The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1915-01-07

grown with bushes a quarter of cen
tury old. its bridges have rOtted ava,
and slides have obliterated portions oi
the retaining walls on cliff sides.
| To thoughts of this old road tht
faces OF the passengers on the speed
ing train brought me. And my dreams
were filled with prophetic visions; fol-
there is to be resurrection of the piO
neer highway.
In the days when the pony express
tortuously bore the mails from Boise
to Portland, Oregon. was thought tC
be a far-away land of wilderness. But
progress found the region of an ex.
ceedlngly great fertility and the ener-
gies of men have been made to work
wonders in the fostering cline. III all
America Dame Fortune has not fav.
ored men and their children and the
efforts of both more than in Oregon.
Broad wheat fields have fiourished,
huge herds have grazed on her plains,
orchards have blossomed and borne
apples second to none in the world S
markets, and the pine and fir forests
have added inestimabe wealth. Citi-
zens OF Oregon, both urban and rural,
have prospered. The grandsons of the
pioneer, who felled the trees, grubbed
stumps and cleared the soil, occupy
homes of modern comfort. But the
country is new, everything bears EVIL
dence of this, and beside the modern
mansion erected to take it's place may
be seen the hut of the homesteader,
one roOmed and of logs, left to com
memorate the early toll of the pioneer.
Yet the generation that lives and
rules today in the northwest enjoys the
latest modes of business convenience
and pleasure that progress can sug-
gest. And in the state of Oregon the
motor car has superseded to a great
extent the buggy and horse. the hack
and team. The larger cities, of course,
have their many automobiles, but it is
not alone the city man who owns a
motor vehicle sshis country cousin has
found 1t a means of convenience to
himself in his business and source of
pleasure to his entire family. The
latest model car may be found thread
ing the orchards of Hood River or Jour
neying across the stock farm district
of Wasco county. The ranchers of the
central Oregon country speed across
the open country faster than ever the
cowboy dreamed of spurring.
Thus the wonders of the prophetic
vision that crept through my thoughts
as | dreamed day dreams beside Multi
nOmah Falls In a years time that
inspiring spectacle of nature will no
longer be isolated Already the citi-
zens of Multn0mah county are building
highway that they may travel on hol-
days and Sunday in region which the
God of Nature created with lavish
hand. The new highway, or the res
directed road of pioneer days, will
pass again at the foot of the wonderful
falls, the spray eddying at the whirl-
pool base will be dashed in the very
faces of the travellers. The spirit of
the war chief. Multnomah, leader of
the Willamettes, which it is said, sits
beside the head of the falls which
bears his name, has watched for CEN
tury the progress of the white man.
First the pony trail then the railroad /;
yet even before the locomotive came
the Red Mans ghost had been puzzled
by the smoke of the steamboats, that
crept up the Columbia Now but few
moons will pass before those spectral
eyes shall marvel at the moving par
ade of automobiles that will thread
the narrow base of the Columbia river
gorge.
The old road, the surface of which
still bears the marks of the early pony
express. will remain remnant, or
relic, of the early days. Its retaining
wall. a hundred feet above the newly
surveyed route, is now the home of
the chipmunks, porcupines and digger
squirrels. 1t is the very grave of a
road, and in the springtime white
dogwoOd blossoms and red and pink
sprigs of thousands of wild currants
droOp themselves above the tomb,
while the purple foliage of the Oregon
grape and the gold and yellow leaves
Of the vine maple pay natures tribute
to past usefulness in autumn.
Who cOnld not dream day dreams in
a region so full of the inspiring won
ders of nature? The residents of the
region are just beginning to realize
the value of the mountains, hills and
cascading streams as an asset. The
intervening valleys are returning prof
its from the fertile soil and the hills
are yielding up their fruit of lumber,
but there are other tales to be told of
what harvest may be reaped from the
scenery, when roads, the best that
road builders art can contrive, have
penetrated the mountain districts
The people who live among them, as
they find the haunts of the mountain
becoming more accessible, have learned
their charm and are thankful to the
god, or goddess, of fortune for having
turned their passage through life to an
environment where prosperity abounds
amid region so marvellous. All the
country is becoming more and more
attracted to the northwest. Completed
highways are making the hitherto iso.
lated alluring sports accessible. but
none of them will reveal these hidden
charms to the sight of the traveller as
delightfully."- as the finished Columbia
river road