Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-12-02

Taking a good map Of the line and
.earG3ng our course, get from mem.
aary < Fs1iezably complete panorama OF
I,nE zrenscontinentaI belt as seen from
ssss CIR window. Let me Try TO pre-
szt ttls Northern Pacific in brief
1Fd remember, if you please, that the
r,ss-Ee5iiag color in the picture Is
ayuwa, not green.
Minnesota: Lakes, farm houses,
Z Eo1esls. New England thrift, and a
yrIicd succession Of villages; toward
III &esIern border the level bottom
Of The Red River basin.
E I7gsEing to Fargo, in Dakota, the
.1elsc2s3,&pe Of the Red River valley,
srmns Of yesterday bright all night
-sith electric light. miles Of gigantic
grca1se farms cultivated with armies
Of raen with steam engines, then an
xst3u dating prairie with smaller
farms and fourishing little towns. TO
Bismarck and the Missouri River.
.ae.l0ss western Dakota, from the
Missouri to the Little Missouri, ma
re-, broken, brown prairie, with
assE4.s, few water courses, no trees,
fen settlements. The experiment Of
,styGa5 raising is in progress here and
tissTr, as at Dickinson and Richard
=, 4gd,; practically all OF western Dako-
'Es * wilderness still. Everywhere
Ia .aunch grass, which cures into hay
~ II stands. Good grazing land
rascnes north and south of the line.
I.Sa6sr the surface of the prairie is An
fas7siiaustible supply Of imperfect
.Nai.
1T the Montana border, the social
of H&d Lands, in which Nature, gone
szrEtp, has produced an agglomeralion
gT fantastic hills of wildly colored
aSli and burnt clay-a landscape
which seems to the new conner AS un-
earthly az if piece OF moon had
dropped upon this spot.
Nearly four hundred miles along
iisz galley of the Yellowstone close al!
.sac time TO the clear river with It's
as!a1ids and fringcs Of cottonwood,
.rsn smut in on either side by the
eff edges or terraccd slopes Of the
slaax.uds beyond. Cattle and horses
20 z reat herds all along the line. Here
.srs1 there, infant cities which hnvc
cssme to stay. The scenery Of the
.ss,'ewstone valley is pleasing in all
1s1gects save that Of color; IN the ear
" Summer it must be charming.
al of Dakota, as seen from the
zeskyoed, is prairie; all of Montana is
srsyg ntain, valley and canyon. The
sax1&scape in each Territory is alike
t1esfltuic of green. The eye becomes
ssr>us5omed to the prevailing russell.
tgsG IL does not cease 10 long for the
iyving hue.
AT Livingstone we come to the
8e1t range, the first spur to the Roc
isw Mountains Snow PEAKS appear
ssxs,r She foot hills. The road climbs
eiEK Tsnge, passing the summit at the
.asltude Of the top Of Mount Wash
5naten. and descends through fine
s.amgOn to Bozeman and the Gallaiin
Valley, one of the garden spots of the
gssxtinent.
Up the Yellowstone the general
,.ssorse of the railroad has been south
aif Ayest. After crossing the Bel,
s1suee it makes north latitude fast
%&iCf, the Belt range on the right,
sss,6 the mountains of the Main Di-
~(5c on the left, we run up Missouri
Valley 10 Helena, past hills that look
.Eg enough they had been tufted by an
1ssnelsterer. This valley. too. is
charming in every respec; but that OF
4-sear. We croas the Missouri again,
hsxe miles above the point where we
e-rsBsed il at Bismarck.
Beyond Helena another climb over
she Rockies. The mountain scenery
- ssa the whole disappointing. The
.saern front of the main divide is
axad and rugged. but not particu
sa.-$5 imposing. The scenery on The
atsssern slope. rs the road descend,
RsIGA Mullan Pass, is billy rather than
asaQntainous.
ia q few miles we have passed from
Sde waters of the Missouri system,
Ia yang Tn the Gulf of Mexico. IL
aaAase OF the Columbia. aud The
sT.ssssms that ere now followed foI
asss1rly a thousand miles. are of n pale
;,xssea quartz color. and they rush 10
ein. Pacific. The Bitter Root. Clark
rssSNs. Snake river. and the man
sleeam of the Columbia itsel!
srgstn to have sucked the green out oi
cSse country which they drain.
The extreme northwest of Monta
III cad the little strip of Idaho cross
ri Gsy the railroad is region of pic
saaxesue scenery. great gorges,
fnssenLains, rushing streams. ard tall
Gxnee.s. Skiriing the beautiful Pend
fsSrcillc lake. the road turns south
lMUrd again into Washington. and
s,ase the corner Of that Territory
ehtough 200 miles Of sage brush and
smsd. dismal beyond description to
Cine eye. but which will speed
aiG he developed into one of the rich
ssSc winter wheat regions on the con
zil3aat.
AT the Oregon line we join the
SMSAW ctlCutl1 III tuC NOtutuuiS, h0u
sCcenpany to Portland aud the Pa
'<.fs6c river which Is noblcr than the
MADISON and finer than the Rhine.
III.
Portland, with 30 900 people is al
ready laid out To accommodate a
ltsspclation as large rs that of Paris
Speculation in real estate has carried
gtgianes to extraordinary figures. l.
eksc town were ten times bigger than
e ss, the value put on land IN desira
1ss or prospec,ivcly desirable quar-.
fanM could hardly be higher For OK.
xaszspae, the owner of q corner lot 81
as,H by 100 said tina, he had refused
Sf1. 600 for the property. His lot is
Ixag from the present line Of bust.
zrses Improvement, and is occupied
Szg G cheap two-story wooden siruc-
.a,e. The owner OF another corner
-Aste 80 feet by $50, not in one of the
tncsy streets, asks $50. 900 for the
Saazf. Close on the borders of the
&-ahanese quarters you find that the