The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1891-05-07

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hosts of others "too numerous to men
tion." Chiefest and last among thoas
in this vicinity was ''Devil's Slide. ;
This consists of two upright walls oi
solid rock some ten or twelve feet IN
height, and like distance apart, look
ing like gigantic chute for loadi, 1
stock on cars and reaching from thu
top of the mountain TO It's base, = dis
tance OF many hundreds Of feet -Yins.
ing this scene in sober earnestness
light suddenly broke upon us in regard
to the true origin of toboeganine, aud
We for the first time comprehended tie
meaning of the term going down grade
like the devil" which W had so often
heard in connection with tobogganina
and which our train at the same time
WAS said to be doing. However We
soon left the vicinity of the Old Eel
lows former haunts behind and pulled
into Ogden, the suburb of the Mormon,
stronghold in former times, when
Brigham Young, in the glory of his
power, married every other woman in
the Territory.
Here We were obliged to lay owe,
nearly seven hours and taking advan-
tage If the opportunity, we visited
points of interest in the city and by d
little questioning gained fair knowl-
edge of the condition of affairs and ol
the dangers Of being to ucl,ly mar
ried. Finding that it was u peniten-
tiary offense we hastened back to ou,
car and offered the conductor two
bits'' to pull out, but as he stubbornly
refused we concluded that he Was 20,
ing to take the risk.
The city is beautifully situated. sur.
rounded by snow capped mountxins
that loom up to such an extent as t..
impress one with the idea that they
are but few rods away when the,
were in reality from six to ten miles
off. The soft spring bret zes and tht
scent Of starting vegetation WAS deli
cious after experiencing the keen chill
air of the mountains.
From here we turned forth by wa,
If the Oregon Short Liue and reached
Pocatello. Idaho, the next morning
From there we followed the great Val,
ley f the Snake river for several hun,
dred miles over a vast stretch Uf leve
prairie covered with sage brush. A
magnificent view of the America,
Falls on Snake river made a lasting
impre ssion on US, as did the terrible
alkali dust of the plains Of v ester,
Idaho, that filled the eyes Of passen-
gers and literally covered everything
il the cars. Relief came at night wkeI
we crossed over into Oregon, and. re-
firing to our berths. We wake ID Il,
Arlington on the Columbia river mex,
morning.
From here to Portland the road fol.
lows the river and the magniicen,
mountain scenery II the Cascade rang,
is fully as grand as anything tn.
Rockies had t. offer. At BIidal Vel
Falls the train stopped long enough t.
give the passengers u chance To view
the water fall and the grandeur of tn,
surrounding scenery. The Dall+s ex
appeared, calling forth. exclanati iou,
of surprise and delight FROM the trav.
rlers, being grandly beautiful beyont
the power Of words to describe.
At noon our train pulled into Port
land, being nearly three hours behint
time. Here again W. were obliged t,
lay over for several hours before co,..
tinuing our journey, and again taking
advantage OF our opportunity we Wis.
tied some of the points of interest j,
the city. Taking the motor car We rs
cended Portland Heights, from which
bird'seye view Of the city and VALLEY
is obtained. AT our feet lay the city
the Willamette and Columbia rivers
At our right, the depot, the docks ant
bay, with steamers and sailing vessel.
lying at anchor; while in the distanc,
could be seen the towering peaks o1
Mount HelleMs, Mount Hood, and owe,
in Washington, Mount Adams. Th.
day being bright and clear, the view
was Que and the scene enchanting be.
yond description, and We reluctant,
descended as it were to earth and more
commonplace things. Here we found
the weather very warm, excessively &C
to Us from Minnesota and Northern
Iowa, with myriads of wild flowers ii
bloom in the mountains, and fruit
trees of all kinds loaded with blossoms
in the valleys. The air seemed laden
with the scent Of thousand different
perfumes which to inhale was life
health, sweetness and beauty. 1t va.
like being transported toa
Land that Is fairer than day.
Where the flowers eternally bloom. w. "
In my next will give some pnrticu-
lars OF this valley, ito resources, i'll
prospects AID its people, tins letter be-
ing already too long to admit of any
thing more Ut present.
ARrv AN ~ A~~