess in this section Ranches are numberess
| and sources OF large income TO their owners.
The praries furnish abundance of food for the
cattle at all seasons of the year. 1t does not
rain here in the summer and the rich grasses
cure themselves in the fields, and constitute the
| tsiiipicst NIIiteT SuDSSteiiCt ioT the HOOKS ana
| the herds. which need not be housed by reason
of cold and snow. The warm current of the
Pacific ocean pervaties wide area with its gem
ial influences. and sOftens all the rgors OF this
| nOrtherly latitude SO that i'm point of fact the
climate is much more mild aud beneficent on the
Pacific slopes than it is on the Atlantic Coast.
THE GLORIOUS AIR OF W. T.
The air in this town is so pure that fresh beef
hung up in the stalls i'm midsummer is thor
| Oughly cured without the aid of salt And when
the thermometer stands here at los in the shade
the heat is less oppressive than when the mer-
cury,is low in the nineties IN Washington and
| New York. The atmosphere is thoroughly oXy.
genated-the pervading presence of the subtle
element Of ozone renders it more eXhlarating
than the choicest champagne. The crowds OF
braWny men and blooming women which
daily thrOng the streets are the living evil
dences of the superior excellence of this
climate. Washington territory has long
been terra sfncogaltd. but it is fast opening
up to the ambition and enterprise of the world.
New lines of trade and travel are tapping it at
every point and bringing it into closer relations
to the states The great Northern Pacific
road will be completed to this point i'm less
than two years, and will doubtless be ex-