The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1894-07-03

necessary to the running of trains, hal
been swept Off the face of the earth
In many places single lines of rail
twisted like corkscrews, hang over dizzy
canyons and down the sides of steel
hills. Between the Cascades and The
Dalles, one of the Union Pacific con
tractors told me yesterday. twelve hun.
6red piles have been completely washed
out, and today loggers started to cut
new ones which will be driven into
position as quickly as possible Between
The Dalles and Cello, miles of track
have been washed to the other side OF
the river, and the damage on that small
stretch alone amounts to $SS,OOO. The
total loss it is impossible to figure, as
many thousands of dollars that cannot
enter into any accurate computation will
have to be spent in cutting through
new country altogether, even the site
of the former line in number of places
being completely destroyed. The figures
cannot come below $1,S5O.OOO, and will
probably mount good deal higher be-
fore things are put in shape by the
company. The stoppage Of the Union
Pacific business has been the cause of
crowdlng the d. P. and A. Co.'S steam
ers with both freight and passengers,
and they are reaping a rich harvest
Renewing our trip from Bonneville
we come in half an hour to the Lower
Cascades locks-the rainiest place in
this old wet state, and, as its two hun
dred residents aver with warmth,
locality that can give Astoria three
monthsl of waterspout year and then
heat her easily. The rainy season here
lasts for 365 days. In 1891, believe
they had, sunshiny 4th of July, and as
Mr.. Jennell an old-timer in the vicinity,
told me in discussing this miracle: 1T
was lest our cussed luck, too; we was
all away at The Dalles, and missed II.
At the western side of the JOCKS, all
the passengers have to make wnat the
comnany calls a portage" The freight
is taken in wagons, along mile OF bog
I'D a steep hill into which the wheels
sink to the axle at every revolution
And along this thoroughfare, two or
three shades deeper and filthier than
any Irish peat morass, one has to tramp
as best he can till he reaches railroad
track. with cars and engine little
more crude than those on the Seaside
tine. This contrivance hauls us three
miles more and lands us at the other
side Of che locks where there is another
though shorter term of agony through
q similar mess before we reach the
Regulator. which steamer takes the pas
sengers from there to The Dalles, some
fifty miles beyond. At the west end Oh
the Cascades, the means Of transferring
freight is very crude. 1t has TO pc
hauled with pulleys up a steep bank
and hundreds of tons are piled up on
top of the hill waiting in vain for re-
moval. 1t is impossible to ship 1t and
every day the pile is being added TO-
Bullocks gcing down to the boat fo-
shipment have to make a clean slide,
and the poor frightened beasts slip and
fall all the way down the muddy incline,
keeping their drivers constantly in fear
Of stampede.
At the locks themselves tthe damage
has been very great. The famous slid
ing mountain has begun to run again,
and is falling fast into the seething
torrent In enormous masses. The con-
tractors for these works, Messrs Day
& Day, were to compl tie the job by
March, 1895, but the results of the Hood
will delay the whole contract for sew
eral years. The locks are intended to
be 1S9 feet above sea level, and the river
rose las feet above sea level, Had the
whole work been finishe' it would have
been swept clean out Of the river The
whole plan of the enterprise will now
be changed, involving an extra expendi-
ture and loss TO the government, in
Gliding the damage done, of over three
million dollars. When the river was at
it's height four hunderd yards of solid
mainland broke away, letting out the
immense body Of water behind, which
dashed down the locks with a roar Ike
thunder carrying everything before II.
IL order to protect the masonry OF the
cs nal, derricks were used and kept con-
tinuously dropping eight and ten ton
hbulders in order, IL possible, TO divert
A. 20 of4A fftIe
stoneg were lifted away down the
stream like little pebbles The canal
was flooded to depth Of fifty feet, and
100 feet of massive protection wall was
totally demolished.
From the upper end of the Cascades
all the way along to The Dalles, dozens
Of new channels have been cut by the
force of the river. but there are very
few buildings near the water, so that
the loss is not large in this direction.
But although the flood has not done
any immediate harm to the produce OF
these places, 1t has incidentally caused
loss to the frultgrowers in the locality
little short Of $4,000. At Hood river
settlement in this immediate vicinity
lying under the brow Of the magnificent
snow-capped Hood. between the lovely
hills. is the finest strawberry producing
country in the United States. The
whole village Is engaged in the culture
Of this fruit. and the trade is increasing
every year. This season $4,000 worth
Of splendid berries have been totally
destroyed. BY having to stand and rot