The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-04-03
TRIP TO ALASKA.
To Be Given in 1909 TO Our Best
Writer.

To Be Given in 1909 to Our Best
A man who saw the ocean for the
first time from the mouth of the Co
lumbia river, remembered after
wards, that Lewis and Clark saw 1T
at the same place in 1906 and nearly
went wild with enthusiasm over It,
This ldahoan we speak Of, stood
on the deck of an ocean steamer on
bright Sunday morning while 1t
steamed down the great current to
the tide, and was so lost in observa-
ton and rapture, so aStOunded at
the very bigness Oh everything In
sight, that he always looked back
upon that forenoon in connection with
thoughts of "out on the sea of eter-
nifty" and summed up his feelings
about it by writing in his diary,
They that go down to the sea in
ships, that do business on great wat
ers, these see the works of the Lord.
With the word Lord" heavily un-
derscored He always felt that the
days observations were worth year
in college, and were equal to a
bright religious experience to any
one who was willing to receive great
impressions. Five years later he
took the same route again, and at
night wrote in his diary that the
repetition was worth' $S5 in cash of
the realm.
But great as is the value of a trip
down this river of time, trip
from the docks at Seattle out
through the Straits of Juan De Fuca
to the ocean is unsurpassed for
grandeur, and impressions of The
Infinite. Of all the great harbors of
the world Seattle probably has the
largest, and could be developed into
/ the best All the ships of all the
world could meet and anchor within
it's multitudinous arms at once, and
by the use of wireless communica-
ton, could call to order and hold
a ships convention without inter-
ruption, in the midst of an Equi-
noxial storm.
The deep water, the high timber
covered ridges forming shores be-
tween the arms of the sound, its be-
ing on the shortest line of travel
from ST. Louis to Manila or YokO-
hama or the Empire of Alaska"
makes it easy to see why Seattle Is
growing so rapidly that it has
growing pains.
A summer trip up the Alaskan
coast among a thousand islands,
with a great ocean on one side and
warm sunny coves, beautiful hamlets,
fine farms and the most luxuriant of,
wild meadows, nesting in the morn
ing shadows of stupendous noun
tains with glaciers at the western
slopes covering as much territory as
an ordinary county, make 1t line of
wonders fit to pale the scenery of
the Old World that people Of Ameri-
ca pay an average of $4,000 apiece
to see in their tours of Europe
The Muir Glacier, for example,
some forty miles across, slopes to the
setting sun and moves toward the sea
at the rate of few feet per year.
In part of it's western boundary 1t
cliffs, and rivers formed far back on
it's bosom by the melting of snow and
ice, come rushing down with tre-
mendous force and leap into the sea.
Sometimes these streams form lakes
on the glacier itself or encounter a
crevice and break through to some
gulch or half-choked canyon thou
sand feet below, to roar in subter-
glacian channels, adding to the dam
ger and glory of the adventures who
go out with dog teams to explore the
wonders of it's surface. President
Jordan of Sandford University can
tell of weeks and weeks of the most
thrilling experiences encamped on
the moving mass where the afternoon
and the morning are separated only
by the twilight, while the purple
hues of sunset are blended with the
} silver and gray of the dawn along
Mt. st. Elias-the marriage of today
and tomorrow, with our international
peak for the marriage altar.
The bird life of the Alaskan coast
is an interesting feature Of any trip
into the far north land anyone who
light in it's almost infinite variety
of aquatics with their striking differ
ences and contrasts of colors in
plumage.
Glimpses of such trip, taken
, from the observations of another may
or may not be satisfactory, but those
who cannot 30 can lose nothing by
reading the writings of the winner in
, The Republican contest when he or
she takes the trip. What is written
, at the time of making the observa-
tions and receiving impressions of It,
is always better and nearer the real
than anything composed from rec
objections in other years, and for this
reason we copy from the notebook
of one who has been out with no
greater cares than to have the best
vacation possible.
"The engines keep spinning, and
we Just glide along beautifully,
, throwing two lines of foam and rock
} ing slightly from side to side. It is
, like riding on train with velvet
} cushions and silken wheels. It Just
rushes on, on, on, into the balmy
sunshine or the inky night. wonder
how they hold 1t to its course