, 1886-07-01
GOSSIPY LETTER
Scenery Along the Columbia.
= COUNTRY ROLLING WEALTH
AND-DEST

Editorial Correspond .noe.l
From Portland to Wallula over the
o. Il. Il y. line one gets passing
glimpse of some of the finest scenery
ont Of doors these days. For many
miles the way leads through what
was once heavily timbered country,
but now along the road there is a
varying panorama of lovely gardens
and rich grain fields Twenty-six
miles out We pass the Needles" two
sentinel pillars of rock that loom up
in solemn grandeur. On the north
ern side of the river is Cape Horn"
where perpendicular wall of rock
rises 1000 feet above the water
From here as we pass inland the
mountain scenery opens with pleas
ing variety before Us. We hardly
get over admiring Bridal Veil Falls
before Multonomah Falls pass IN re
view, where a stream of mountain
aqua is precipItated $50 feet and is
caught in a pretty natural basin.
From here the road winds along at
the base of grand mountains looming
heaVenward thousands of feet. White
Horse Tail Falls, Castle Falls and
other attractions are rapidly passed
till we arrive at the Portage at the
lower Cascades, where freight and
passengers passing up on steamers is
discharged and carried by rail six
miles to the upper Cascades from
which point steamers are again used
on the middle division of the river to
The Dalles. AT Bonneville the Sin
ner man" is refreshed at six bits per
refresh and no back talk allowed.
At the Upper Cascades is where the
government Is investing money by
the bushel and cart load to construct
canal and system of locks which,
when completed, will allow steamers
to run from Portland through to The
Dallss. From here the country
gradually assumes rolling aspect,
and occasional valleys stretch away
on either side revealing farm houses,
fertile acres and fine orchards; the
adjacent foothills and table lands
being utilized for stock ranges. At
several points along the river we
noticed large fish wheels busily en-
gagged in exterminating the finny
product of the stream. Sixty five
miles from Portland we stop at Hood
River station, where tourists get off
if they wish to visit Mount Hood.
The station is also kind of landing
place for farm produce, cord wood,
etc. From Hood River the mountains
degenerate into low, rolling hills.
almost barren of timber One point
of interest is ''Memaluse Island" an
old Indian burying ground. Klicki-
tat Bluff is point calculated to make
timid passengers screen their eyes in
apparent danger of pitching head
long into the seething stream below.
Soon we emerge upon the opening
from which fair view is obtained of
The Dalles with its 1000 or more in
habitants. From The Dalles our
progress was uneventful till on the
following morning emerging from a
comfortable berth in the pullman
sleeper" we gazed to the ris ht and
left over miles and miles of dreary,
dry, treeless plain with which eastern
Washington abounds in a wealth OF
lonesome expanse. From here we
skip the matters touched upon in our
last, our delightful visit at Spokane
Falls, and return through Cheney.
Marshall, Spangle, Sprague, Palouse
Junction and on down past railroad
towns to
wALLULA JUNCTION.
Beautiful WalluIa Junction! Proud
aggregation of corporate railroad
crossings, sand hills and-dustl No
wonder Bill Nye apostrophized ii
after the style of certain Congress
mans description of Duluth Mr..
Nye tells pathetically of the horrors
he underwent while imprisoned at a
Wallula hotel for five mortal hours
how he had to exercise the utmost
vigilance lest the pillow would get
into his ear and get lost; how he was
seized with an almost irresistible de-
sire to embezZle 4 pair of trousers
left there by previous occupant OF
the room-trousers that had a
thoughtful droop in the seat, and a
melancholy sag in the knees. The
hotel man has since burned down his
building; and now you put up in a
ricksty building kept by an obse-
quious japanese who leads you up a
narrow fight of stairs and blandly
turns the conversation upon tie
weather while he charges you a dol
lar for letting you occupy a bed tick
full of hay for four hours. We ar
rived at Wallula in the middle of tie
night. wheeling and expectorating
dust. Landed on the platform, laden
with valises, oyercoats, etc, we
trudged nearly down to Tie Dalles
to get around a freight train SO as to
walk back on the other side and
reach the logging" house. Our re-
spected wife trudged after. with con
solutions and hopes that in case We
should by any means eecape being
run over by one of the numerous
trains sidetracking, backing and comp
ling all around, We might sometime
before morning reach lace 10 l,e
down and rest. The dust is a.! T. .