The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-10-26
WITH OUR NEIGHBORS
ACROSS The BORDER

(Second Of series of articles by o.
P. Dabney.)
We have arrived at the Great Divide
at an altitude of nearly 5000 feet.
where a pretty mountain stream sep
arates into two streams, one of which
finds its way to the Pacific, the other
one to the Hudson Bay. From the
summit we slowly descend the noun
tain until we have arrived at Lake
Louise station. The lake near which a
yery commodious hotel is located, is
three mile from the station and is
reached by motor car line. The lake
is practically on the side of the noun.
tain. at an elevation of more than 5000
feet and its setting is more beautiful
than either Lucerne or Como.
| Our longest stop was at Bantf, at an
elevation of 4500 feet. 1t is the main
station for the Canadian national park,
which embraces more than 5000 square
miles and is the largest in the world.
The town has a population in the sum-
msr time of from three to five thou.
sand. but il is almost vacated during
the winter season. The ownership of
the property belongs to the govern
ment, but one may lease for term
of years suitable grounds on which to
build his cottage and may avail them
selves of that opportunity.
The Bow river. beautiful stream,
runs through the town and is crossed
by a steel bridge half mile from the
station. A mile beyond the bridge is
located the Banff Springs hotel, which
rests on an eminence between the
frothing and ysporing falls in the
Bow, and the mantle of turbulent
Spray river.
The hotel, since its reconstruction, is
one of the largest and best equipped
tourist hotels in the world, and know
of no hotel in Europe that has more
beautiful and sublime setting. In con-
nection with it they have splendid
bathing pools. which are in the form of
terraces. The lower one is l2O feet
square. The second is perhaps 80 by
75 feet and is enclosed with plate
glass. 1t contains the warm sulphur
water, which is piped in from the hot
spring on Sulphur mountains a mile
away.
Adjoining the Sulphur springs they
have several shower, Turkish and Rus
sian baths and nearly 100 dressing
rooms.
On the third terrace are the cooling
rooms, private sulphur baths, etc.
The roof of the third forms prom
enade, where chairs and rockers are in
place, and from there one will get the
view of the bathers, the Bow valley
and the river with its foaming falls
and the little island of green far be.
low, and then you may look upward
and around at the majestic and pictur-
esaue mountains as they silently look
down on human beings, which to them
appear but atoms moving about their
feet. Connected with the hotel are also
plenty of conveyances for riding and
driving over the many good mountain
trails and roads that radiate from
there.
Half a mile from the railway station
several hundred acres are enclosed,
where is kept in cages and otherwise
collection of wild animals such as in
he bit the Rocky mountains.
While Banff is 500 miles north of
the Yellowstone Park. it has some of
its characteristics.
was in a cave at the base of Sui.
phur mountain from where once spouted
a geyser, but now it is only boiling
blueberry pool with gas and steam
escape through the surface thirty feet
above it.
In a conversation with an old-time
Scotchman he told me that fifty years
ago he traced the same formation from
the Yellowstone Park the whole dis
tance to Banff. So far as have seen
of the Canadian National Park, it to
my mind is not equal to either the Yel-
lowstone National Park or the Grand
Canyon of Arizona, for they are not
only sublime. beautiful and majestic,
but they have that deep. mysterious
and inspirational scenes that no tongue
or pen can describe or artist portray.
But if one can, deem it money and
time we'll spent to 60 and see them all.
On our return we came to the CO.
lumbia river at Golden, which is about
$50 miles from Lake Windermere, the
source of the river. Then following its
trend for l25 miles we left it at Beaver
mouth and Travelled south. while the
river ceursed its way north and west
ward for another 100 miles to what is
known as Big Bend, where the river
makes an abrupt turn to the south. and
for nearly 200 miles cuts its way
J through the mountains and loses itself
for time in the Arrowhead lakes. We
crossed it the last time at Revelstoke,
about rs miles north of the lake, anC
comparing its size with first and last
crossings at the latter place it carried
: about five times more water.
8 Leaving the Upper and Lower Ar
( 70 " he ad lakes it finds its way down by
n our doors, a great and majestic body
: of water.
9 Would could tell you the whole
e story of its wanderings since the tint
!, that the Klickitats and the Multnomah!
e crossed over it on the Bridge of thu
f Gods, or since our first pioneers rod'
e upon its surface.
[ At Sicamons we left the main lin,
to 90 south on branch road that pen
J. etrates the Okanogon valley, and hav
O ing to stop over night we were yer!
e much pestered by the swarms o
d MOSQUITOES from the lake and tina
o seemed to know that we we're strang
o ers within their borders: and as the.
pounced upon US with all the ferocit.
# of wild beasts, smoking and fighting
:. them with all my might, little stor!
e suggested itself to me:
l. A little Scotchman. who was grea'
!, hunter, after reading circulars telinI
e of big game and more especially of tn
s- moose, and thinking too, that the nam
of the station signified moose habi
tat, be made up his mind that he woul
20 to the Shnowap lake for a hunt
But he had hardly stepped from th
Is train when the bills of the mosquito
: were penetrating him from head t
n foot. He threw his luggage down
r and with gestures peculiar to tn
. Scotch, be exclaimed, IL Gamma stan