The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-12-07
I'm. the World erlarld
OF North America.
Seventeenth Paper Of Northwestern Travel.
Something About the State of Washington.

-AOAuicV " Tue OlS Ocuu VI Tie SOtuth-
bia river-to Fort Spokane. a United
States military post garrisoned by two
companies Of infantry located at the
junction of the Spokane and Columbia
rivers The soldiers stationed at this
point keep an eye on the Indians of the
neighbOring reservations north of Spo-
kane. This road extends to Conlee city,
124 miles from Spokane.
Cheney is an enterprising town OF
1900 population. named In honor of
Benz. p. Cheney. of Boston, Northern
Pacific director The handsome acad-
emy here Is monument of his bene-
ficence. Here are four churches. three
hotels, a grain elevator, Touring mills
and numerous stores, besides electric
light and water work plants.
Matcrs with Remedial Value.
Ten miles from Cheney is Medical
lake. whose waters perform some re-
! markable cures This is resort for in
valids afflicted with rheumatism. skin
diseases and nervous complaints who
find immediate relief. 1t is claimed
that those who have come here with
shrunken limbs, and wasted arms and
bathed in its waters have found perfect
cures and final restoration of the vast
ed parts. The town is located in
group of small lakes, three of which
especially have great depth and are
strongly impregnated with alkaline
salts. The evaporation Of the waters
produces a salt which is sold for medi-
cal purposes.
The principal lake Is about mile and
one-half wide and has no visible outlet
but is constantly fed by two known and
enormous springs. Careful analysis
shows twelve medicinal properties in its
waters, right from natures own lab
oratory. 1t is estimated that 5000 per-
sons visited this lake last summer who
bear willing testimony to physical
benefits received from the. use Of Its
magical waters. We are told that the
Indians of the Northwestern Pacific
coast from time far beyond the know
ledge of the Oldest inhabitant. knew Of
its curative properties and held 1t in
great veneration as the Strong Water
from the Sacred Ground" Gladly do
We chronicle. such discoveries which
prove of immense value to our western
neighbors and the human race gener-
ally.
In the Wake Of the Flames.
Forty-one miles from Spokane we
arrive at the fire-devastated town of
Sprague, with population of 1000.
Two days previous to our arrival here
1t was the scene OF terrible confiagra-
ton. which swept over a hundred acres
of territory, destroying property valued
at more than one million dollars. Here
is the headquarters of the Idaho divi-
sion of the Northern Pacific railroad
and the site of its car shops and round
house, which at the time of the fire
contained twenty-four locomotives.
fifty-four freight cars, and several pas
senger cars that we saw in total ruins,
only the iron frames remaining. The
estimated loss of the car shop machin-
cry, ETC., amounted to 1926, ZOO: of the
passenger station and freight ware
houses. 100000 or more, bringing the loss
of the railroad company all told to
$75O,OOO besides making over four hum
dred families homeless. In spite Of sew
eral fire engines sent by the neighboring
towns to assist in subduing the flames,
the fire was raging angrily In some
places and the doomed town presented
a picture Of desolatiOn and distress.
The three hotels, the three churches the
school building, bank and fourteen
stores of yesterday We're at the time Of
our visit virtually wiped out.
A Terrific, y Devoid Of Trees.
The country around Sprague seems
barren and grows more and more so as
we journey westward. We have left
the fertile lands of the "Palouse coun-
try" and the range of purple hills be-
hind us, and entered a treeless region.
Timber Is abundant east Of Sprague.
but not tree Is afterward seen, save at
stations, until the Columbia river is
sighted over hundred miles beyond.
The railroad company. has planted
shade trees at the stations along the
line, to show that. desert like as this
region appears. 1t only needs water and
care to make 1t productive. A singular
fact as. that the railroad for hundreds
Of miles either way follows the banks Of
rivers. or the dry beds of old watcr-
courses. called "Coulees." We folt3w
them virtually all the way. from Spo-
kane, one hundred and fifty miles, to
the Columbia river The Coulee beds
are rocky and desolate enough. Two
miles west Of Sprague Is Lake Colvills.
The road runs along its border for eight
miles. Sprague receives its supply Of
water and ice from this lake.
There are ten unimportant stations
in the next one hundred and ten miles,
passed before we reach the Columbia
river at Pasco Junction, which Is q
point of divergence for the Cascade di-
vision Of this road. also to the south
ward along the banks of the Columbia
connecting at Umatilla with the Union
Pacific System for Portland. a dis
tance of 235 miles. which was the regu-
lar route to Puget Sound before the
completion Of the Cascade Division. At
Pasco Junction we are 253 miles from
Tacoma or Seattle A rthrec-mile run
south brings us to the confluence of the
Columbia and Snake rivers at Aims
worth. Here Is the SNAKE River
Bridge" the most important structure
on the road. next to that at Bismarck,
across the Missouri river. described in
previous letter. This superstructure
Is OF iron. resting upon granite piers,
the combined flood Of the above named
rivers flowing benath IT,, and presenting
to the eye desirable change from the
barren. dreary desert waste which one
has to traverse in order to reach the
bridge.
The Columbia River.
There are few revelations more sur
prising to an eastern tourist than that
OF the magnitude Of some OF the great
western rivers. Among the fifty rivers
of greater or less Importance in the
state Of Washington, the. Columbia is
the chief. and among the greatest in
the world. It compares favorably with
the Mississippi in volume, while in
scenic attractions It, is Infinitely the
superior Of Ithe Father OF Waters"
The. Columbia and Snake. especially, /