Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1884-05-03


twos at first, and soon by half-dozens, the
pass engers made drowsy appearance on
the d, ok, when il became known We had
entered the Straits. Beyond til" most ar
dent desire the morning was lovely. Ell"
the sun rose u thin white vail of fog hung
above the WIDE exranse OF sta Ihls wa
quickly dispclled by the earliest morning
beams. Such sight as greeted the eye,
what pen Can describe or what pencil o'
brush adequately portray!
| Behind us stretched the broad wake oi
the steamer, the waves dancing merrill!
and sparkling in the sun-a wide belt
of cleaning snpphiics. Farther away ap-
ocared the mouth or entrance of Admiral
" Inlc:, through Which we had steamed
less than an hour before. SJuihward o'
the entrance could plainly bc diScerned
Point Wilson, Middle Point, Projection
! Island, Cape George. and the entrance 20
Port Discovery. Abreast, New Dun2cness
appeared in full, unubstrncted view. Far
above the ,lim and sba1owy shore line
rose the lofty and now,crsted peak OF
Mount Chastra, towering nearly 1000 feet
above the sea level. Touched by the ear
ly rays Of light the snow ge"med .ith I"
fierce ioscatc fire, SO brigtt and d"zzhhg
that tho eye shrunk' from the glare with
a sen.e OF pain. Running weft"ard, u
high range OF densely wooded mountains
trends along parallel with the Coast.
These shone with dark serial BLUSH hue
uuder the hight OF " cloudless ehy. Fol-
lowing the shore line iurther westward,
it's windings, became NOR ana mare lndis
tinct and na,liy mel cd softly away from
human sight in the illinitaD.e cxp,nsc oi
thc Puc,l: ocean beyond.
Sweeping the eve once NOR" "stern to-
war the soutnc,lii, the ~cS,crh shore OF
Whl,lby Island swcllcd gently above the
yoli mi purple sea, s'cep q i tho & oii-
GUS hurs OF morning. Admiralty Head,
with its colunA-like light beacon. could
hs distinctly ou,linei. N1rthwsrd the
eye plainly traced the wavcrins shore-
ll,e of this island county, stretching across
the strait. Due nollh the blCrred and
dreamy outlines oi San Ju"n and Lopez ls-
lands were seen just pcepinG above the
water rimmrd horizon. a little to the
westward the entrance /" the Canal lie
uaro was very dmly discerned without
the sid oi n marine gliss. Just ahead,
Vancouver Island rose in plain view. No
element was lacking TO complete the all
solptcly perfect picture Of blue, purple
and goiti,n -ca, bright and clOudess sky,
near anil rem ,te shore, and distant nouns
tain ranges. AS ii to highten and inten-
sify the enchanting spectacle, the sun
showered down u food ot light, and the
fresh delicious merning bre, re blew softly
over the SEA. 4a So
While crossing tho Straits, and just be-
fore the steamer entered Victoria harbor,
u splendid view was caught OF the tn
trance 70 Juan lie Fuca. Due west OF us
stretched the long, wide channel, unfrct-
ted by single island, the lines Of shore
seeming to converge as they recsded with
81 inuous course toward the mouth 0t the
Strait. DINNER and DINNER and less
distinct grew these :eceding lines, until
the grayish land and greenish-bluc waters
eenll mingled and were lost in each
other. Beyond these softly fading marks
Of land stretched the ilnitlcss expanse
of sea. With It's feeble and uncertain viz :
ion the human eye was scanning the cast
crn rim Of the mighty Pacific ocean.
A steam collier was iust passing out,
with cargo Of coal troni Seattle or Ia
coma. bound for San Fraucisco. Its
lo.g, marrow, bls OK hull bad partially
sunk below the horizon. aud the stack re~
tllbled slender spcsk, from which
trailed dark banner OF smoke. Several
vessels were entering. beating slowly
down under q gentle wiad, the rigging
and hulls bearing dim, phantom aspect.
Ahe. d of our steamer, aud just OFT the en-
trance to the harb IT Of Victoria, several
large ships rode Mt anchor, swinging list
lessly with the sluggish tide. with their
sails flapplng lazily in the morning breeze .
San Franciscan.