Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1899-11-08
Up Snake River.


tised TO start at 7.
This little steamer has a romantic his
tory. She was constructed on the upper
Snake near Huntington several years
ago, ,..and made the run OF He'll CANYON in
high water to escape her prison and seek
a field of usefulness. She is a staunch
craft. She climbs the rapids of Snake |
equal to if not better than the Spokane,
her pretentious sister. The Norma
stemmed the current of the Snake with |
out a bobble from Lewiston to Wild |
Goose. 1t was surprise that steam |
boat could pass Tenmile, Couse Greek, |
Buffalo Rock and Grand Ronde rapids |
without lining. The Norma answered |
every bell on this run. II the captain !
had known the channel and had the
courage to speed her she would have
made the round trip of 10 miles in seven
hours. AS il was she failed to make the
run in daylight. She was laid up for the
| night at dark at the mouth of Tenmile
creek, II miles above Lewiston.
The average Lewistonian does not re-
alize that section of water course as
| grand as there is IN the world lies within
a days run of Lewiston. We have al
ways been proud of the Clearwater, but
the beauties of the Snake have been neg
lected. The Grand Canyon of Colorado
is not grander than the Snake in dis
81 7 stn
The average resident of Lewiston per
haps observed nothing remarkable on the
Sunday trip till we arrived at Asotin.
The morning sun had just broken through
the fog that made the early morning
gloomy as we approached this little town.
The splendor of autumn color richer
than any artists blending flooded the
whole valley. The pretty homes seemed
to nestle in bowers made of curtains that
had been dropped from sun-dyed clouds
at the opening of many autumn days,
Asotin is suggestive OF rest and luxury,
and the new glow OF an autumn morning
dstills honeydew that intoxicates the
soul and drives away the fought OF toll
and sorrow.
| Palisade made of interlaced columns oi
basalt stand like the rocks OF Gibraltar
along Snake river. The whipping o.
| waves on the rapids, the signing seethini
currents and the rolling of the whiri
pools suggest that these everlasting wall
IIimprison the bad stream.
III In the recess Of the rocky banks ar,
domestic scenes Orchards and vine
yards fill nooks on the banks. There Il
an unpretentious house that might hav
III been the home of Paul and Virginia
| The fragrance of ripe fruit comes fror
the shore like memory of home. Th
/ whistle sounds the boat lands, for wha
II To get bucketful OF jersey cream fror
the farm OF Lou Jorgens. The product
of this orchard and dairy are not tn
only wonders of this nook in the wall {
Snake river canyon. The homestead
founded upon sands Of gold When on
casion suits the thrifty owner of tn
farm washes gold from the sand to n
| plenish his exchequer. This sand al
| this gold is replenished by ea.h succee'
ing season of high water.
The Snake rivers rocky beaches we
once the scene of active placer minin
Millions Of tons of sand and rocks ha'
been moved about. thrown in heaps ar
built into cribs above the waters edg
The gold that had been ground from Il
Ilquartz ledge by the mills Of the Go
was sluiced through the canyons al
gathered on the natural rifles of roc
In the thousands of years before Il
} modern placer miner came TO make Il
} clean up. The tailings are now beii
/, worked over and over by man and 4
, mill of nature is filling new rifles {
future generations below the prese
water level. One natural rock rifle
D pointed out which gathered S3ooo to
cleaned up by lucky miner in 1868.
Buffalo Rock is one landmark Of Il
= route. A romance is woven about u
place. The basalt formation rises he
and the primary granite crops. T
plane surface Of the walls invited the
dian to paint rude pictures thereon. O
Hines of the buffalo are seen on many
the sections of rock walls. The sto
goes that party of Ne2 Perces captui
young brides in warfare with the tril
beyond the Rockies end held them
Icaptivity in this secluded spot until II
became reconciled to their new lor
While the squaws grieved for their
home they gave expression to their X
by picturing the typical coat-oi arms
their lost tribe on the rocks in this Il
that never knew the buffalo. These
lures gave the name TO this landmark
30 At the mouth of Graude Ronde ri
W the valley widens as if to invite
- builder Of village or perhaps a q
city. There is not habitation in sig
~ Some hoodoo seems to have kept /
pressive man away from this spot, wh
re nature seems to have designed for c,
mercial Center. Here at the junction
two great rivers, in the midst Of a set
- meut, is a wilderness undisturbed
man. No wagon road approaches
mouth of Grande Ronde, and even.
trails have been vacated since G.
Joseph's Indians were compelled to