The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-01-30

to the Pacific ocean did not arouse in
the minds of their hearers much en-
thusasm as to the future mission of
3 stream that had for ages past been
pouring out its life into the more rest
less ocean. Nor did they dream of
the wealth and development of the
great Inland Empire, across whose
then uninhabited plains the explorers
had struggled in awe and wonder into
the no less bOundless wealth of tim
Der. For the Fast was not ready to
great shipping and power center on
the opposite side of the continent, and
| the stories of Lewis and Clark were
taken in many quarters with grain
o. salt.
Yet the predictions of these far
seeing explorers found a hearing. One
| day settlement was started in the
great Northwest and its population
was augmented each year thereafter.
! ether settlements followed until states
grew out of the nucleus. and the pos
sibilities of the Columbia and it's
tributaries appealed to numbers who
established homes along their banks.
Gradually to the business of the fur
| trader was added the transportation
Of grains, and stock and river steam
crs became a necessity. Almost with
the beginning of settlement along the
banks of the Columbia the more astute
settlers began to predict the opening
OF! that great waterc0ursc from the
sea far inland. Early in the history
of the country the Canadian Pacific
railway operated boats on the upper
most stretch of the Colnmli ia. dis
tarce Of 1900 miles from the mouth
And with the incention of the idea
that the river could and would one
da1 be open for transportation began
agitation to secure that end.
When the right for the opening of
! the river began many obstacles were
apparently of which the greatest were
the cascades where the locks now
stand and Cello Rapids. In the for
rer the river narrows to n gorge AZ.
miles in length, through which it tum-
bles madlv. with drop of "a feet
ir the upper half mile. The latter
| is 91I. miles in length. with fall
of 81 feet in that distance. Ages
gro the river had eat it's way through
the solid rock in i mad rush for the
sea and here was the task that must
| he performed if the Colun bia was to
serve it's destiny as the one great
waterway of the West. In 1877 the
secretary of war gave his approval
to the plan for a canal and system
OF locks around the cascades, but 1T
was not until 1896 that the passage
was opened to traffic After that
wear the head of navigation moved
up stream 45 miles to The DaIles and
Cello Falls, where it stands today
waiting the completion of the canal
past these rapids.
The realization of this end is not
| far distant. A few days ago the
House committee on rivers and mar
bors presented its annual report car
rving with it the apportionment or
over SAC. 0OO. 900 for the Improvement
of rivers and harbors of the coun-
| try. OF this amount the Columbia
and Snake rivers receive almost 81
0L0, 900, of which $l.O00.OOo will be
onnlied at the mouth of the Column
bia, 100000 toward the completion
of the Cello canal and the balance
a. various points along the two r'v'
or. where needed to perfect the chan
mel already existing. For besides the
| cclilo Falls these two rivers preseht
practically no obstacles to transporta-
tion other than the c.sarng out of
rocks and boulders. Representative
Humphrey of Washington, Northwest
eru member Of the rivers and harbors