The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1914-12-31
COLUMBIA RIVER
FAMOUS LONG AGO

(By Fred Lockley in Portland Journal
Travellers who have seen the Hudson,
the st. Lawrence and the Rhine rivers
say that while they are beautiful, yet
they lack the rugged grandeur and
sublimity of the Columbia. Samuel
BOwles, editor of the Springfield Re.
publican, writing from Portland in the
summer Of 1865, describes his trip up
| the Columbia in letter that appeared
in his paper. He said:
Fifty miles of steaming through
heavily wooded banks brought US to
the foothills of the Cascade mountains,
and soon we we're on charmed ground.
High walls of basaltic rock rise on
either side; huge boulders stand out IN
the stream or lie lower down in the
valley. One rises in rough egg shape
1000 feet Up in the air and is consplc-
uous element in the landscape. The
river goes too fast here at the Cas-
eades for further progress by boat, so
we changed to a railway hive miles
long, running along rock and river, at
the end of which we again come to
navigable waters and found to our sur
prise another large and luxurious
steamer.
1.-The second boat took US from the
upper Cascades to The Dalles. all the
way through the mountains. The river
is narrow and runs swift, while the
rocks grow higher and sharper, ane
their architecture, carved by lre anc
water, assumes noble and massive
forms. The dark and basaltic stones
lie along in even layers, as though
they were walls of human structure
Then they change to upright form an!
run in we'll rounded columns in rlel
7 similitude to the ruined castles Of tn
: Rhine; frequently, however, IN fash
T ions and forms too mas sive and males
+ tic for human ambition and art
4 aspire to.
z 1.-THE Dalles is the second town o
: Oregon; it holds population of 25OO
j Ii is the market place for the scat
tered mines of eastern Oregon, as wei
as for the Boise and Owyhee mines o
q Idaho. The miners come here to VIII
: ter and they buy ther supplies here
: Two million dollars in gold dust cam
4 to The Dalles from eastern Oregon an
Idaho during the month of June. 1864
The Oregon politicians have wheedle
. congress out of a preliminary appropr
q alton for mint to be built here
h The DalIes.
"From Cecilo there is uninterrupte
a navigation and daily and triweekl
h steamers running to Umatilla,,
- miles, to Wallula, 1l0 miles, and
g White Bluffs, 100 miles, further up th
- Columbia. For six months in the yea
boats run to Lewiston on the Snal
river, 500 miles from the mouth OF Il
Columbia, and to White Blufs, a,
miles above the mouth of the river.
1.-THE distinguishing feature in tt
landscape of this ride up the Columbi
IN apart from its own beauty, shadowir
,f il and enkinding it with highest ma
in in esty, is Mt. Hood. This is the gre'
IL snow peak of Oregon. Lying 70 or
10 miles above the river, it towers hle
;s above all its fellows, and IS see
ID through the gorges and again at Il
ot end of apparent long plains, leading
M to it from the river. The mounta
ne seems to rise apart, out from an u
Of ard-going plain, snow covered fro
st base to summit, oppressive in its ma
nd esLy, UeduLlIul III ioiii' ohB~hs 80
in whiteness-the union OF all that
p. great, pure and impressive.
To "Various heights are claimed I
sb Hood ranging from $4,000 to 1870
g feet. 1t probably does not exec
6s +, l2, 600 or $4,000 feet. No mounta
ho m peak we have passed in our journey
% %o seen to so fine advantage as Mt. Ho
- from the Columbia river. 1t is hard
4 imagine more magnificent sh'
n. mountain.
~ ~ "Adding this crowning element
oh the scenery of the Columbia river, it
nt Tt probably just to say that the excl
nr Sr sion up the Columbia offers more n
70 Si ural beauty and wonder to interest a
T1 wo excite the traveller than any oti
TS 'I5 single journey or screen which
ed Pacific coast presents, except the
an semitic valley"