The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1898-06-17

the two forks Of the Thompson river
Join. This place is a resort for those
suffering with pulmonary troubles.
At Savonnas Ferry we located quick
silver mines Of great value. Leaving
this place we pass through scenery Of
marvellous beauty on our way to the
Fraser river. Hurrying on through
the Thompson canon, a description of
whose beauties is forbidden by lack Of
space, we cross the Fraser river,
plunge through long tunnel and
emerge at Cisco. Six miles beyond,
the road runs along pinned by SEEM
inglY slender sticks to the face of a
gigantic precipice, Thousand feS
above the river, A little farther on
the Cinnamon may be seen washing
gold from the river bed on the sand
and gravel bars. At Boston bar the
principal canon Of the Fraser river
commences and from there to Yale, a
distance Of twenty-three miles, the
scenery is startling. The great river
is forced between vertical walls Of
black rock, where, repeatedly thrown
back upon itself by the opposing cliff
and the massive bOulders in it's chan
mel, it madIy foams and roars. A few
miles farther on is He'll Gate,
where the road is =, cut into
the cliff two hundred feet above
and the jutting spurs of rock are
pierced by tunnels in close succession.
Just beyond Hope is the bottomless
Devils Lake. Here the canon widens
out and is succeeded by broad level
valley with rich soil and an abun-
dance of heavy timber. Vegetation
of all kinds now rapidly. increased IN
luxuriance. The trees were all IN
leaf and the fields were covered with
wild flowers in profusion. A few
miles beyond Ruby Creek, so called
on account of the garnete found near,
Mt. Baker comes into view, about
fifty miles away, a beautiful isolated
cone rising fourteen Thousand feet
above the railway level. At Mission
Junction our canvas switched on to
the Seattle and International road,
and we were off for Seattle. The
road runs through great forests of
pine, fir and cedar, and naturally the
chief industry is numbering. The
road runs through many small towns,
each having one or more shingle and
lumber mills. At Huntington juno
tion we cross the International
boundary line again, and the Amer
lean custom officers went through the
farce Of searching our bag
gage. AS the train rolled
across the line and into the
station we all piled out on the plat
form and such shout as went up, for
there floating proudly before the
breeze was Old Glory. And it was as
welcome sight as 1 ever saw, and I
thought of the lines:
"Breathes there the man with soul so dead
Who never to himself has said,
This is my own, my native landY'
A good deal of the country from
here on is devoted to orchards. We
rolled swiftly on and were soon busted
with operations for leaving our four
days home. We arrived at Seattle at
$3.50, about four hours late. Here our
friends met us and carried us off to
rest and refreshment.
Sometime, if space permits, 1 will
write you of the trip down the coast
to San Francisco, but know you are
already aweCried of this long drawn
out epistle, so 1 will close by sending
greetings to all my Minnesota friends,
from the land of sunshine, fruit and
flowers, California,
Roy q. HUDSON.