Show written for ams pw TRAVELS on saturday may it 11 1895 I 1 bade adieu to my family friends and the city 1 I love so well and took my departure lor for foreign climes the train on which I 1 was a passenger left salt lake city cit I 1 at p m on the day mentioned ZT and after traveling miles I 1 arrived at pocatello idaho at it z i p m at this growing railroad town there has been a branch of the church for a long time and a few years yeaT Sago ago it was organized into a ward with carl J cannon as bishop he now has charge and the ward belongs to the onuida oneida stake of zion sunday may 12 having stopped three hours at pocatello I 1 boarded the regular overland train on the oregon short line and made for the pacific coast at american falls 25 miles from pocatello the train crossed snake river on a magnificent magnificent bridge after which the railroad passes through a most barren and desolate country abounding with volcanic formations in almost every conceivable shape As the sun rose above the horizon in the grest great snake river valley our train was passing through the town of shoshone irom from which stages run regularly to the famous shoshone falls on snake river only a lew few miles away we arrived at nampa at it a m from this point a branch road leads to boise city the capital of idaho which lies to the northeast ig 19 miles distant continuing the journey down the snake river we at length cross that stream into the state ot of oregon beyond the town of ontario we the river into idaho thence passing down grade through the canyon through which the mighty river wends bends its way ocean ward we at length cross a fourth time and after traveling three miles further up burned river we arrive at huntington oregon a small railroad town of about inhabitants which is it the present terminus of the union pacific system in passing down the great snake river I 1 noticed vast tracts of what appeared peare d to be the best beat kind of land lor for agrico agricultural I 1 tural purposes but yet unclaimed from t the h e desert while the question of irrigation iv being so earnestly discussed throughout the nation I 1 think it would pay for some of our enterprising advocates of irrigation on a systematic and enlarged scale to turn their attention to that particular portion of western idaho and eastern oregon which lies adjacent to snake river and is susceptible cep tible tibie ot of irrigation from that stream there certainly is plenty of good land and plenty of water which ate the two main feti features tures to be considered in connection with the founding of irrigation colonies there are already a number of small malt hamlets which recently have been built up on the banks of the river indicating great enterprise on the part of their inhabitants but they are only a small commencement ol of what might be there bisno change of cars at huntington ting ton but a stop tor for dinner is made it has always see seemed e to I 1 me that both the railway campp companies ies and the public are being imposed impose upon by tain proprietors of depot hotels and lurich lunch counters who seem to think it their special privilege to charge travelers just what they have a mind to without considering the actual value of what is sold huntington is perhaps a good sample of this while wheat is selling at this point for 35 cents per bushel 25 cents was charged one of my lellow fellow passengers for a loaf of bread continuing the journey from hun hull t hington ting ing t ton on on the oregon railway and navigation companas comp anys line we pass through the heart of eastern oregon and I 1 was particularly pleased with the appearance of the celebrated powder river valley and Grand Round valley in the former baker city is the chief town and in the latter le grande the scenery through the blue mountains whose summit we cross at an elevation of feet is very fine after stopping beacham Ve ng for supper at the little station of meacham acham the journey was continued through the darkness of the night Mon monday daty may 13 at 3 ocl ocic a in a gentle shock was felt throughout the train which immediately came to a complete standstill after a while one of the passengers curious to know what important station we had arrived at since the stop was so much longer than usual opened a car window on he right of the train but instead of beholding the supposed depot a cloud of sand nearly blinded him and for the next few minutes he was rubbing away at his eyes to the amusement of those of the passengers in his car who were not asleep another passenger who in the meantime had been on the outside to examine the situation volunteered the information that our engine had bad jumped the track in trying to plow its way through the sand which during the windy night had blown across the road bed and that we would perhaps not be able abie to move again for a day or two the town of dalles however was only one and ahalt ahall a halt hall miles away and our jesting friend wisely suggested that the passengers might walk that tar far it if they could not afford to wait for the tram train after the announcement of this news a rather youngish looking man of questionable nationality but unquestionably t tion ably the owner of a pair of extra long legs at once prepared for the proposed walk not being sufficiently wide awake to distinguish between yankee wit and the true point of the story A very corpulent lady hailing from the east also began to show great uneasiness by knitting her eyebrows in a significant manner and finally remarked that it would be utterly impossible for her to pack her hei baggage to the nearest station A young danish girl just twenty two years old direct from bornholm with whom I 1 had conversed the day previous finally awoke and wanted to know what nad happened as she perceived considerable restlessness among her lellow fellow passengers I 1 assured her that it was nothing serious that thai we were all alive that not even the engineer or fireman was killed and that if she would take another nap she would soon meet her friends wao were waiting for her in portland by i the way this ladys ewas funk and she had an uncle by the name of john or johan who emigrated to utah from bornholm bombola many y years ears ago o as a mormon who knows him 0 the he young youn ladys gladys future address will be forest grove oregon yes our engine was off on the track all right and it was not till a gang of mend men had worked for a couple of hours shoveling sand and after two engines with a wrecking train had been sent to our assistance that we could proceed on our journey but buthi it is an odd wind that blows no good had this accident not happened we would have passed down the go gorge r of the columbia river in the night with ith this delay of nearly three hours we had the privilege of beholding the beautiful scenery along the beautiful river in the light of a beautiful morn mornine mornin inz ir at 5 a m we rolled into dalles city and thence continued to portland where we arrived at 1030 a m dalles city thus named after the so called dalles of the columbia is eighty eight miles from portland itis it isa city of i about inhabitants the dalles proper begin at celilo cecilo fourteen miles above this point and are simply a succession of rapids until nearing the dalles station where the mighty river for two and a half miles narrows down between walls of basaltic rock only leet feet across in the flood tides of the spring the water in this chasm has risen 1126 feet the word dalles is rather misleading dalle is french and means variously a plate 11 a flagstone a slab alluding i to the oval or square shaped stones which abound in the river bed and the valley above but the early french hunters and trappers call a chasm or a defile or gorge dalles meaning in their vernacular a trough hence the present name As we left dalles city in the morning a splendid panorama of beautiful scenery began becan to unfold itself to the vieland vie wand having made the acquaintance of a young intelligent gentleman from portland who was willing to explain tome all he knew of the various attractions I 1 enjoyed the sights immensely the columbia itself is quite a study being one of americas greatest and most important rivers rivera it rises in the rocky mountains in latitude 50 so 20 north flows northward sic 51 ial i receiving canoe river which has its source at 53 north it then turns sharply to the northward expanding at 51 into a chain of small lakes receiving the waters of kootenai at 40 30 just south of sol 50 the pen d oreille the great north fork clarkes charkes Cl arkes pours its waters into it then flowing south it receives the spokane and turning almost due west the okanogan Oka nogan joins it front from the north still bending south of west the methow mathow chelan Entea and Wen achee contribute their waters when it turns southward it receives its greatest southern fork the snake and also the walla walla hood river the willamette and others from its birth among the most mag scenes on earth in the far north and in the heart ol of yellowstone national park down through its 2500 2500 miles of sweep to the western sea it is an avenue of and wonder inland for miles from the pacific it averages about two miles in breadth reaching over six miles near its ats mouth engineers estimate thatis that it carries off a volume of water but little if any less than the mississippi Us its im bense drainage of square miles can an be imagined from the fact that during the meeting of the snows in the northwestern mountain ranges its daily increase lor days at a time has been equal to the entire volume of the hudson it is the only river in the united states which will receive deep seagoing sea going vessels 1120 miles inland perhaps the gran grandest aest scenery found anywhere along its banks is between dalles and portland where its cuts through the cascade mountains the river here averages about a mile in width and the ahe lofty mountains which rise almost perpendicularly in places to dizzy heights and that too on both sides have so impressed tourists that residents resi depts of the east pronounce it superior to the hudson and europeans sa say y the there re is nothing in in the old world to equal qua I 1 it i t the railway follows the left or south bank of the rivet river nearly the entire distance from dalles to portland in this eighty eight miles there is said to be twelve miles of trestles and bridges all along the line there is is a succession of f pleasant surprises in the ing scein scenery ery forty orty six miles from portland we reached the upper end of the renowned cascades of the columbia these rapids continued for about six miles during which distance the river river is sai said to fall eighty feet the government i is engaged in building a number of locks at this point in order to utilize this navigable river above the cascades mil lions of dollars dollar sr have already been expended aud the work is still going on thirty two miles from portland we pass within a lew few hundred feet of the famous multnomah Mutt nomah falls a filmy veil of water falling feet into a basin on the mountain side and aad then feet to the river this is one of we grandest waterfalls I 1 have ever seen no pen can describe its beauty there are a number of other falls in close proximity ot of which the most important are jhb horse tail oneonta and the no wonder falls either of which is grand and impressive near these falls the traveler notices a peculiarly shaped rock standing out in the river river some distance from the oregon side it is is called rooster rock and has a history which had better not be told As we proceed to the lower end of the gorge through which the columbia passes through the cascade mountains we notice across the river in the state washington the so called cape horn also called gibraltar this is a strange han handiwork dork ot of nature composed ot of solid rock of apparent bark bark formation rising abruptly from the waters edge and so peculiarly erected on a base of perpendicular square rocks as to have the appearance pe arance of piling these rocks are at the upper portion surrounded by cone shaped pillars known as the needles cape horn rises to a height of from SOO to 2500 2500 feet and in one of those peculiar formations at which the sight seer can only express wonder soon after arriving in portland I 1 learned that there would be no train for seattle till the next day so I 1 concluded to make the most of 0 the time by bv taking in in the sights in and around portland consequently after putting up at one ot of the hotels I 1 boarded a street car which took me up upon the so called portland heights which form a sort of a natural western boundary for the city on my way up I 1 introduced myself to a ent lemah leman who gave his name as A T eitleman amith mith and whose beautiful lumber residence stands next to that which for several years was occupied and is still owned by captain willard young of salt lake city mr smith spoke very highly of captain young as a neighbor and a military officer from mr smiths broad ver veranda ancla I 1 enjoyed a most excellent view of portland and vicinity elevated about feet above the lower town I 1 could see all the principal buildings trace the principal streets and follow the winding ot of the willamette Willa mitte river which divides portland into a western and eastern hall half the principal part of the city and the original town is on the west side several magnificent ent bridges span the river at different points two of which collect toll from all who cross looking away to the east the cascade mountains are seen to good advantage but more particularly ticul arly th the grand sn snow ow capped mountain peaks peaks mount hood mount adams and mount st helens all cone shaped and extinct volcanoes of these hese mount hood distant about seventy five miles to the east is the most noted this mountain is feet high and is ii visited annually by thousands of tourists who climb to the top and there generally spend a night in cloud cap inn the mountain hotel portland is the metropolis of oregon and its present number ot of inhabitants is estimated at A few years ago its population was about more the hard times and a boom similar to the one which struck salt lake city some som eyears years ago are given as causes of this backward move on the part ot of Or egons chief city portland is situated almost twelve miles above the junction of the willamette and the columbia rivers As a seaport it is accessible to seagoing sea going vessels of all classes the city has seventy miles of paved streets one hundred and sixty lour four miles of sidewalk forty miles of sewer eighty seven miles of street railway rail way including electric cable and horse car service the cable car line in reaching the portland heights climbs the steepest hill in the united states onto which street car service has been extended the city is lighted both by electric lights and gas and like capital owns its own water works the state of oregon consists of square miles or nearly acres it is as large as all the new england states with indiana added its population is over 30 oooo the cascade mountains divide oregon into two unequal parts each of which is characterized by a marked difference in topography soil climate and productions the valleys of the western part hadean have an average elevation of only a few score feet above the sea level while those of the eastern part vary in height from 1500 to feet above the ocean the western part is heavily timbered the eastern part like utah contains vast amounts of arid and land which can only be reclaimed through the process of irrigation the climate in the western part is mild there are two seasons the dry and the rainy season it seldom snows but in the eastern part the snow tall fall is quite heavy and the winters sometimes dreary and long oregon is a word |