The Grenada gazette., 1888-02-25
WALLA WALLA WIND.


0eDtrsst Retwesn 1t and the Breeze frou
the Land Of tho Chinooks.
One OF the most curious and i,tor
esting features of the report of Gov.
srnor Simple Of Washington Territory
TO the Secretary OF the Interior is the
bit OF tradition and rhetoric which he
weaves about zephyr through the
mountains.
'The east wind" he says, "thc drv.
ing Or chilling wind. according to the
season. that blows down the Columbia
river with great force sometimes, was
called by them the Walla Walla wind
because 1t came to them from the
direction of the WaIla Walla country.
In the winter this wind brings freezine o
weather. and sometimes will close the
streams with ice. In the summer it is
a parching wind, and its approach can
be noted for long distances as it lifts
the dust and debris high in the air. It
Is an odions wind. and no one wishes
1t to blow upon him. Fortunately it's
reign is always short 1t rarely pre-.
walls for more than few hours, but
will sometimes continue for three or
four days.
''lts enemy is the Chinook wind. 80
called by the Indians alluded to
above. because it cane to them from
the direction of tho country of the
Chinooks. This is a balmy wind,
coming from the Kuro Siwo, or Great
Japanese current, of the Pacific
ocean. In the summer it is a cool
wind. and tempers the heat of summer
90 that nowhere in Washington Terri
tory do people fall do wn with sum
strokes. In the winter it is a warm,
moist wind, and is sometimes slightly
odoriferous. rs if spico-laden from the
tropics. 1t is so gentle upon ordinary
occasions that its presence could not
be noted by its motion. and it is al
most miraculous in its effects Snow
and ice disappear before it with
rapidly. and it seems to be able to
blow for long distances be-
tween walls of colder air with
out parting with lis heat. Some-
times it constitutes an upper current,
in which case the remarkable spec
taclc is witnessed of snow melting from
the mountain tops while thormomc-
ters in the valleys register below the
freezing point At other times it is
the surface current, and follows the
valleys and gorge5 as q fool might
follow them. 1t seems to bear healing
upon its wings Ike Sanlalphon, the
Angel of Prayer, end it is not difficult
to conceive that the Indians would
wish to personfy it in order TO fix
upon it their dcvot ions.
''Ihis wind somcti mes pcnctrates as
far as the upper stretches of the Ms.
souri,. and even tempars the air on the
plans Of Dakota beyond the 4 cky
Mountains. Wherever it goes the
chains of winter arc unlooscned and
the ice-bound rivers are set free The
Chinook is the natural enemy of The
odious east wind, and wh''n. orlinari-
ly. it wiclhs its Influence as gently as
the zephyrs that watt the thistle downs
in atiluno, still there are times when
the two winds engage in gi ant conflicts
and fight tor supremacy, now In the
upper. then in the lower strata, on the
mountains and in the valleys, alter
nately driving each other back and
forth, swaying the trees, tossing the
leaves, and swirling the rain drops or
the crystals of snow as the one or the
other advances But the com bat is
never long, and the victory is always |
with the Chinook. The inhabitants
east OF tho Cascade mountains, when
winter has seized them and the east
wind dashes snow in their faces. pray
for the Chinook to come. They look
by day for its moist front and listen
by night for the noise OF its combat
with the east wind. and when it
reaches them they rejoice.
Such is the Chinook wind. the
blessed wind OF the far Northwest" -
Washington letter.