The record-union., 1892-06-23
8nynl 8ulsittB 31ntnner.

the river. Fir trees, fuIl-SIZe, fuli-groWn,
look at the base OF these great cliffs as if
they We're the toy trees of child's play
box. so dwarfed do they become by the
great mountains that tower about them.
These are the Cascades.
The masses of rock take on strange
shapes and aspects. They loom up, one
after the other, like mighty tortresSes,
and SO marked and geometrically divided
are they by geological formation that
they look like grand creations OF mas
ter architect. They have roofs and gables
and turrets, with buttre>ses and donJon
keeps. They crowd upon each other, so
that the gorgeS between are deep. steep
and terrible. Fall after fail of remark
able beauty come into view. The upper
part OF Bridal Veil Fall can just be seen
over the tops of some frs. LatOurelle
Falls, and the tallest of all, Multnomah,
whichfalls sheer 800 feet, and falls in a
hurry, too, crOwding, leaping, as II each
sheet of water was IN a hurry TO overtake
what has preceded it-all these show
forth in wondrous beauty. The train of
cars run close to these; we can see the
track at the foot Of the cliffs. Besides
these there are other smaller falls, notably
the Horsetail Fall, which, when the sun
| light shines upon it. looks like
the tail of a white charger frayed
by the wind. For miles and miles
we sail past these massive, mighty
mountains, then we come to land that
slopes a little to the river, though the
mountains still loom up severely behind
the road. We have come into the re-
/ gion of fish wheels-we are In the midst
of the salmon country.
| What is a fish wheel? All, they are
| curious inventions, clever schemes--"to
! help lazy folks"-well, yes, ii you like to
put it that way, but it might be just as
we'll to consider them as evidences of
! n1an'g in0pnnitU incrpaCn his work
capacity. Some of the apparatus were on
| one side of the river, some on the other,
| just as the set-netS of the fishermen were
some miles below. Some of the more en-
! terprising of the fishermen, or salmon
catchers had built dam so as to further
delude the fish, who, deceived by the
rush of the river as it tumbled over the
| improVised obstacle Of logs and stones,
/ think they have reached the rapids. In
! they rush, only to be caught up by the
| fish wheel. What is a fish wheel? I'M
agine a small scow anchored near the
shore or at the end Of bridge. In the
center is what looks like long bath-tub-
shaped box covered with white canvas.
This is the receptacle of the fish when
caught. And the wheel! oh, that's at
| the end of the scow or float. 1t has an
axle, from which radiate, instead of
| spokes, six or eight cages, shaped like
| the scoop of a mud dredger, only very
| uIUCu larger, llldOb Ol NOOu, OF OI lIOu
! framework, the bottom and side of which
is covered with coarse wire netting to let
| the water out. The force of the current
causes these wheels to reVolve. If, in
making the turn, a fish is picked up he is
wet, Of course, and slippery, too, and so
naturally and inevitably he slides into a
trough near the axle of the wheel, and
whsnce the next motion of the cage, as it
makes for the top Of the circuit, gently
dumps him into the awning-coYered box.
These wheels often capture several tons
| of fish in the tWenty-tOur hours. The
| best catches are made III the night time,
because then the fish seem less apt to de-
tect the presence of the wheel. To my
| anxious inquiry as to the chance of catch
| ing salmon over the side OF the steamer,
the Captain laughed and said: You'll
never get Columbia River salmon on q
hook, they are too smart for that"
On our way to Bonneville we passed
quite near the site of a paper mill that
makes all the paper used by the Oreq0n-
! ian, besides making wrapping-paper and
| bags. Most of the paper pulp is obtained
| from the wood of the cottonwood tree,
| which until quite recently was con-
demned as useless. Its fiber was too soft
| for building or cabinet use, and it gave
out no heat as firewoad. Some one ex-
perimented and found that its fiber was
| just the thing Tor paper pulp, and so q
new industry was developed.
| The steamer touched at Bonneville, IS
miles from Portland, took on board some
! passengers who had made the trip along
the river by the Union Pacific, and then
turned about for her return.
! Long ago it was possible to take train
| to a point few miles further up the
river, and then re-embark on the river.
and go to The Dalles, where the river mar
rows to hundred feet, and comes tear
Ing in through two high, solid walls of
rock, but that trip is not made any more.
The steamers only go as far as Bonneville.
ELIZA ID. KEITH (''Di Vernon.")