The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1922-09-01
The Snake River

of poetic Dreams. but one of great
accomplishment, of industrial force
and agricultural enterprise. 1t Is
"the Great Snake River" providing
irrigation for over 100000 acres
of land, and power for large por-
ton of the state of Idaho, and Of
Nrthern Utah and Nevada. 1t is.
in fact, the greatest single life and
wealth producing factor of the state
of Idaho. Picture the region it
serves if it did not exist.
And of its intermediate lava
Gifted course and it's greatest cata-
ract, the mighty Shoshone Falls.
what may be said that will do full
justice to it, Probably one of the
most inspiring descriptions is that
of the late Judge c. C. Goodwin of
Salt Lake City, which appeared in
his book, "The Comstock Club
written in 1890, which here quote
in part:
ShoshoDe the Magnificent
THE Columbia is very grand Dut
you must follow ii up to its chief
tributary if you would find perfect
glory. You have heard of the lava
bC0O VI lddnO nCf NClC OnNC
river of molten fire from 500 feet
to 900 feet in depth, which burned
its way through tht desert for hun
dreds of miles To the east of the
source of this lava flow, the Snake
River bursts out of the hills, becom-
ing almost at once sovereign river.
and flowing at first southwesterly,
and then bending westerly, cuts IT'S
way through this lava bed, and con-
tinuing its way with many bends. /
finally, for to the north, merges with |
the Columbia On this river arg
several falls. First, the American |
Falls are very beautiful. Sixty miles
below are Twin Falls, where the RI /
ver divided into two nearly equal
parts, falls one hundred and eighty
feet. They are grand. Three miles 1
lower down, the Shosbone Falls It
is of Shoshone Falls that l wish to
write.
"They are rivals of Niagara. Ne
yer anywhere else vast here such a
scene; never anywhere else was so
beautiful picture hung on so rude
a frame; never anywhere else on
background so forbidding and wierd
were so many glories clustered.
Away back in remote ages, over
the withered breast of the desert, a
river of fire one hundred miles wide
and four hundred miles long, was
turned AS the fiery mass cooled, Z
It's red waves became transfxed and I
turned black, giving to the double
desert an ndescribably blasted and /
face.
but while ehis river of fire was
n flow, river of water was fighting
is way across it, or has since made
he way and forged out for itself
,hannel through the mass. This h
'hannel looks like the grave of n n
'xtinct volcano that has been robbed
# its dead
but right between it's crumbling
nd repellant walls, transfigura-
ion appears. And such a picture!
river as lardly as the Hudson OF
)hio, springing from the distant '
mountains with waters ]
as glass, but green as ,
with majestic flow and ev-
volume, sweeps on un
IL it reaches this point where the '
ugust display begins. I
Suddenly, different places in
he river-bed, jagged, rocky reefs l
re upraised, dividing the current
lto four rivers, and these in q
ligbty plunge of eighty feet down I
ard, dash on their way. OF course I
he waters are churned into foam G
nd roll over the precipice, white as 3
'e the garments of the morning
hen no cloud obscures the sun. The a
,veliest of these fallss is calltd The t
ridal Veil because it is made OF n
zee which is woven with warp Cf a,
slling waters and woof of sun. :
ght. About this and near the right L
ank is a long trail of foam, and n
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