At Dalles City, the eastern terminus of navigation on the middle river, the tourist finds himself in an attractive town of nearly forty years' growth. Here he may with advantage make a brief stay, resuming his journey either by train or by steamer, the fine boats of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company plying daily between this city and Portland. From the heights commanding the town, magnificent views are to be obtained, Mount Hood looming up in the southwest, and Mount Adams, another of the great peaks of the Cascade Range, in the north.
We have now left behind the low-lying shores that extend for so many miles between the Dalles and Wallula. Henceforward the scenery increases in interest every mile, the mountains becoming loftier and more precipitous, the rocky shores more rugged, and the intervening foliage more luxuriant.
It should be stated that the scenery, especially on the south side of the river, appears to much greater advantage when viewed from the deck of a steamer than when seen from the train. In consideration of this fact, railway tickets are available by steamer without extra charge. The boat leaving the Dalles early in the morning, there is a loss of one day involved in taking the steamer on the westward journey; but, returning from Portland, the tourist is able to reach the Dalles in time for that day's east-bound train.
Forty-three miles from the Dalles are the Cascades, where the river changes from a placid lake to swift rapids and a foaming torrent. Before the completion of the railroad every pound of freight had to be transferred, at this point, from a steamer navigating the river above this insurmountable barrier to one navigating it below, or vice versa. The railway portage of six miles on the Washington side of the river is still operated, and the transfer of such passengers as choose to complete their journey by water is made so speedily and conveniently as to enhance, rather than otherwise, the pleasure and interest of the river trip.
In view of the importance of the river as a free commercial highway, Congress has made several appropriations for the construction, at the Cascades, of a system of locks. It is certainly a gigantic undertaking, and many years will probably elapse before its completion.
To a great convulsion of nature, of whose occurrence there is abundant evidence, may be traced a singular Indian tradition, that Mount Hood and Mount Adams formerly stood close to the river, connected by a natural bridge. The mountains, so goes the story, becoming angry with each other, threw out fire, ashes and stones, and so demolished the bridge, choking the river, which had previously been navigable. The present remoteness of the mountains is attributed to the anger of the Great Spirit, who hurled them thus far asunder. Both, in common with other peaks of the Cascade Range, are extinct volcanoes; and the Indian tradition may have its origin either in some great eruption, or in some sudden movement of what is known as the sliding mountain, an immense mass of basaltic rock gradually wearing its way toward the river.
After gazing in admiration at the fine scenery surrounding the Cascades, the tourist will scarcely be prepared for the announcement that the grandest of all is yet to come. But, after leaving Bonneville, not only is the general effect grander and more imposing, but the objects of special interest are more numerous. Here it is that the advantage of making the trip by steamer is most apparent; for, let the train travel ever so slowly, it is impossible for even the most quick-sighted traveler to take in all the points of interest that crowd one upon another.
On the north side is Castle Rock, rising abruptly from the water's edge a thousand feet or more. Farther down the river, also on the north side, is Cape Horn, an imposing basaltic cliff projecting into the water. On the south side there descend from the lofty perpendicular walls that frown upon the river for many miles, numerous waterfalls, of indescribable beauty. Here is the lovely Oneonta, 600 feet of silver ribbon, floating from the dizzy height. A few moments more, and we are opposite the still more beautiful Multnomah Fall, which has a descent of no less than 820 feet. At this point the train stops fifteen minutes to enable passengers to ascend to the rustic bridge, there to enjoy the best possible view of this incomparable fall, and its wondrously beautiful setting, contrasting so strikingly with the wild scenery around it.
At the Pillars of Hercules, two gigantic columns of rock, one on either side the track, and forming, as it were, the western gateway to this marvelous region, the railroad leaves the river, and runs right on to Portland. The steamer continues its course, past the beautiful city of Vancouver, to the mouth of the Willamette river, by which great tributary of the Columbia, it soon reaches