The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1904-07-07

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From here we hurried rapidly along
until we reached our camping place at
ParkertOwn. East Of the old town, is
the new sawmill site Of Davenport Bros.
Here new town is building, and here
they draw the logs up out Of deep ra-
vine Il half mile away with the big dom
key engine the company received here
last winter. Davenport Bros. are doing
a wonderful let Of work in this Green
Point country. Leaving our wagon
at Parkertown we packed the remainder
OF the way in. Just out Of Parkertown
we made the ascent Of the highest hill
in the neighborhood over one Of the
very best OF mountain roads, recently
made by the company. 1t is broad and
smooth aud free from rocks and stumps,
and has an easy grade. From the sum
NIT one obtains the finest view OF the
entire East Side. From the summit it
is a short, easy descent to Cedar lake,
where Foreman Hart is in charge Of Il
crew constructing q dam across the low
er end OF the lake. At the same time
the logs and brush in the lake are being
hauled, piled and burned. The lake
has been drained and kept free from
water during the operations. Here
the lumber company expect TO place
their big mill this fall, and float the logs
from Green Point, six or seven miles
away through ditch now in course
Of construction down to this lake. The
lake, when the dam is finished, will cover
40 acres with water from two to 2b feet
deep, and the dam looks like it might be
heavy enough for section OF the defen-
ses Of Port Arthur. From the mill
flume will be built TO connect with the
old fume at Parkertown and thus con-
vey the product OF this big mill 10
Ruthton the shipping point of the COM
pany,
From this big mill site the trail trayer-
ses a vast body OF heavy timber on fair
ly good logging ground. The most Of 1t
is fir with very little white pine and
enough white fir to supply Hood River
with box lumber for generation. Aft
or the timber is cleared off there are
hundreds Of acres of fine land, level as
floor, where the decayed vegetation OF
thousands of years lies ready to be used
in the growing Of the grandest meadow
crops the world has ever seen. The
snow here gets from six 10 ten feet deep
and deeper, which certainly would pro-
hibit the extensive planting OF apples
and other tree fruits.
From Cedar lake, where Davenport
Bros. already have thousands of cedar
fence posts corded up awaiting the time
when water connection will be made
with the outside, we pushed on through
the great frs along Bear creek, five, six
or sever feet in diameter, 100 to l50
feet to limb, in places go thick they
couldn't grow any way but up, and as
straight as a line. Camped on Bear
creek we found Jake Wagonblast with
a crew putting the ditch through to the
lake with about two orthree weeks work
ahead Of them. We passed the camp
about mile when the trail ran into
the ditch which proved miry in places,
and the bank OF the ditch too narrow
10 admit the passage of the pack train.
The army halted and rested on their
arms while the general made recon-
noisanco. When he returned he re-
ported the ditch impossible, that there
was snow 81 feet deep between us and
the lake which was three miles away.
The army mules and "0ld Doll" were
asking for supper, so the bugle sounded
the retreat, which was made in good
form, and we bivouacked for the night
near camp Wagonblast. After supper
Mr.. Wagonblast, A. j, Chabot and an
other gentleman called and swapped
bear stories and other yarns with the
general and the prophet until a late
hour. In the morning the retreat was
resumed and we reached our base OF
supplies p. m.
Coming back we met 0rland Todd and
his partner, Blair, escorted by two OF
their friends and dog, enroute from
Cedar lake to Green Point lake where
they mean to camp coupleof weeks or
until they discover the lost gold mine
which is said to have been in hiding in
the mountains the past half century
They mean to put rope around and
lead 1t down to civilization when they
come back.
But for one thing the Green Point
country would be an ideal place for a
summer outing, and that Is the mos
quitos, They are thicker than 6eas in
hytime and as big, not quite, as black
birds, and they are all as hungry as the
campers, We travelled about 80 miles,
had good time, hunted and fshed and
got nothing but tired.