The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1913-04-24
CELLO CANAL
PROGRESSES
PROJECT SIXTY FER CENT DONE
The DalleS District AbOunds in Indian
Legend Story Says that Rapids
We're Formed by Chief FIend

Where the feuds that inhabited the
land in prehistoric time used to hold
their summers conventions, as ancient
Indian legend has It, the uales of the
Columbia now may be seen by passen-
gers of the North Bank and O.-W. r.
4 ~ Company lines, and there the
mighty waters of a stream that drains
"a half continent turn themselves
sidewise and rush with an ungaugeable
swiftness through narrow clefts of vol
canic stone formations. The Columbia
pours over the Cello Fails about y
miles above the city OF The Dalles and
thence for eight miles the water ebbs
and surges through these narrow chan
nels, which the ancient legend says
were formed by the Devil beating ON
the stones with his tail.
Ii all happened, if one cares to give
credit to Indian legend one day when
the tiends were angry with some of the
Devil g policies and a great conspiracy
was formed against him. But the chief
hend Of them all was warned of what
might befall him. He began a hasty
retreat to the nurthland with the pack
of lesser fiendssat his heels. He saw
that they would overcome him, if he
dld not perform somelfendish feat. and
forthwith with a mighty thump of his
huge tail that had more force than the
strongest pile driver developed by hu-
man ingenuity, made huge cleft in
the rough surface of the earth. To the
east was a large body of water,
an inland sea, held there by the most
easterly ridge of the Cascades. The
chasm made opened the lakes shores.
and the first torrent of water poured
through. But still the fiends in pur-
suit came on. Again the Devil crashed
through the stones, and more of the
water was liberated. Thrice his tail
swlshed through the air, and the water
was now swrling in mad rapids. His
foes were undone. The waters envel-
oped them. Those that had been
caught on the islands made amid the
rapids tried to turn back, but were
caught by the flood, and so the Devil
saved himself, but lost his tail.
The traveller Of today might imagine
that some of the lesser tends were at
work on the south bank of the Column
bia beside the dales and were engaged
in the task of opening another chasm
today; for huge steam shovels and
dredges are at work removing the
stones and earth and sand, making a
canal around the rapids for boats, that
will eventually transport grain and cat
tie from the Inland Empire and the
great expanses of Oregon land to the
metropolis, Portland, and to other low
er river points.
The original act of congress for the
| development of the canal was passed
by congress in 1906 and since then a
| slow but steady progress has been made
on the great project, which, while but
little has been said of it, is the largest
waterways undertaking that Uncle
Sam is now concerned with eXcept the
Panama canal. Tons of powder have
ben used IN blasting a way through the
cliff sides, and hundreds of men have
been at work. Tram trains have
hauled hundreds of tons of cement
from the huge rock crushers to be used
in the construction of walls and locks.
The estimated cost of the project was
"a, o54, 900. The work is now 60 per
cent finished. Congress appropriated
81, 200, 900 the first of the year. and
with the proper appropriation next
year, the work will be brought to com
pletion by January |, 1915.
The canal will be about eight miles
long. Three locks will be constructed.
or rather four; for tandem locks will
be constructed at the lower end of the
canal, where each raise will lift the
boats 80 feet. Al the Five Mile lock
the water will be raised 10 feet. At
Ten Mile lock there will be no raise.
the installation being made at this
point merely for the purpose of regu-
lating the force of the stream during
high water. The excavation at the
tandem locks, through solid rock and
50 feet deep has been completed, and
crew OF men are now engaged with
putting IN concrete walls. The most
difficult portion of the work now left is
that of putting in walls where the
canal will cross low places, fills as the
engineers in charge call them A crew
Of about 600 men is now engaged in
the canal work.
Although it is remote, numerous vis-
Itors inspect the huge project each
week. 1t is a wild, scenic region.
there where the rapids chase through
the dales and high palisades arise ON
both sides of the river. All of the dis
trict abounds in Indian legend. Mema-
loose islands are found in the streams
here, and the Indian dead lie on their
sandy stretches among their beads and
other relics of the Red Mans age. But
where once the river flowed in its i'm
petuous career in the otherwise silent
canyon guarded by the frowning cliffs,
two transcontlnental railroads now
pass. The state portage road, another
transportation system, parallels the
rapids, and fourth, The Dalles Great
Southern, penetrates a canyon and
leads to the south at their west end.
But the portage road will be no more
soon, for as soon as the canal IS com
pleted it will cease operation. II has
never been paying concern, and at
the present time is used alone by the
United States Engineer Department.
which operates it for the purpose of
transporting materials. However, they
run accommodation trains for the benefit
of the workmen four times each week,
and these trips help pay for the ex-
penses Of operation.
The canal work is under the SUPER
vision Of Capt. Henry II. Roberts.
His civilian assistant is James H. Pol
hemus. F. G. Schubert is his chief
adviser. and F. W. Saunders and J. l..
Brownee are superintendent of con-
struction of different sections of the
work.
This region, where the waters of the
Columbia are so imprisoned, may soon
become a center of energy: for it is
proposed to construct huge dam and
powerhouse, where electrical energy
enough to hight the northwest will be
developed.