The herald., 1895-08-11

above terrace covered with beautiful
grasses and MOSES, row after row of ap-
parently well-.rimmed trees and OK
quisitely curved roadways laid with solid
granite. all as true to geometrical lines
as the skill of any civil engineer cou q
possibly make them. Again, across the
face of a gigantic precipice was seen a
perfect stone fence. and were it not known
that it was impossible foi man to scale
these mountain ins one would fain believe
the fence was fresh from the hands of
the stonemason. At each turn OF the
river new panorama presented itself,
each apparently striving 10 outdo its
neighbor IN point of grandeur.
The river from its entarnce in the
canyon for distance of twenty miles is
succession Of rapids and sharp bends.
jutting rocks and protruding bowlders
where for miles at n stretch even ssmall
boat could not effect landing, and where
the current is so rapid that steamer
backing hard" still makes gocd head
Steamboat bar. Captain Gray went
around the hills. and. with the aid of
powerful glasses, made thorough in
spection of Copper Creek falls. the most
terrible part of the whole wicked stretch
of rapids, whirlpools and cataracts. On
his return he set the crew at work and
the fore-and-aft bulkhead was run In the
bilse of the Norma's bow. The hold for
ward OF the fire room was filled with cord
wood to resist the shock when the steam
or struck and all matches nailed down.
Then the crew turned in on what, for all
they knew, was their last night IN this
world.
Captain Gray was thoroughly satisfied,
after an examination of the falls, that a
boat OF the Norma's dimensions could not
be taken over without striking the bluff
somewhere. The river here runs through
a channel about 100 feet wide. Large
powders line the Oregon shore, and on
the Idaho side rises steep cliff fifty feet
high. An ugly reef. twenty feet across
and eight feet under water. stands at the
brink Of the fall or run, about one-third
of the way across from the Oregon side.
1t makes a b.okcn drop and throws the
current against the cliffs on the Idaho
side. When the captain told the crew
that it would be necessary to strike this
wall o! rock some uneasiness was mani
tested, but from what they had already
passed their confidence in him was un-
limited.
In the morning, when everything was
ready. Captain Gray called the men and
said to them:
Il will not say there is 10 danger. for
there is danger to the boat, but not to
life. If she snonld strike hard enough to
knock her SIDE out, or even break in two.
we can take the small boats and make the
buOTc DcIOTc Suc SlnhSs DOIl RcL tACltcu
Obey orders and don't jump overheard
under any circumstances, as that is
death. Stick to the ship"
A few minutes later the Norma dlopped
into midstream. shot through swift
rapid that anywhere else would be re-
garded as i'm passable, came out into COM
paratively clear water, and in another
moment entered the draw of the falls,
about fifteen feet from the Idaho cliff. 1t
was a moment OF intense excitement. As
she broke over the falls her tlmbers
creaked and groaned. When she took the
final plunge the captain cried Star
board" and with the weight of himself
fairly flew around. The engines were
backed and the cliff was frowning over
the boat. She struck it with her starboard
guard and seemed to hang for moment
while the waves broke over her deck
The surf flying back from the cliff
Then the little boat bounded away to
mid-channel like handball. The en-
gines were stopped and the Norma drifted
down the rive. with the crew yelling like
demons, the hapriest men in two states,
who had an experience that will last them
lifetime.
The steamers nosihg was smashed for
about two feet and three deck beams were
raised few inches. Otherwise she did
not suffer from her battering.
Just below the falls the boat steamed
through He'll canyon. a place about 200
feet in length where the overhanging
cliffs seem to come within few inches
of meeting directly over the river and
hundreds of feet above. During the mex t
ten miles she shot over four different
rapids, where the water ran like q race
horse. Then the channel narrowed to
fifty feeG and the current sped along
twenty miles an nour. One place was
encountered where the river ran
straighter and swifter than millrace for
something like two miles, and in cover
ing the distance the engines we're not
moved nor was the pilot wheel touched.
So the great Box canyon of the Snake
was passed. and the Norma came into
comparatively still water at what is
known as the head Of navigation on the
Snake river. At noon on May oath she
steamed up to the wharf at Lewiston and
lower river. This remarkable journey oc-
hours was the actual travelling time. The
distance from Huntington down tO the
head OF navigation is about 1S0 miles.
Once before was the trip made, but
never again will anyone be foolish enough
to build boat on the upper waters for
the sake of bringing her down over Cop
per creek run to field of uselessness
Some twenty-five years ago the steamer
Shoshone came down over the course fol-
lowed by the Norma, and the voyage was
made without serious mishap. She was
over year in making the trip. however,
for she tied at Steam boat bar for twelve
months, her crew refusing to run Copper
Creek falls,-St Louis Globe Democrat,