The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-08-30
4 CITY On THE SAND.
How Ainsworth Rose, Flour
ished and Died.
A TALE or PIONEER DAYS.
Before the railroads Came in Advance
Of Civilization 90 Washington
ard Oregon.

Th- years bet xeea $50 and lsSs we're
years u exceptional acs.ssty tr the s1aand
empire Eastern orazoa ard Washington
we're experiencing A change % life The
lfE11aa question rad been ssetlsd finally
and eee3ssvely ~ th@ SERIES 90 IEsSssan
Hars from is7z 20 1877. and that matter
vas forever a. rest The great herds 81
cattle ard horses thar had been gathering
ard Increasing over The country segzn 90
give way 20 the slaee1~nAn and ssae isaIn-a-
zr1sser. The Eshlte-tovp@d Wagons stirred
the aisah dus. ~ the old eu2iErant road
d1wn the Columbia The stream poured
a. an opposite direction from that Of ne
olisn time. ard the deep sl1-rows tnat
Had been ruttsd by the figure shoe %
TIA OK were d@epeEss6 by the toe c0rass or
she shoa horse turning towarf the Upper
C8antrys.' Great zhea. fields grew On
the ra3geS from Pendiston 10 the Palo<ssc,
and these were made possible ny the az
vent n the railroads Q, which the pioneer
vas the old road down the wails Nalla
river 70 Wailuia % connect with tie
steamers on the Columbia Then came the
Oregon Railway & Navigation company
I'D the Columbia. and finally tnere were
rnrnors that ne Northern Pacific had at
last concluded that there were enough
settlements IA the Nortl1wes, - Fay tt
20 cross the Rockies and complete the
sob that congress had been taking money
from the ranch5nan's pockets for years to
sabsisize
The broad stretch OF sand. sage brush
and hanchgrass BET 1esn the Casca3es
and the Rockies - a land OF strange
things The animals and birds have their
Oddities. and the plants present curious
res lures Ia the passing stranger. The in
flabltanis have been a mixed and distinct
I've class. principally noted for their no.
made nature watch "a the only trait they
possess IN common. Even the winds that
blow over the country are anomalies.
SUCCESSFULLY have passed over the COM
Try the HudSon's hay Company origades.
fhs tired ernsgrant v4th his footsore
teams the never-reStlns miner In hts e1-
citing days, the Indian in his cruel forays.
and the stoc<nan with his herds and
cowboys. The mining days brought new
towns that sprung up Hike fungi in the
track of the golHseeker. Umsillla rose
from sandoank to city OF 100 or 1000
Inhabitants and hoasted OF its trade OF
thousands OF dollars. and the long strings
~ pack ultrles radiated from IL 10 the
Joan Dav 20 Boise 30 the Salmon river
and dozens % other points. Some OF these
places. like Canyon city, ORC Fino. Flor
ence and others. grew from mountain
gulches till they genuinely believed them
selves cities, then Ike their center, old
Umatilla, they died when the mining eN-
oftement passed. and few ola shacks,
few shafts in the rocky wallis or the
g1Lches and few piles Of washed sand
and gravel mark the sites.
iwth the railroad came a new class.
There we're towns % the mushroom va
riety. as well as IN the old mining days.
One day a party Of surveyors made camp
on a sand fat by the side OF the turbulent
Snake river-the kimooenum Of the Nez
Perces, the Lewis river OF Lewis and
Ciarke-where II pours its yeilow-gFay.
mudstalned food into the clear water OF
the Columbia. There was little scenery IN
the landscape and less vegetation on me
soil Sagebrush and cactus were the
flora. horned toads, badgers. rattlesnakes
and prairie owls the fauna Of the land. IL
had neither beauty nor utility 10 recon-
mend It. and there were no yellow grains
IN its saudbanks for attractions. But
there must be a railroad. and there must
be a way Of crossing that haif-mile 81 mud
dy. rolling water. II was not boys job.
for at It's lowest flow Il was a powerful
river and when the SHOWS OF the great
peaks OF the Salmon river and Rocky
mountains were melting under a June sun
a current sixty feet deep rushed down
over liz rock bottom IN dark swiris. There
must be more than a million dollars sunk
IN the stream before a car could pass over
the bridge. on the sand OF that desert
rose city. In less than two years there
was & municipal corporation on that sand.
hank that numbered in It's limits 1000 In
habItauts. II was not a city set upon a
hill. but X was not one OF the quiet. re-
firing kind that hide their light There
we're good times in the city OF